Paint Your Roof White, Save the Planet

[MzNov]

Does Al Gore know about this? A really interesting short article:

http://machinist.salon.com/

[OlderButWiser]

1. How does one

paint their roof?

[MzNov]

2. I'm no expert but I'd guess get a ladder and a bucket of paint

:shrug:

[Gormy Cuss]

13. I think "painting" isn't the way it will happen.

Changing the code to require roofing material to be reflective is more like it, as CA has done. We put on a new roof last year in the palest brown available specifically so that we would have less heat buildup. The roofer told us that the new roofing code was coming in a few years but we couldn't wait and the existing choices were pretty limited.

[MzNov]

21. Thank you. The article does mention that some enforcement

is now going on, or since 2005.

I'm sure that CA will continue to lead the way to find solutions and methods. I think this article is very exciting.

[Gormy Cuss]

23. Commercial flat roofed buildings only since 2005

The sloped roof rule which will affect most residences isn't in force yet and one reason for the delay was to give the manufacturers time to develop a broader palette of reflective colors rather than just pure white, according to my roofer.

[jmowreader]

33. Soon ANY color roof can be reflective

BASF has introduced a new black pigment that reflects infrared light. This will help, because most people don't want white roofs.

[verges]

43. That varies widely from region to region.

When I sold building materials (in NE Ohio), Owens-Corning Shasta White was one of our most popular colors.

[jmowreader]

45. It should be the most popular color in North Carolina...

but I couldn't GIVE the shingles away. This is no shit--when we finally got out of the white-shingle business, we priced the last two skids of them at one cent per bundle. Imagine getting 32 square of top-quality shingles for less than a dollar! Absolutely no one would take them. Habitat for Humanity wouldn't take them, and we offered to DONATE the damn things, and even deliver them! I finally remembered a woman who owns an organic dairy..."you need 32 square of shingles REAL CHEAP? Bring $1.05 and a big trailer with you, and I'll fix you right up."

[cliffordu]

32. Yep, and a couple of brushes or a nice roller......

:rofl:

[devilgrrl]

3. Get a brush or a roller and paint the roof.

:shrug:

[dysfunctional press]

4. you don't.

not if you have asphalt shingles.

[OlderButWiser]

6. That's what I was thinking

and that's what 99 percent of the homes here are covered with.

[MzNov]

7. I think the point is: make your roof white. However. nt

[dysfunctional press]

9. and for homes with asphalt shingles- what would you suggest...?

:shrug:

[foo_bar]

10. people with asphalt shingles should be culled from the herd

</sarcasm metatag just for you>

[dysfunctional press]

14. that would probably be well over 90% of the country.

good plan. :eyes:

[foo_bar]

17. sorry, I shouldn't joke with people who view natural disasters as a boon for the "gene pool"

Just surprised you're here, that's all.

[dysfunctional press]

18. whatever...

:eyes:

[MzNov]

11. I'm just passing on an interesting article. You might want to contact a roofer.

[dysfunctional press]

15. i have no reson to contact a roofer.

my roof doesn't leak, and is just fine the way it is.

[MzNov]

19. did anyone mention a leaky roof?

[dysfunctional press]

22. why else would i want to contact a roofer...?

as per your suggestion...? :shrug:

since ours is fairly new, it'll probably be 20-30 years before we'll have to think about new shingles.

and i don't plan to be in the house that long anyway.

[jmowreader]

36. There are paints that work on asphalt shingles.

[dysfunctional press]

38. and that stand up to year-round weathering...rain, sleet, ice, snow, hot sun?

got a link...?:shrug:

[jmowreader]

44. Yup.

Behr:
http://www.behr.com/behrx/act/view/products_detail?prodGroupId=34&catName=Specialty&catId=10

Somay:
http://www.somay.com/roof_coatings/waterproofing_-_asphalt/waterproofing_-_asphalt.html

[greguganus]

29. Get some parking lot white striping paint. It's made for asphalt. Problem solved. n/t

[dysfunctional press]

30. yeah..that'll look REAL nice...

:eyes:

[greguganus]

31. It's a roof. You'll only see it when you look up. n/t

[dysfunctional press]

35. no- you seeit every time you drive up to the house.

and the neighbors see it every time they look out the window.

[greguganus]

37. I've always liked pissing off my neighbors. They are repugs. n/t

[dysfunctional press]

39. then why don't you go first- paint your roof...post the pics and give some narrative.

maybe it will inspire others to do the same...

[greguganus]

47. I live in an apartment. n/t

[jmowreader]

34. With Roof Paint.

I'm not kidding--they make roof paint that's specially made for asphalt shingles. Behr has it, and I'm certain they're not the only ones.

[dysfunctional press]

5. nevermind...

working now.

[MzNov]

8. I pasted in the text FYI

from machinist.salon.com

Paint your roof white, save the planet

According to a new study by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory scientists, there's an astonishingly low-tech solution that may help to cool the planet and reverse global warming. Paint your roof white.

Everyone knows that white colors on T-shirts or cars are much cooler than darker ones. Black cars are the hottest on hot days because the color absorbs the heat. White, on the other hand, reflects the heat, cooling down the person, the car or, in this case, the building.

Hashem Akbari, a physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley lab, just released a study showing that the average American 1,000-square-foot white roof could offset 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

According to his data, roofs constitute 20 to 25 percent of urban surfaces, while pavement is about 40 percent. Therefore, if all of those surfaces were switched to a reflective material (or color) in the 100 largest urban areas in America, his calculations show, this would offset 44 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide. That's more than all countries emit in a single year. Further, that's worth about $1.1 trillion at current carbon trading rates.

