Review and Critical Analysis of International UHI Studies

developer uptake, funding and implementation complications in the retrofit market. Another
important barrier to acknowledge is that the research undertaken in this section is restricted due
to language barriers, most of the policy information we found was in English and many policies,
particularly in countries in Europe and Asia are written in their native languages. All of these
issues are explored further in the paragraphs that follow.
5.3.1 Cool Roofs
Current Status
Cool roof standards, programs and incentive schemes are prevalent across the US championed by
the US Environmental Protection Agency, LBNL and the US Cool Roof Rating Council. They are
less common however in Europe where the technology is less known and little research has been
conducted [200]. Cool roof policies are commonly written into building regulations and
standards (typically building energy efficiency standards), guidebooks and educational
information and incentive/credit schemes. A list of these schemes can be found in section 4.4.3.
LBNL is at the forefront of organizing a collaborative program between the world’s top 100 cities
from tropical and temperate climates to form a program that promotes the use of cool roofs and
pavements [201]. In Europe, the European Union (EU), acknowledging that it does not have any
formal policy in place, has launched a cool roof project as part of its Intelligent Energy
Programme which will review existing cool roof policy and evaluate the best way to proceed
with a similar policy in the EU.
Potential Barriers
� Undervalued Benefits: Cool roof technology is typically focused on energy savings to
specific buildings and does not take into consideration the climatic benefits of the roofs
and where they are grouped with other more common energy efficiency measures such as
insulation and air sealing, so the benefits of a cool roof is often undervalued [201]. Without
a full understanding of the benefits of cool roofs policy makers will be unlikely to promote
their use.
� Winter Penalty Misconception: Another barrier is winter penalties, general misgivings are
that a building’s winter heating bills will rise as a result of the installation of a cool roof.
However, LBNL stress that the energy savings in the summer greatly outweigh the
penalties due to the high sun positioning in the summer and low sun positioning in the
winter meaning that cool roofs will only have an impact during seasons of high sun [066].
‘Negative press’ like this means that if a national program for cool roofs was launched, the
public consultation would result in homeowners unlikely to be in favor of such a program.
� Durability: Traditional acrylic coatings lose a substantial amount of reflectivity in their
first year and up to 55% after 3 years due to discoloration, fading, chalking, dirt pick‐up,
mildew and water damage. Technological advancement is starting to overcome these
issues however, these products are more expensive [238].
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