The prestigious National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), empowered by Congress to identify ways to strengthen the built environment, has issued a series of recommendations to the Trump Administration, and resilience is at the top of their agenda. For the… Read More
Blog Posts
RICOWI Study Finds EPDM Offers Superior Protection Against Hail
For the past decade, ERA has disseminated science-based information about the superior protection that EPDM membranes offer against hail damage. In 2007, ERA commissioned independent laboratory testing comparing many types of roofing materials and their resistance to hail up to… Read More
Green Roof Brightens the View for Patients at VA Hospital
Michael Whitfield was fascinated by the concept of green roofs, but he didn’t encounter many of them near his home in Charleston, S.C. He knew green roofs benefitted the environment, extended the life of roof systems and were aesthetically pleasing,… Read More
Green Roof Brightens the View for Patients at VA Hospital
Congressional Briefings on Infrastructure
Congressional briefings to focus on Building a Secure and Resilient National Infrastructure The Washington based Environmental and Energy Study Institute will be hosting a series of five briefings for Congress in Washington DC over the next four months. State/Federal Emergency… Read More
Task Force on Resiliency
The time has come to “spring forward” as we set our clocks ahead one hour, an event that marks the unofficial end of winter and the beginning of spring. And even though spring doesn’t officially begin until March 20, many… Read More
A Polarizing Perspective? Cool Roofs in Northern Climates
White roof or black roof? This simple question has perplexed and even polarized segments of the construction community for much of the last decade. In 2009, then Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu tried to settle the issue by recommending that… Read More
Tried and True Approach to Cool Roofs in Cold Climates
Once again, as the temperature begins its downward slide, those of us who live in cool-to-downright-cold climates are faced with the reality that winter will soon be here. And once again, the staff and members of ERA feel the need… Read More
An Artistic EPDM Roof
At ERA, we think of every well-installed roofing system using an EPDM membrane as something of a work of art. But a roof in Grand Rapids, Michigan takes the artistic possibilities of EPDM to a whole new level. The roof… Read More
Guest Blog: White Single-Ply Roofing Membrane For Your Next Project? Not So Fast!
Today, the majority of new roofing is a white single-ply membrane, either TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). This is due mostly to new energy codes that require reflective roofing to reduce heat absorption into the structure. Over the… Read More