Attuned to the sentiments of a growing environment-conscious consumer base, makers of roof coatings and roofing materials designed sunlight-reflective cool roof coatings to ward off the heat of the sun. Facility owners now have the option to use light-colored roof sheets or cool roof coatings to convert existing roofs into cool roofs, or to spray-apply reflective cool roof coatings made of polyurethane foam.
Cool roof coatings are designed to adhere well even to old surfaces. Reflective cool roof coatings are effective in asphalt- or bitumen-based roofings, as well as in EPDM (ethylene propylene diene terpolymer) roofs.
Acrylic- or silicon-based cool roof coatings also possess elongation or “flexing” properties, which is critical during the sudden rise and fall in roof temperatures. Temperature changes expand and contract the roof surface, and cool roof coatings have the ability to do the same to prevent cracking.
Fluoropolymer formulations designed with proprietary infrared reflective (IR) nano-materials also provide metal roofs with heat-prevention capabilities. Other nano-technology-driven developments have created cool roof coatings that allow for dark-colored but reflective roofs.
Gaining buzz are cool roof coatings with hollow ceramics in its interior. The hollow spaces create an effective heat barrier that bounces off solar rays and deny heat transfer from the roof tops to the inner areas of the building.
Cool roof coatings are turning out to be the coolest solution to the increasing effects of global warming.