According to LBNL's press release:

This 44 Gt CO2 offset is more than one year’s worth of the 2025 projected world-wide emission of 37 Gt of CO2. Furthermore, assuming a plausible growth rate of 1.5% in the world’s CO2-equivalent emission rate, the 44 Gt CO2-equivalent offset potential for cool roofs and cool pavements would counteract the effect of the growth in CO2-equivalent emission rates for 11 years.

Obviously, this is a rather large undertaking, but legislation requiring white on the roofs of buildings is one easy way to make sure that these effects are felt. As the Los Angeles Times reports, flat commercial buildings in California must have white roofs -- a rule that's been around since 2005. However, a new state law says sloped roofs on residential and commercial structures when constructed new or being retrofitted must have reflective coloring. This new rule takes effect in July 2009.

Unfortunately there's no law (yet) in California that requires reflective surfaces on city streets or sidewalks.

[JerseygirlCT]

12. How about the heat loss for those of us with long cold winters?

Doesn't sound like that's factored in here.

[dysfunctional press]

16. it probably wouldn't be that signifigant.

heat rises, and insulation would probably negate any heating affect.
on the other hand- any heat loss that does occur would probably be balanced out by less need for air-conditioning in hotter months.

[JerseygirlCT]

20. Wish I needed A/C as long as I need heat in the year!

There oughta be a law against 6 months of cold weather.

[goddess40]

46. Our roof is under the snow in the winter so color wouldn't matter

We'll need a new roof in a couple of years and I was looking into a metal one.

[xyouth]

24. the first time I clicked on the link, I was directed to a pro Palin article

About her decision to have a downs child. Did anyone else have that problem? The Machinist logo was still on the left side.

[MzNov]

25. Try the text. The article didn't have its own page...

Paint your roof white, save the planet

According to a new study by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory scientists, there's an astonishingly low-tech solution that may help to cool the planet and reverse global warming. Paint your roof white.

Everyone knows that white colors on T-shirts or cars are much cooler than darker ones. Black cars are the hottest on hot days because the color absorbs the heat. White, on the other hand, reflects the heat, cooling down the person, the car or, in this case, the building.

Hashem Akbari, a physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley lab, just released a study showing that the average American 1,000-square-foot white roof could offset 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

According to his data, roofs constitute 20 to 25 percent of urban surfaces, while pavement is about 40 percent. Therefore, if all of those surfaces were switched to a reflective material (or color) in the 100 largest urban areas in America, his calculations show, this would offset 44 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide. That's more than all countries emit in a single year. Further, that's worth about $1.1 trillion at current carbon trading rates.

According to LBNL's press release:

This 44 Gt CO2 offset is more than one year’s worth of the 2025 projected world-wide emission of 37 Gt of CO2. Furthermore, assuming a plausible growth rate of 1.5% in the world’s CO2-equivalent emission rate, the 44 Gt CO2-equivalent offset potential for cool roofs and cool pavements would counteract the effect of the growth in CO2-equivalent emission rates for 11 years.

Obviously, this is a rather large undertaking, but legislation requiring white on the roofs of buildings is one easy way to make sure that these effects are felt. As the Los Angeles Times reports, flat commercial buildings in California must have white roofs -- a rule that's been around since 2005. However, a new state law says sloped roofs on residential and commercial structures when constructed new or being retrofitted must have reflective coloring. This new rule takes effect in July 2009.

Unfortunately there's no law (yet) in California that requires reflective surfaces on city streets or sidewalks.

[MzNov]

26. interesting, I don't see that mooselini article at all...

[xyouth]

28. I'm still trying to figure out from where it came.

Got my tin foil hat out and everything.

[dysfunctional press]

41. that's what i got too. but when i closed the window, and re-clicked the link...it worked.

:shrug:

i think it's a 'salon day-pass' thing.

[gimberly]

27. Yeah, let's paint all the streets and highways white too! n/t

[DainBramaged]

40. You can't just paint asphalt shingles, sounds completely foolish

and unless the paint is heat resistant and not asphalt based, then what? And what about solar cells?

Rubbish.

Why not just recommend new construction use treated white shingles?

[Undercurrent]

42. No way would I paint my roof.

My roof is a work of art. It's made of hand split cedar shakes cut from old growth cedar split by hand using an antique fro. My whole family team -- my parents, my siblings, nieces, cousins -- did all the work when we built this cabin 30 years ago.

[ladyVet]

48. One step ahead of ya!

My 1,000 sq ft mobile home (Hey, don't judge me, it's paid for! :woohoo: ) currently has a white elastomeric coating. I was thinking of going with a light grey this spring, though. So, reduce carbon footprint: check! :toast:

[kristopher]

49. There are 83 million residential buildings in the US

The average area of the Arctic ice in summer is about 2.5 million square miles, and during the winter about 6 million square miles. We soon expect the summer ice to disappear. This is of great concern to climatologists because it changes the reflectivity (albedo) of the Earth.

There are 83 million residential buildings in the US. Using an average of 1000 square feet per unit (it is actually more) that makes 83 billion square feet of RESIDENTIAL roofing.

So if we read this article, it sounds like we might be onto something to mitigate the loss of Arctic ice, right?

Not so fast.

83,000,000,000 square feet only equals about 3,000 square miles.

Now the homes are much further south than the arctic ice so there would be a large difference in how much energy is reflected per square mile, but it isn't going to even come close to equating the amount of energy reflected by the ice.

I replaced my shingle roof with light (beige) colored steel roofing and it makes a great deal of difference in the summer; I highly recommend using a light colored roof. As far as GW goes it probably will help, however, don't fool yourself into thinking that is going to be a significant offset to the change in albedo due to loss of Arctic ice.