Active Modulated Reflectance Roofing System to Tailor Building Solar Loads for Increased HVAC Efficiency

Space heating and cooling contributes a significant percentage of a building’s overall energy usage profile. The construction of a building’s envelope is an essential component that impacts the overall heating and cooling load. For many years, flat roofs were covered with low albedo materials such as asphalt or modified bitumen, which can reach temperatures of 150°F to 180°F during summer months. More recently, alternative technologies, such as “white roofs”, have been put forth to mitigate the problem of unwanted thermal gain. However, these traditional roofing materials and recent innovations are passive structures and only promote seasonal benefits. This paper proposes and demonstrates the concept of an active variable reflectance roofing system that can tailor solar loads to desired heating or cooling, significantly reducing overall space heating and cooling energy requirements and costs.