New items that have been and are in the process of developing within the roofing industry are the Cool Roof Rating and the implementation of the City of Chicago's Energy Conservation Code.

A non-profit, educational organization called the Cool Roof Rating Council, CRRC, was created in 1998 to develop an accurate and credible method for evaluating and labeling the solar reflectance and thermal emittance (radiative properties) of roofing products.  The CRRC has and will develop educational and marketing outreach programs to inform the public and potential users of the "Product Rating Program" about the importance of cool roofing in reducing energy usage, reducing electrical peak demand, and reducing consumer electric bills while benefiting the environment.

The City of Chicago's Energy Conservation Code went into effect September 3, 2002, except for the part which pertains to roofing.  The code requires that building plans be submitted with a compliance statement by a Registered Energy Professional or a statement that compliance is not required.  The part of the energy code that applies to roofing is section 18-13-303, "Urban Heat Islands".  The reflectance and emittance requirements of this code intend to minimize the "heat island" effect.  An "Urban Heat Island" is described as follows: During the summer, rooftops, dark colored pavements and surfaces absorb and radiate heat.  These dark surfaces make up approximately 48% of Chicago's landscape, and more than 60% of Chicago's rooftops are dark.  These dark colored surfaces absorb and trap heat emitted from the sun.  This increase not only results in higher energy use for cooling buildings, but also causes the pollution in our atmosphere to create ground level ozone.  Presently, the proposed roofing portion of the amendment is currently under consideration.  The passage of this building code will have a huge impact on the roofing industry, property owners, suppliers, manufacturers, registered energy professionals and of course the environment.

You can stay current on these topics by checking out the following websites:

http://www.CityofChicago.org - City of Chicago website

http://www.CoolRoofs.org - Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC)