6 Environmentally Friendly Roofing Tips for Your Commercial Roof
As a small business owner, saving money on your energy costs is one of the best ways to keep your bottom line as low as possible. Environmentally friendly roofing options can help you reduce your energy consumption – protecting your profits and the world.
Believe it or not, your roof is responsible for about 25 percent of your business’s energy loss. Over time, this contributes to an increase in your energy bills, heating costs, and the overall comfort of your building. So, if there was a way to make your commercial roof more eco-friendly, wouldn’t you want to?
Luckily, new eco-friendly roofing materials can help to significantly improve your building’s energy efficiency while also protecting the structure from the elements.
That means more savings for your business and less downtime due to leaks and water damage repairs.
Read on to learn how industry professionals are working to make roofing options as eco-friendly as possible.
1. Paint It White
Traditionally, commercial roofs are black (or dark flat) roofing systems. While this is great for melting snow and ice in the winter, it can make your building less energy efficient and raise your cooling costs.
Black roofing materials absorb heat from the sun’s rays, which then radiates throughout the attic and upper floors of your building causing a “heat island effect.” The more heat that’s absorbed, the harder your air conditioning will have to work to keep your building comfortable during spring and summer (or year-round, depending on where your business is located!).
Worse yet, the buildup of heat can actually cause the building materials supporting the roof to warp. Instead of dealing with the headache of these issues, you can consider turning your roof into a “cool roof.”
For commercial properties, your roofing team will be able to use a protective white roof coating. The reflectivity of the color will deflect the heat while also acting as a protective barrier against snow, hail, water, and other natural hazards.
2. Use Recycled or Recyclable Materials
The easiest way to reduce your building’s carbon footprint and help keep waste out of landfills is to use recycled roofing materials. So, when considering a commercial roof replacement, you can sometimes look for materials made from old roofing scrap.
(Asphalt shingles, wood shingles, metal panels, and even clay roofing tiles are all great choices and can be made from old materials.)
In considering this type of option, you’ll get the same quality protection you expect from a new roof while also helping to keep otherwise usable materials out of the landfill.
If you can’t find reclaimed or recycled roofing materials that fit your business’s needs, look for roofing materials that can be repurposed when you’re done with them.
Clay tiles, wood shakes, and rubber roofing shingles can all be transformed into new products when they’ve reached the end of their roofing lifespan.
3. Evaluate Your Insulation
Commercial roofs, like residential roofs, need a good layer of insulation to keep the temperatures outside from influencing the temperatures inside.
No matter what roof type you have, when there’s not enough insulation along the top level of your building, the weather outside can leave your building feeling unseasonably warm or unbearably cold. Worse, inadequate insulation can put your building at risk for leaks and water damage.
When considering commercial roof replacement, make sure to have your insulation levels evaluated.
If there’s not enough insulation in the attic space, more can be added before the new roof is installed. You’ll notice an immediate improvement in your building’s energy efficiency, making your building more eco-friendly in the process.
4. Prepare the Roof for Solar Panels
When you think of making your building more eco-friendly, solar panels should be at the forefront of your mind. However, solar roofing can be tricky to install on your building.
When you’re installing a new roof, make the most of your new roofing materials and let the roofing contractors prep the surface for solar installation. (With the right prep work, panels can be mounted to almost any material.)
Even if your old roofing materials were not able to support the weight of the panels, new plastic shingles and eco-roofing materials will be up to the task.
And, before you work with your roofer, make sure to get an energy audit to determine how many panels your business needs. (It’s likely that installing even a few panels will help offset your energy costs each month.)
5. Make the Switch to Metal Roofing
One of the most eco-friendly roofing options available is metal. Standing seam metal roofs are incredibly durable, low maintenance, and can be recycled when you finally need to replace the system.
Metal roofing isn’t only one of the most environmentally friendly roofing materials – it’s also one of the most friendly on your wallet in terms of long-term costs. Since the average metal roof can last for 60 years with regular care and maintenance, you’ll spend less money on roof replacements and contribute less roofing product waste to the landfill over time.
The material itself can be painted almost any color, making it easy to adapt to any suburban or urban area’s building code or property appearance regulations, and best of all, you’ll save money on roofing repairs for the life of the roof!
6. Choose a Company with Experience
The most sustainable roofing is the kind that lasts for as long as possible.
When a roof is replaced, the entire roof must be removed and thrown away, and trying to install new materials on top of old often leads to worse damage and extensive repairs down the road.
If a roof is installed poorly, it’s likely that your business will need to have extensive roof repairs or even a full replacement far earlier than it should. Each repair or replacement means more materials head to the landfill, increasing your business’s carbon footprint.
Worse, since many traditional roofing materials use chemicals in the manufacturing process, you’ll inadvertently be contributing to pollution and damage to local ecosystems.
By working with an experienced roofing company, you’ll reduce the risk of installation errors and premature repairs. Over the life of your roof, this will save you money and keep more materials from heading to the dump.
How We Can Help With Your Business’s Eco-Friendly Roofing Needs?
At TEMA Roofing Services, we understand that every commercial roof is different and that what works for one building may not be the best roofing option for your company.
Our team has more than 50 years of experience and will make sure your roof is as energy-efficient as possible, helping you reduce your carbon emissions and save your bottomline at the same time.
Ready to upgrade your roof with environmentally friendly roofing materials? Contact us today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation for your commercial roof repair or replacement.