With Los Angeles County’s enactment of a new green building standards code, otherwise known as Title 31, synthetic roofing products must be designed and manufactured according to new guidelines.
The aim of Title 31 is to promote more sustainable building practices; one provision of these regulations mandates “cool roofing” products, an alternative green roof tile that reflects solar energy. With a range of synthetic cool roof tiles of our own, EcoStar is ready to help builders and homeowners meet this new regulation.
Having a cooler roof presents numerous benefits to homeowners, meaning the advantages of cool roofing products extend far beyond just compliance with L.A.’s new sustainable building code. Let’s explore Title 31’s new mandates and how cool roofing products promote sustainable building practices while helping efficiently keep your home cooler.
What is Title 31? A Closer Look at L.A.’s New Green Building Standards Code
Known as Title 31, the Los Angeles County Green Building Standards Code aims to comprehensively reduce the environmental impact of new and currently ongoing construction projects in Los Angeles. Specifically, these new mandates focus on four key areas:
- Sustainable and efficient building materials
- Water conservation and efficiency
- Improved air quality
- Energy conservation and efficiency
A major condition of the code is that roofing materials must be “cool roof products,” a specific type designed to reflect solar energy (which is where we come in). This requirement is particularly important in California, where sunlight is nearly year-round, necessitating a more energy-efficient way for homeowners to keep cool.
What is a “Cool Roof”?
A cool roof is a type of roofing tile specifically designed to reflect sunlight rather than absorb it.
Cool roofing tiles can be natural or synthetic; while synthetic roofing is generally the more sustainable, lightweight, and efficient option, both types use the same principle to deflect heat.
Unlike other roofing tiles, which heat up after prolonged sun exposure and trap heat inside the spaces they cover, cool roof tiles have heat-reflecting properties that cool both the tiles themselves and the rooms below.
Cool roofing products are particularly useful for homes without air conditioning, as they help efficiently cool spaces without consuming energy. For homes that already have air conditioning, cool roof tiles help the air conditioner use less energy to keep spaces at a comfortable temperature. Thanks to cool roof tiles, homeowners can keep their homes cool efficiently, saving energy and money.
The Science Behind “Cool Roof” Roofing Tile
How do cool roof tiles work?
Cool roof tiles reflect heat using the same principle observed when you wear a white t-shirt on a hot, sunny day, rather than a black one. Cool, lighter colors generally reflect solar energy, while darker ones tend to absorb it. Cool roof tiles come in specific shades that work the same way, but that doesn’t mean they’re only available in light colors.
The secret behind cool roof tiles’ ability to reflect heat, even in darker colorways, lies in the precise shades they use; darker colors can still be highly reflective in the near-infrared portion of the color spectrum, which is invisible to the human eye.
Under normal conditions, when solar energy from the sun’s rays hits your roof, the tiles absorb the heat. Some of that heat gets trapped below and transfers into your home, increasing temperatures.
Cool roof tiles reflect solar energy instead of absorbing it, and the roof’s ability to help keep a space cool is dependent on two factors:
- Solar Reflectance: The fraction of solar energy the roofing tile reflects; the higher the solar reflectance, the more energy the roof can reflect, keeping your home cooler.
- Thermal Emittance: The ability of your roofing tile to radiate heat. The higher your roof’s thermal emittance, the more absorbed solar energy it can radiate away from its surface, keeping the resulting heat out of your home.
The Benefits of Keeping Your Roof Cool
Simply stated, a cool roof means a cool house, but that isn’t the only advantage that cool roof tiles bring to the table. Keeping your home cooler with cool roof tiles is a sustainable way to create a more comfortable living space and help homeowners save money on high energy bills, but that’s not all!
The full scope of advantages of cool roof tiles includes:
- Increased comfort during hot summer months
- Increased useful life as roof degradation from temperatures is reduced
- Reduced monthly energy costs by using less energy to cool your home
- By saving energy, cool roof tiles help lower CO2 emissions
- Ensures compliance with building code standards, such as Title 31, that require new building projects to use cool roof tiles.
EcoStar: Sustainable Synthetic Roofing Tile for Any Home
EcoStar synthetic roofing tile is a sustainable roofing solution with a wide variety of colors and styles to suit nearly any home. More durable than most natural roofing tiles, and at a fraction of the weight, synthetic roofing captures the look of natural tile without its many limitations. For more streamlined installations and a longer lifespan for your roof, trust synthetic roofing tile from EcoStar. Contact us for more info.