RRCI to Report on Major Study of Field-Applied Roof Coatings

Durability & Design posted this article on Tuesday, June 14, 2011. To read the full article, visit www.durabilityanddesign.com/news

RRCI to Report on Major Study of Field-Applied Roof Coatings

The Reflective Roof Coatings Institute (RRCI) will issue the results of a three-year field study of aged solar reflectance of field-applied coatings at the organization’s 2011 Mid-Year Technical Meeting on June 22. The institute has made the study’s results available to the RRCI membership, but is reserving any public announcement on study details until the technical meeting in Orlando, Fla. The institute says, however, that it is recommending that testing of field-applied, solar-reflective coatings be based on a one-year period rather than three years. Currently, solar-reflectance ratings of cool roofs and cool-roof coatings and listed by the Cool Roof Rating Council (

will present the findings of the three-year study; his presentation has been posted on the “members only” section of the RRCI website, where

 

The Study

Penny Gift of Republic Powdered Metals Inc., the current RRCI president, said the three-year study was carried out to verify whether smooth aluminum is a representative substrate for “real-world” exposure of solar-reflective, field-applied roof coatings. She noted that Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) certification of field-applied roof coatings requires application to a smooth aluminum panel. “The RRCI undertook a three-year study to investigate the core issue of whether solar reflectance of field-applied coatings is substrate-texture and chemistry dependent, and whether the smooth aluminum panel is a representative sample substrate for testing,” Gift told

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Durability + Design. “Included in the test is the potential impact of the specific coating chemistry and the impact of coating thickness on the retention of solar reflectance over time “

http://www.coolroofs.org/) are based on initial and three-year aged reflectance data. Jim Leonard of ERSystems Inc. and a past RRCI president,members can log in to review it.

RRCI - California's 2013 Title 24 Codes & Standards Program

For those following California's 2013 Title 24 Codes & Standards Program, please note that the presentations for the Friday, June 10 workshop in Sacramento have now been posted to the CEC Website.

http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2013standards/prerulemaking/documents/#061011
Please note in particular the LBNL presentation on the equation. We are being told that the change in the formula for the calculation that LBNL will present will only adjust for field applied coatings and the coefficient for predictive equations will move from .70 to .65.
The Reflective Roof Coatings Institute is closely following this, and will have representation at the meeting on Friday. The website also provides information to join the workshop remotely. Please note that RRCI has taken a position, along with many adjacent roofing industry trade associations, to generally oppose the CEC proposal, and have requested access to the CEC data, which they have advised they will provide.  
On behalf of the roofing industry coalition, Jim Hoff of CEIR will present a Solar Analysis Savings Comparison that will help highlight the minimal energy benefit offered by the proposed change in aged reflectance.
The roofing industry trade associations are meeting again next week to discuss observations from Friday's call and determine next steps. Please contact casey@robstan.com with any comments.