Know What’s Cool: Cool Roof Codes and

Programs UPDATE
July 2009

ENERGY CODES

California’s Title 24 www.energy.ca.gov/title24

The California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted an update to California’s Building Energy Efficiency
Standard, Title 24, which will take effect January 1, 2010. If the building permit application is submitted after
January 1, 2010, then the new standards must be met.

Some new additions relating to cool roofs include:

 A prescriptive requirement for steep slope and residential cool roofs
 Use of 3-year aged solar reflectance data
 Requirements limited to specific climate zones
 Lower required reflectance values for products that have a density greater than or equal to 5 pounds/ft²

Also, many of the minimum requirements allow a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) calculation in lieu of individual
solar reflectance and thermal emittance values. Note that there are exceptions to many of these requirements;
please see the CEC document for details. For more details on the prescriptive requirements for solar reflectance
and thermal emittance requirements, see the summary table at the end of this document.

Section 10-113 of Title 24, establishes rules for implementing labeling and certification requirements relating to
reflectance and emittance for roofing products. It designates the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) as the
supervisory entity for radiative properties of roofing materials; no substantive changes have been made to this
section. Section 118 explains that roofing products must be certified and labeled, and if not, will assume default
ratings for aged reflectance and emittance values.

City of Chicago www.cityofchicago.org

The Chicago Energy Conservation Code will require that new residential and commercial low-slope (up to 2:12)
roofs have a minimum initial solar reflectance value of 0.72 or a three-year aged value of 0.50. New medium
slope roofs (2:12 to 5:12) will be required to have a minimum initial solar reflectance value of 0.15. Steep slope
roofs (greater than 5:12), will be exempt from any initial solar reflectance requirements. The code requires that
products must be rated by the CRRC or by Energy Star and pertains to all roofs permitted on or after January 1,
2009.

City of Dallas www.dallascityhall.com

Dallas City Council unanimously adopted a green construction ordinance in April 2008 aimed at reducing energy
and water consumption in all new houses and commercial construction. The ordinance will be implemented in
two phases starting in 2009. The first phase, effective October 1, 2009, requires that all low-slope commercial
projects less than 50,000 square feet meet the EPA’s Energy Star low-slope roof requirements (an initial solar
reflectance of at least 0.65 and an aged solar reflectance of at least 0.50). For commercial projects over 50,000
square feet, Phase 1 requires buildings to meet 85 percent of the points required under the appropriate
USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Desgin (LEED) rating system for a certified level. Phase 2
will begin October 1, 2011 and will apply to all proposed projects.

Florida State Building Code 2007 www.floridaenergycommission.gov

The Florida Building Code 2007, chapter 13-4, states that all roofs are required to have a rated R-value of
insulation with the exception that if they meet the specified cool roof requirement then the proposed roof can
have an adjusted U-factor. Cool roofs are defined as having a minimum solar reflectance of 0.70 and minimum
thermal emittance of 0.75. The code requires that the values for solar reflectance and thermal emittance shall be
determined by a laboratory accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation organization, such as the Cool
Roof Rating Council CRRC-1 Product Rating Program. These provisions of the 2007 Florida Energy Code
became effective October 1, 2008.
International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) www.iccsafe.org
The International Code Council approved updates to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) on
September 24, 2008 and the changes will be incorporated into the 2009 version of the IECC. The 2003, 2006,
and 2009 versions of the IECC reference ASHRAE 90.1, including cool roof measures.

ASHRAE Standards 90.1 and 90.2 www.ashrae.org

ASHRAE Standard 90.1 (2007 edition)
Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, section 5.5.3.1.1, still defines a cool roof
as having a minimum solar reflectance of 0.70 and a minimum thermal emittance of 0.75, but the new version
also allows a minimum Solar Reflective Index of 82. The new standard for 90.1 increases the applicable climate
zones areas to 1 to 5 (the previous version was from 1 to 3). The section also states that values for solar
reflectance and thermal emittance shall be determined by a laboratory accredited by a nationally recognized
accreditation organization, citing the CRRC as an example.

ASHRAE Standard 90.2 (2007 edition)

Energy Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings, section 5.6, defines a cool roof in climate zones 1, 2,
and 3 as having a minimum solar reflectance of 0.65 and a minimum thermal emittance of 0.75 OR a minimum
Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of 75. “High Albedo Roofs” are a prescriptive requirement and if installed allow
the residential building to have a lower R-value and a higher U-value. The section also states that values for
solar reflectance and thermal emittance shall be determined by a laboratory accredited by a nationally
recognized accreditation organization, citing the CRRC as an example.

GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMS

ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guides www.ashrae.org

ASHRAE produces Advanced Energy Design Guides, including the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small
Office Buildings and Small Retail, and the new Advanced Energy Design Guides for K-12 School Buildings and
Small Warehouses/Self Storage Buildings. These guides provide an approach to achieving 30% in energy
savings beyond the minimum requirements in Standard 90.1. In climate zones 1, 2, and 3, which cover southern
U.S. states, the design guide includes a suggestion for cool roofs and references the CRRC’s Product Rating
Program.

USGBC’s LEED 2009 www.usgbc.org

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is updating their Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) program to LEED 2009. The final version is scheduled for released by the end of November
2008.

LEED 2009 includes significant structural changes as well as changes to individual credits. The previous version
of LEED for New Construction included a cool roof credit when at least 75% of the roof is covered with a
material that met or exceeded the minimum SRI (low slope = 78, steep slope = 29). The new credit keeps this
2
requirement, but allows for a lower SRI if more than 75% of the roof is covered, as long as the metric of SRI * ft
2 2
meets or exceeds the equivalent SRI * ft of the 75% requirement. In other words, for a 100 ft low slope roof
2 2
you could either cover 75 ft with a material with an SRI value of at least 78 (=5850 SRI * ft ), or you could cover
2 2
the entire 100 ft of the roof with a material with an SRI value of at least 58.5 (=5850 SRI * ft ).

LEED 2009 includes new point allocations for the various credits. There are now a total of 100 possible points
for a given project (as opposed to the 69 points possible in previous versions). The cool roofing credit is still
worth a single point and will be available for every LEED program offered, including LEED for Schools, LEED for
Existing Buildings, LEED for Core and Shell and, LEED for Homes.

The new LEED system will also include four Regional Credits, which will be determined by USGB chapters in
each region. These credits will reward buildings for addressing certain region-specific sustainability issues. The
regional credits are still under development and no drafts have been released to the public.
Green Globes www.thegbi.org
Green Globes is an online rating system that uses performance benchmark criteria to evaluate a building’s
energy consumption. It compares the building design against data generated by the EPA’s Target Finder, which
reflects real building performance. Buildings earn a rating between one and four globes. Green Globes includes
a cool roof credit for roofs that have a minimum solar reflectance of 0.65 and a minimum thermal emittance of
0.90. One to ten points are awarded based on the percent of the roof covered with cool roof material. A project
can earn a total of 350 in the Energy category and 1000 points for the whole rating program.

Built it Green’s GreenPoint Rated www.builditgreen.org

GreenPoint Rated is a program of Build it Green, a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to
promote healthy, energy- and resource-efficient homes in California. GreenPoint Rated has modules for New
Homes, Multifamily units and Existing Homes.

A GreenPoint Rated home is evaluated by independent, certified raters in five categories and bears the
GreenPoint Rated label if it scores more than 50 out of 300 total points on its “report card.” The GreenPoint
Rated program has a mandatory requirement that homes exceed Title 24 requirements by at least 15% in
energy savings. A cool roof based on Title 24 requirements is one of many energy-saving strategies that will
help reach this requirement.

GreenPoint Rated is an accessible point of entry for green homes in California and is compatible with programs
such as ENERGY STAR for Homes, LEED for Homes Program, the National Association of Home Builders'
guidelines, and California Green Builder.

Collaborative for High Performance Schools www.chps.net

The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) is the nation’s first school building rating program
whose mission is to facilitate the design, construction, and operation of high performance schools. CHPS has
been based in California since 2001, though schools nationwide have committed to CHPS standards and have
been rated by the program. The CHPS program requires that roof materials have a minimum initial solar
reflectance of 0.70 and a minimum initial thermal emittance of 0.75 while covering a minimum of 75% of the roof
area, and that the radiative properties are verified through the CRRC.

REBATE PROGRAMS

More and more utilities across the US are providing incentives for cool roofs. In addition to the programs that are
listed in the Ratings, Codes and Program brochure, a sample of new rebate programs includes:

 Texas: Bryan Texas Utilities, San Antonio’s CPS Energy, Austin Energy
 Florida: Florida Light and Power, Progress Energy, Gainsville Regional Utilities
 North and South Carolina: Progress Energy
 Arizona: Salt River Project
 California: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, Sacramento Municipal Utility
District, Burbank Water and Power

For more information and updates on any of the above codes or programs, please contact each organization
directly.

