Most homes have asphalt shingle roofs installed which are petroleum based and have to be replaced every 20-30 years costing homeowners and insurance companies millions of dollars every year. Some roofs are replaced more often due to storms blowing asphalt shingles off of the roof. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “An estimated 11 million tons of waste shingles are generated every year in the United States,” 1 which is harmful to our environment. Asphalt shingles are not energy efficient because they absorb heat which transfers into our homes. Asphalt shingles can be eliminated with environmentally friendly elastomeric cool roofing products which are energy efficient.
During the space program of the Kennedy administration many Americans complained that it was a waste of money. All the millions of dollars that were spent by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA), are being recovered on a daily basis. NASA has a “Spin Off” program where they release NASA technology to the private sector. 2 One of those technologies was ceramics used in paint coatings on the exterior of NASA rockets to temper the high temperatures of leaving or re-entering our atmosphere. This ceramic technology is also used in paint and roof coatings to lower heat transfer into our homes which saves electricity. 3 These savings help our economy and our environment, making our nation a better place to live.
Any existing asphalt roof can be converted to an energy efficient cool roof coating using this technology by installing a water based latex adhesive over the petroleum based roof shingles and then install an elastomeric cool roof coating. Since asphalt roofs are petroleum based, on the initial first coat you have to install a primer to seal the petroleum based roof. This prevents any chemical reaction by the petroleum to the elastomeric roof coating. With or without the ceramic technology, the elastomeric cool roof coating still saves the customer money on their electric bill because it reflects radiant heat instead of absorbing it. The average cost to put on an asphalt shingle roof is about $3.00 a square foot. The average material cost to put on a cool roof coating including the water based latex adhesive and the white elastomeric roof coating is about $2.00 a square foot. A clear elastomeric roof coating is available which helps the homeowner keep the existing roof color. A homeowner can install this roof coating themselves or pay a business to install it for them. The weather will wear down the roof coating and you will need to apply another coat of elastomeric roof coating every 10 years. The following coats are cheaper because all you have to install is the elastomeric roof coating and not the water based latex adhesive. Both of these products are easy to install using a paint roller. You can lower the cost of these elastomeric roof coatings almost by half by getting the elastomeric roof coating from a hardware store in the roofing department. However, these brands normally do not have the ceramic particles that help with the energy savings, but just the white roof coating helps save money because it reflects heat and prevents water leaks from roof damage caused by storms.
American consumers are heavily influenced by tradition and although these new technologies can help them and our nation, most people will continue to use asphalt roof shingles. Solar roofs have been around since the 1980s, but you rarely see them in most locations. Our government often takes the lead offering citizens a financial incentive with tax breaks to adopt new technologies into our society. In 2006, Congress passed a tax incentive for energy efficient home improvements, but the IRS failed to recognize the energy efficient benefits of elastomeric cool roof coatings.
Insurance companies also have the ability to help transform our nation into a better place to live by offering financial incentives to their customers for these new technologies. Storms cause damage to roofs by blowing off shingles causing roof leaks and homeowners file insurance claims. These costs to insurance companies can be lowered by offering customers a discount who install an elastomeric roof coating over a shingle roof which seals down the shingles preventing them from blowing off during these storms. When insurance companies can also benefit by offering this financial incentive it appears to be a win win situation. Contact your insurance company to determine if they offer a customer discount for homeowners insurance with an elastomeric membrane over existing roof shingles.
Homeowners can cover asphalt shingles with elastomeric cool roofing products and never have to roof their home with asphalt shingles again. There are many benefits to our economy and our environment by opting for an energy efficient roof system. Most people are not aware of these products and our nation is slow to adopt new technology. Demand increases for quality products when we create a dialogue about these products and their benefits. Hopefully our government and companies will lead our nation in the right direction by offering a financial incentive to help improve our environment and our economy.
Majestic Publishers was formed in 2000 and introduced the book, “Care Giving Made Easy – How To Be An Awesome Caregiver,” in 2006. The author and self-publisher; Dale B. Adams is located in Harrison, Arkansas.
1 United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),(2005), OSWER Innovations Pilot, “Tear-off Asphalt Shingles Recycling.” Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/oswer/iwg.
2 Jones, John, (2011), “NASA Spinoff, About Spinoff” Retrieved from http://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinhist.html
3 Abruzzese, Al, (2012), “The Worlds Leading Producer of Energy Saving Insulating Paint & House Paint Additives” Retrieved from http://hytechsales.com/
