ERA Lauds Recognition Of Ballast As “Cool Roof” Alternative

The EPDM Roofing Association (ERA) lauds the recent findings of Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) and the Single Ply Roofing Institute (SPRI), in a study entitled, “Evaluating the Energy Performance of Ballasted Roof Systems.” This report was the impetus for the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) to update their ‘cool roofing’ standards, and recognize ballasted roof systems as an acceptable alternative to cool roofing mandates.

SPRI’s three-year study (available at www.SPRI.org) , conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was undertaken to determine if ballasted roof systems offer similar energy efficiency benefits as reflective roofs. In the news release announcing the completion of this study, André Desjarlais of ORNL, who oversaw the study, said that roof systems with ballast at a weight of 17 to 22 pounds per square foot “are as effective as white-membrane roofs in mitigating peak energy demand.”

“This is a significant finding for the roofing industry and corroborates the real-world experience of EPDM manufacturers,” said Mike DuCharme, director of product marketing, Carlisle SynTec and ERA’s chairman of the board of directors. “It validates our ongoing activities to educate roofing professionals and regulatory bodies that ballasted roofs are indeed a cool roofing option.”

ERA has long supported this ongoing research and has been working to ensure that the cool roof status of roof systems using ballast over EPDM membrane be given due consideration by ASHRAE and other federal and code organizations. This would benefit building owners who prefer the durability of ballasted roof systems and would now be able to consider ballasted roofs as a cool roof option. As a result of the educational activities of ERA members and staff, two of those organizations have taken steps to recognize ballasted roof systems as cool roofing alternatives, concurrent with the release of the SPRI study.

The latest version of ASHRAE’s Standard 189, currently under review, now lists ballasted roofing as a prescriptive equivalent to a ‘cool roof’, and the CEC has formally listed ballasted roofing as a ‘cool roof’ equivalent in the recently-approved 2008 version of  Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Non-Residential Buildings, more commonly known as Title 24.

“The precedent set by ASHRAE and CEC provides a solid foundation for other regulatory bodies to follow,” said John Geary, vice president of technology, Firestone Building Products and a member of ERA’s board of directors. “We know that the EPA is reviewing the request that the ballast system be included in the ENERGY STAR roofing category and we hope they will act on that request, to give responsible roofing professionals a full range of options to achieve accredited cool roofing performance.”

With more than 45 years of success as a roof system of choice for low slope applications, EPDM is the leading roofing choice of architects, roof consultants and contractors for both new construction and replacement roofing projects, with more than 20 billion sq. feet of EPDM installed on more than 500,000 warranted roofs.