CONTACT US
Visit the CRRC at www.coolroofs.org or contact us directly:
Tel: 1-866-465-2523 (toll-free in the U.S.)
info@coolroofs.org
Title 24, Part 6, of the California Code of Regulations: California's Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings
Summary of the adopted 2008 Cool Roof Prescriptive Requirements (as of 6/30/08)
Original CEC documents available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2008standards/rulemaking/documents/index.html

Minimum 3
year Aged Minimum Minimum Solar
Roofing Product Solar Thermal Reflectance
Section Construction Type Occupancy Type Slope Density Climate Zone Reflectance Emittance Index (SRI) Notes Page
143 Prescriptive New Construction Non residential Low Slope N/A Zones 2-15 0.55 0.75 64 *Exceptions 127
143 Prescriptive New Construction Non residential Steep Slope <5 lbs/ft² Zones 2-16 0.2 0.75 16 *Exceptions 127
143 Prescriptive New Construction Non residential Steep Slope > or = 5 lbs/ft² Zones 1-16 0.15 0.75 10 *Exceptions 127
High rise residential
buildings, hotels, Zones
143 New Construction motels Low Slope N/A 10,11,13,14,15 0.55 0.75 64 *Exceptions 127
Relocatable Public
School Buildings
Where Manufacturer
certifies use in all
143 c New Construction climate zones Low Slope N/A Zones ALL 0.55 0.75 134
Relocatable Public
School Buildings
Where Manufacturer
certifies use in all
143 c New Construction climate zones Steep Slope <5 lbs/ft² Zones ALL 0.2 0.75 134
Relocatable Public
School Buildings
Where Manufacturer
certifies use in all
143 c New Construction climate zones Steep Slope > or = 5 lbs/ft² Zones ALL 0.15 0.75 134
Re-Roofing * Where more than 50% of the roof or more than
(Replacements, 2,000 square feet of roof, whichever is less is
recovering or being replaced, recovered or relocated.
149 recoating) Non-residential Low Slope N/A Zones 2-15 0.55 0.75 64 *Exceptions 186
Re-Roofing * Where more than 50% of the roof or more than
(Replacements, 2,000 square feet of roof, whichever is less is
recovering or being replaced, recovered or relocated.
149 recoating) Non-residential Steep Slope <5 lbs/ft² Zones 2-16 0.2 0.75 16 *Exceptions 186
Re-Roofing * Where more than 50% of the roof or more than
(Replacements, 2,000 square feet of roof, whichever is less is
recovering or being replaced, recovered or relocated.
149 recoating) Non-residential Steep Slope > or = 5 lbs/ft² Zones 1-16 0.15 0.75 10 *Exceptions 186
Re-Roofing * Where more than 50% of the roof or more than
(Replacements, High rise residential 2,000 square feet of roof, whichever is less is
recovering or buildings, hotels, Zones being replaced, recovered or relocated.
149 recoating) motels Low Slope N/A 10,11,13,14,15 0.55 0.75 64 *Exceptions 186

151 Prescriptive New Construction Low Rise Residential Steep Slope <5 lbs/ft² Zones 10-15 0.2 0.75 16 *Exceptions 209

151 Prescriptive New Construction Low Rise Residential Steep Slope > or = 5 lbs/ft² Zones 1-16 0.15 0.75 10 *Exceptions 209

151 Prescriptive New Construction Low Rise Residential Low Slope N/A Zones 13 and 15 0.55 0.75 64 *Exceptions 209

151 Prescriptive Re-Roofing Low Rise Residential Low Slope N/A Zones 13 and 15 0.55 0.75 64 *Exceptions 209
* Where more than 50% of the roof or more than
1,000 square feet of roof, whichever is less is
Re-Roofing being replaced, recovered or relocated.
152 Prescriptive (Replacements) Low Rise Residential Steep Slope <5 lbs/ft² Zones 10-15 0.2 0.75 16 *Alternatives/Exceptions 218
* Where more than 50% of the roof or more than
1,000 square feet of roof, whichever is less is
Re-Roofing being replaced, recovered or relocated.
152 Prescriptive (Replacements) Low Rise Residential Steep Slope >5 lbs/ft² Zones 1-16 0.15 0.75 10 *Alternatives/Exceptions 219

Equation to obtain an aged value if the product does not have an aged Value listed in the CRRC Directory and only has the current value: Title 24 Energy Hotline
* REFLECTANCEAGED = (0.2+0.7[ρin-0.2]) (800) 772-3300 (within CA)
* ρin = Initial Reflectance listed with the CRRC (916) 654-5106 (outside CA)