Read the whole DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory article…

Washington – U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a series of initiatives underway at the Department of Energy to more broadly implement cool roof technologies on DOE facilities and buildings across the federal government. Cool roofs use lighter-colored roofing surfaces or special coatings to reflect more of the sun’s heat, helping improve building efficiency by reducing cooling costs and offsetting carbon emissions.

President Obama and Secretary Chu have made clear that the federal government should play a leading role in moving the nation toward a more sustainable future.  Under President Obama’s Executive Order on Sustainability, the federal government has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent by 2020.  As part of that effort, Secretary Chu has directed all DOE offices to install cool roofs, whenever cost effective over the lifetime of the roof, when constructing new roofs or replacing old ones at DOE facilities. With cool roofs, these federal buildings will consume less energy, offset additional carbon emissions, and save taxpayers money. Read Secretary Chu’s memorandum (pdf – 395 kb).

“Cool roofs are one of the quickest and lowest cost ways we can reduce our global carbon emissions and begin the hard work of slowing climate change,” said Secretary Chu. “By demonstrating the benefits of cool roofs on our facilities, the federal government can lead the nation toward more sustainable building practices, while reducing the federal carbon footprint and saving money for taxpayers.”

The Secretary today also issued a letter to the heads of other federal agencies, encouraging them to take similar steps at their facilities.  To offer additional support for federal and commercial building operators that are looking to install cool roofs, DOE released its Guidelines for Selecting Cool Roofs, which provides technical assistance on types of roofing materials and how to select the roof that will work best on a specific facility.  Review the complete Guidelines for Selecting Cool Roofs (pdf – 909 kb).

Roofs and road pavement cover 50 to 65 percent of urban areas. Because they absorb so much heat, dark-colored roofs and roadways create what is called the “urban heat island effect,” where a city is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas.  Cool roofs significantly reduce the heat island effect and improve air quality by reducing emissions. A recent study by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) found that using cool roofs and cool pavements in cities around the world can help reduce the demand for air conditioning, cool entire cities, and potentially cancel the heating effect of up to two years of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. Learn more information on the LBNL study.

DOE is also expanding its research activity for cool roofs to enable technological innovation and guide policy implementation.  The research effort includes developing advanced testing protocols, conducting urban heat island analyses, and undertaking studies to further quantify the direct global cooling benefits associated with cool surfaces.  The Department also anticipates awarding new projects to develop higher performing, new innovative roofing materials under the Department’s Small Business Innovation Research grant program.

Below Secretary Chu explains the benefits of white or cool roofs.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, has already installed more than two million square feet of cool and white roofs at NNSA sites across the country.  Through the Roof Asset Management Program (RAMP), NNSA currently saves an average of $500,000 a year in energy costs and expects to save more than $10 million over the next 15 years.  Overall, NNSA has reduced building heating and cooling costs by an average of 70 percent annually on reroofed areas by installing cool roofs and increasing insulation.
 
As part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to implement cool roofs on its facilities, Secretary Chu also announced that design will begin this summer on cool roof replacements at DOE Headquarters in Washington, DC.  Cool roof projects are also underway at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls and Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.  Collectively, these projects will cover over 350,000 square feet and save thousands of dollars for taxpayers annually.

While DOE is taking steps to more broadly implement cool roof technologies domestically, the Department has also begun exploring international opportunities to provide technical support to partnering nations.  International activities include tracking the deployment of cool roofs on public and private sector buildings, sharing best practices, and developing tools to better measure and communicate the effectiveness of cool roofs.

Read a related New York Times blog.

Teaming up with Waste Management, Elastek
recycles cardboard, bags, plastic, and metal –
we’re proud to report that 99% of everything
we use is recycled. In addition, we can now
accept 5-gallon Elastek pails for recycling!

Download Our Press Release

INSIDE THIS ISSUE…

• Pails are now recyclable
• Worldwide resin shortage
• Elastek’s new truck
• New Elastek employees
• Elastek laboratory facilities expanded
• New Elastek products
• Boost inventory and boost sales
• John C. Scott remote

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Upon notice from ENERGY STAR, our company withdrew the information about homeowner tax credits and discontinued the availability of the Manufacturers Certification Statement form.  ENERGY STAR’s position is that DOE provided the information used so they are not responsible.  There has been no response to our DOE inquiry of our congressman, Raul Grijalva, and correspondence to DOE Secretary Chu.  We strongly feel that ENERGY STAR is in the communication business and they failed to communicate accurately and this has caused harm.

Homeowners who purchased ELASTEK brand roof coatings last spring and have a sales receipt and a completed Manufacturers Certification Statement form from ELASTEK may still qualify for a tax credit.  There may be a provision to allow credit where tax credit programs were changed or misunderstood by the homeowner.  Homeowners should consult their tax preparer and/or the IRS for clarification and details on all tax credits.

Recently, we learned of an effort in Congress to require that reflective roof coatings for residences be included in the tax credit program.  If this occurs, the credit will not be retroactive to last year. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) plans to introduce a bill soon to fix a problem with the homeowner energy efficiency tax credit which currently does not include roof coatings.  The Wyden Roof Credit Correction Bill outlines the wording but basically it’s an extension of the non-business energy property credit to roofs with pigmented coatings which meet Energy Star program requirements.

