April 28, 2014: Report Finds White Roofs More Economical than Green or Dark Roofs
White Roofs Win Based on the Purely Economic Factors Included
BERKELEY, Calif. — Looking specifically at the economic costs and benefits of three different roof types — white, black, and green (or vegetated) roofs — Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) researchers have found in a new study that white roofs are the most cost-effective over a 50-year time span. While the high installation cost of green roofs sets them back economically, their environmental and amenity benefits may partially ease their financial burden.
A new report titled “Economic Comparison of White, Green, and Black Flat Roofs in the United States” by Julian Sproul, Benjamin Mandel, and Arthur Rosenfeld of LBNL, and Man Pun Wan of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, provides a direct economic comparison of these three roof types. “White roofs win based on the purely economic factors we included, and black roofs should be phased out,” said study co-author Rosenfeld, a Berkeley Lab Distinguished Scientist Emeritus and former commissioner of the California Energy Commission.