Upgrading for Energy Efficiency; It’s a Thing!

By Western Colloid.

By getting a cool roof restoration, you’ll end up saving money and helping the environment.

Cool roofs have been hot on the market for a while now, but are you waiting until you need a new roof to do it? If so, did you realize that you can do it now to start getting all the benefits and perhaps extend the life of your roof indefinitely?

It’s worth it to think about how the cost of upgrading or restoring your roof with an insulating, reflective roof system will be offset by the cost reduction for heating and cooling your building. Plus, cool roof manufacturers like Western Colloid offer a free 15- or 20-year warranted roof? Here are some facts to consider before making your decision:

Cool roofing is not a new idea.

If you’ve been to or seen homes in the Mediterranean and Middle East, you’ll notice that they often have white roofs. These are actually cool roofs and have been a common architectural element in these regions for thousands of years. This thinking has finally been adopted by western architecture in the past few years and it’s not hard to understand why. Cool, green and solar systems help the environment, save energy costs and they help regulate temperatures inside the building and on the roof.

But if you are aware of all this, what is keeping you from making the investment? Perhaps your current mindset is: “If it's not broken why fix it?” But what you should consider is that maybe enough of those energy-saving pennies could be worth the effort.

Let’s start with the correct products

The increased awareness of the advantages of cool roofs has sparked interest in building owners in the past several years. For example, with the passing of Title 24 Energy Efficiency Building Standards and the financial incentives given by the utilities companies in California, cool roofing is now the fastest-growing sector in the roofing industry. But meeting the standards for cool roofing can be a confusing endeavor for building owners to take on. 

We are proud to say the Western Colloid cool roof systems available may exceed what is required by local and national codes. Many systems have FM 4470 Class 1 approval, UL Class A ratings and ICC-ES evaluation. We manufacture and test our white acrylic coatings to meet and exceed the standards for energy efficiency and savings.

Western Colloid is also a CRRC (Cool Roof Rating Council) member and our ElastaHyde coatings are listed for energy efficiency on the CRRC website. We are also proud to say we have managed to stay cost effective and our products are readily available to those ready to get into cool roofing!

Doing more than required is always a good strategic investment. It’s all about saving money. Do the math and you will see your costs will go down if you restore your roof now instead of replacing it when it’s worn out.

A little extra savings

Check if your roof system upgrade is eligible for government rebates, tax deductions for energy efficiency or write-offs. It might make good fiscal sense to act sooner on this rather than later. You can find information about the incentives available to you on the Cool Roof Rating Council’s financial incentive page.

Recently, a California study found that cool roofs provide an average yearly net savings of about 50 cents per square foot. This is due to the longer life of cool roofs compared to conventional roofs like asphalt. The Department of Energy has a cool roof calculator to give you some idea on savings.

Is your roof a candidate for cool roofing?

The answer is yes! Almost any low-slope commercial (and some residential) roofs can benefit from our cool roofing systems! With a Western Colloid Fluid Applied Cool Roof System, you can apply over BUR, modified bitumen, single ply, spray foam and metal. Also, with a fluid roof coating system rather than a membrane system, you can apply the cool roof coating system to the ventilation pipes to help insulate them more. Our cool roof systems provide a monolithic surface that’s a protective barrier against the elements, which gives building owners peace of mind.

How can you be a good citizen of the planet?

Let’s face it, we can do our part in many ways we might not realize. When you invest in a cool roof for the good of your finances and your buildings, you are also:

• Reducing peak energy and improving grid stability
• Helping to combat climate change
• Helping mitigate the urban heat island
• Reducing smog
• Reducing the need to use an air conditioner

Let’s start your cool roof restoration

Again, one of the best things you can do for your building is make it more energy efficient.  There are plenty of products and programs out there that can help you transform your building. Let Western Colloid help you navigate the process. We are just a click or call away.

Western Colloid has been putting on these cool roof systems for almost 50 years. We were cool before it was cool! Contact us to start your cool roof journey today.

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