Anyone interested in reflective roof coatings for homeowners should contact their local Senator right away and request that they co-sponsor this bill.

Inside this issue…

• Holiday wishes
• US Greenbuild Conference & Expo draws thousands to Phoenix
• Gore weighs in on white roofs
• Quality Control maintains the credibility of all Elastek products
• Part I: Chemistry goes green
• New Sunflower Farmers Market roof sports 76,600sf of Elastek
• Economy pushed for changes in 2009
• ELASTEK=customer service
• Tips for applying coating in cool weather

• Elastek goes to ‘extreme’ with new product release
• Elastek lightens up to save energy
• ASTM testing sets the standards internationally
• More than just green — Elastek just makes good sense
• Others helped too…
• Front-line product knowledge yields bottom-line results
• Gallery Golf Club brightens its roofs
• ARCA Charity Bowling Tourney raises $20,000 for YOTO

Download this issue here.

There are at least two major consumer dangers with ceramic coatings:

1. Consumers believe they are adding substantial insulation by applying a thin coating, when in fact they are not.
2. Ceramic coatings tend to be far more expensive than standard coatings (three to four times the price of a high quality elastomeric coating) so the consumer pays far too much for the performance they get.

Solar reflectivity, the real purpose of reflective coatings, comes from titanium which is found in most coating products — not ceramic spheres.

But don’t just take our word for it. Following are links to scientifi c testing and expert knowledge about ceramic coatings. This information is valid and may save buyers from spending far too much on refl ective coatings that will not yield the performance results claimed.

• • The EPA’s ENERGY STAR® website features this warning:
  QUESTION: Does ceramic paint work as insulation? Can these paints be ENERGY STAR qualified?
  ANSWER: EPA does not recommend paints and coatings to be used in place of traditional bulk insulation. We have not seen any independent studies which can verify their insulating quality. EPA qualifies paint only used as a roof coating in our Roofs program. Roof coatings are NOT insulation. They reflect solar heat off a roof rather than absorbing it, keeping the building cooler. If a manufacturer uses the status as an ENERGY STAR Roofs Partner to imply that EPA or DOE recommend ceramic paint products and/ or considers ceramic paint “insulation” then please report this to logomisuse@energystar.gov
• Steve McGuinness of Advanced Coating Systems, a manufacturer of elastomeric roof coating based in Georgia, queried Thomas W. Petrie, senior research engineer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, regarding coatings and insulation. Petrie explains that a one-inch thick layer of dry ceramic roof coating (about 100 dry coats) would have an R value of 0.24. A 10-inch thickness of dry ceramic coating (about 1,000 dry coats) has an R value of only 2.40 — almost no insulation value at all! Click here to read document. Dr. Petrie has published numerous reports on cool roofs, including Cool Roofs and Thermal Insulation — Energy Savings and Peak Demand Reduction.
• McGuinness asked Gordon Hart, a consulting engineer with over 25 years of insulation experience and a member of the ASTM C16 Committee on Thermal Insulation, to evaluate the claims made by a manufacturer that their 5-mil ceramic coating could produce an R-22 insulation value. Read his response here.
• The Federal Energy Management Program investigated the energy performance of roof coatings, both conventional and ceramic, at Tyndall AFB over an extended period. They could find no signifi cant difference in the ability to reduce heat loads between the two. Read the summary here.
• The Thermophysical Properties Research Laboratory, which specializes in measuring different thermal properties for most materials, has tested “insulating paint.” This lab has performed joint research work with Purdue University since 1972. Dr. R.E. Taylor, who conducted the testing, has written a detailed and understandable analysis explaining why ceramic coatings don’t have an R-value and more. He found that much of the R-value being presented is being done out of context, with the intent to mislead. “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. See full report here.
• Advanced Coating Systems asked for an R-value analysis of a ceramic coating from Geoscience Ltd. California-registered professional engineer, Heinz Poppendiek said, “Our company has noted that some trade literature for the k and R values of roof coatings (including elastomeric materials) is seriously false.” Read the documentation here.
• The Federal Trade Commission filed violations of the Federal Trade Act for false advertising against two manufacturers of ceramic coatings. The FTC ruled that their claims of a insulation equivalent of 7 inches of fi berglass, R-values to R-20, a reduction in utility bills of 40%, and coatings insulated as the ceramics on the space shuttle did were false or misleading and constituted unfair or deceptive trade practices. (Docket No. C-4052)
• If, in fact, ceramic coatings were really insulation and had a real R-value, the manufacturer must abide by the Federal Trade Commission requirements for Labeling and Advertising of Home Insulation (16CFR460). If ceramic coatings are indeed insulation, the manufacturers would be considered in violation of the law and subject to penalty.

Please contact Elastek at 520.624.6282 (1-877-ELASTEK) if you have further questions.

The Nobel laureate in physics called for a “new revolution” in energy generation to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

But he warned there was no silver bullet for tackling climate change, and said a range of measures should be introduced, including painting flat roofs white. Click here to read the complete article.