6 Factors to Assess Roof Sustainability
Through its lifecycle, a roof has a variety of environmental impacts. However, many impacts can be controlled by building owners and facility managers, resulting in lower energy costs and longer service life. Most buildings in the U.S. are under two stories and their roofs often represent the largest portion of their building envelopes. More heat energy is lost through roofs than walls and windows. If all U.S. buildings met the 2012 level of code-mandated insulation, 700 trillion BTUs of energy would be saved. Another aspect of environmental impact involves renewable energy production. If 25% of U.S. rooftops incorporated power from solar, the energy produced would be 25 times greater than the 21 billion kilowatt