Download or read book Evolution of Cool-roof Standards in the United States written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Roofs that have high solar reflectance and high thermal emittance stay cool in the sun. A roof with lower thermal emittance but exceptionally high solar reflectance can also stay cool in the sun. Substituting a cool roof for a noncool roof decreases cooling-electricity use, cooling-power demand, and cooling-equipment capacity requirements, while slightly increasing heating-energy consumption. Cool roofs can also lower citywide ambient air temperature in summer, slowing ozone formation and increasing human comfort. Provisions for cool roofs in energy-efficiency standards can promote the building- and climate-appropriate use of cool roofing technologies. Cool-roof requirements are designed to reduce building energy use, while energy-neutral cool-roof credits permit the use of less energy-efficient components (e.g., larger windows) in a building that has energy-saving cool roofs. Both types of measures can reduce the life-cycle cost of a building (initial cost plus lifetime energy cost). Since 1999, several widely used building energy-efficiency standards, including ASHRAE 90.1, ASHRAE 90.2, the International Energy Conservation Code, and California's Title 24 have adopted cool-roof credits or requirements. This paper reviews the technical development of cool-roof provisions in the ASHRAE 90.1, ASHRAE 90.2, and California Title 24 standards, and discusses the treatment of cool roofs in other standards and energy-efficiency programs. The techniques used to develop the ASHRAE and Title 24 cool-roof provisions can be used as models to address cool roofs in building energy-efficiency standards worldwide.