Cool Roofing & Energy Efficiency

For many years, architects, engineers and contractors believed that a roof’s color, especially the choice between black and white, significantly impacted a building’s environmental footprint by influencing the urban heat island (UHI) effect. UHI is a phenomenon where urban areas… Read More

Management guru Peter Drucker is frequently quoted as saying, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” There is some question about whether Drucker was really the author of this statement. Regardless, there’s an important message here for those… Read More

  ERA recently commissioned a literature review, working with the Department of Construction Science and Management at Clemson University. This literature review conducted a thorough investigation of published data and models designed to understand the impact of membrane color on… Read More

Since its founding almost 20 years ago, the EPDM Roofing Association (ERA) has been committed to providing science-based information about our products and their optimum use. Given the ongoing and intensifying efforts to lessen the impact of climate change, three… Read More

A fully-adhered membrane will prevent fluttering and minimize energy loss. Photos: Hutchinson Design Group Several millennia ago, early man — and the wife and kids — decided that life in a cave was a little dark, damp and confining, and… Read More

The South Coast Air Basin of California, a region of 16.8 million people, is among the most polluted air basins in the United States. A multidecadal effort to attain federal air-quality standards has led to significant progress, but much more… Read More

The growing awareness of climate change, as well as the related issues of urban heat islands and steadily increasing energy costs, has led to a growing interest in the effectiveness of reflective, or “cool” roofing. As manufacturers of both black and… Read More

Retrofit Magazine has featured the ERA supported Weinberg Commons low income housing development in Washington, D.C. The development was one of the first low income development projects in the United States to be built to passive house standards. According to… Read More

Although many municipalities, including Philadelphia, require white roofs as part of their green building codes or incentive programs, a white roof may not be decreasing carbon dioxide emissions as intended.