While many major cities have adopted “cool roof” standards to help residents save money and beat the heat, the Pacific Northwest is lagging behind — even though one sustainability leader is determined to change that.
Katie Kaku, senior technical director for Global Heat Reductions, is working to raise awareness of how light-colored roofing materials can reduce local temperatures and reduce energy costs for homeowners.
“We've all experienced black asphalt on hot summer days and we know that it feels hot,” Kaku told local news station KING 5. “And that's because it absorbs the incoming sunlight and releases it as heat.”
Due to the urban heat island effect – a result of dark, heat-absorbing surfaces such as roofs and asphalt – temperatures in cities can be up to 15 degrees higher than in surrounding rural areas. Kaku pointed out that neighborhoods with more sidewalks and fewer trees can be up to 11 degrees warmer than greener waterfront communities.
A cool roof can help with this. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, cool roofs can reduce indoor temperatures by 2 to 6 degrees by reflecting sunlight instead of absorbing it. That means less air conditioning and lower electricity bills for homeowners. It also means fewer heat-related health risks during extreme weather events.
Roofing expert Mike Tappert agrees that the switch is both easy and affordable. “Black is the most popular for aesthetic reasons,” he said. “[But lighter-colored shingles are] Generally, they’re all within a few dollars of each other.” He added that this small design change could have “a huge square footage impact” on a home's heat absorption.
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Cities like Los Angeles and New York already require cool roofs on many new buildings, and Atlanta went a step further by passing a citywide ordinance for industrial and residential properties that could reduce temperatures citywide by up to 6 degrees.
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Kaku wants the Pacific Northwest to follow suit. “As far as I know, neither Washington nor Oregon have any cool umbrella ordinances or guidelines in their building codes,” she told KING 5.
In the meantime, Kaku believes homeowners should take matters into their own hands. “By slightly changing the color selection, we can take meaningful action and combat the urban heat island effect, reducing temperatures in cities by up to 2 degrees,” said Kaku. “…This is a change we can implement immediately.”
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