Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172

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Building and Environment

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Assessment of long term solar reectance performance of roof coverings

measured in laboratory and in eld
Sinem Kltra, Nil Trkerib, *
a
Bahesehir University, Faculty of Architecture & Design, Istanbul, Turkey
b
Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Heat island refers to the temperature increase in urban areas compared to rural settings, intensifying the
Received 31 May 2011 cooling energy consumption of buildings. Roofs constitute a major part in urban areas, hence cool roof
Received in revised form coverings contribute to mitigate heat island. Heat island is an important issue for cities located in
26 August 2011
western and southern parts of Turkey, however cool roof coverings are not a common application. This
Accepted 3 September 2011
study presents the assessment of long term solar reectance performance of commonly used roof
coverings in Turkey. Assessment is based on the data obtained from laboratory measurements conducted
Keywords:
on new and 1-year aged several test specimens and eld monitoring of red clay tile and red shingle using
Solar reectance
Cool roofs
pyranometers for duration of one year. Laboratory results revealed that standing-seam proled metal
Monitoring coverings and red colored mineral coated modied bituminous membrane required surface treatments
Pyranometer to serve as cool roof coverings. Field results indicated that both the red clay tile and the red shingle
Solar spectrophotometer showed a slight decrease in the solar reectance due to weathering. Comparison of the new and 1-year
Heat island aged solar reectance values of red clay tile and red shingle measured both in laboratory and in eld
showed that there was no signicant difference between the values.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Heat island, which is related to higher temperatures in city
centers compared to the surrounding suburban or rural areas, is
a climatic phenomenon that has an important energy and envi-
ronmental impact in the urban environment. Increased urban
temperatures intensify cooling energy consumption, increase peak
electricity demand and amount of greenhouse gases in the atmo-
sphere [1e3]. Heat island occurs mainly due to the use of high solar
radiation absorbing materials in urban areas in which there is high
density of buildings and urban structures and the lack of green
surfaces. In urban areas, pavements and roofs constitute a major
part of urban surfaces [4], therefore it is best to use cool roof
coverings, which have high solar reectance and high infrared
emittance to reduce cooling energy consumption [5e9] and to
mitigate the heat island effect [10].
Solar reectance and emittance of conventional and cool roof
coverings have been studied by many researchers [10e13] and re-
ported in several databases such as US Cool Roof Rating Council,
Energy Star Roof Products program, EU Project Cool Roofs and LBNL
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 90 2122931300; fax: 90 2122514895.
E-mail address: sahal@itu.edu.tr (N. Trkeri).
cool roong materials database. Main roof coverings include single-
ply membranes, modied bitumen membranes, coatings, built-up
roofs, metal roofs, shingles and tiles. Based on the given studies
and databases, Table 1 summarizes representative values of initial
solar reectance and infrared emittance of some conventional and
cool roof coverings.
Several test methods can be used for measuring solar reec-
tance of roof coverings. ASTM E903-1996 [14], CIE 130-1998 [15]
and ASHRAE 74-1988 [16] are laboratory test methods, which use
a spectrometer with an integrating sphere to measure the solar
reectance of an area approximately 0.1-cm2 of a at and uniform
test specimen. ASTM discontinued E903-96 test method in August
2005 in accordance with Section 10.5.3.1 of the Regulations Gov-
erning ASTM Technical Committees, which requires that standards
shall be updated by the end of the eighth year since the last
approval date. However, this method continues to be widely used
by industries and researchers. ASTM C1549-2004 [17] uses
a portable reectometer to measure the solar reectance of a at
and uniform surface of an area approximately 5-cm2. In Europe, the
use of portable reectometer for measuring solar reectance is not
widespread apart from their use in the measurement of color [18].
ASTM E1918-2006 [19] uses a pyranometer to measure the solar
reectance of various horizontal and low-sloped surfaces with an
area approximately 10-m2, and is best applied to large surfaces that

0360-1323/$ e see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.09.004
 S. Kltr, N. Trkeri / Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172 165

Table 1 roofs  2/12: initial solar reectance > 0.65 and aged solar
Representative values of solar reectance and infrared emittance of some roof reectance > 0.50, for steep-slope roofs > 2/12: initial solar
coverings.
reectance > 0.25 and aged solar reectance > 0.15). However,
Roof coverings Solar reectance Infrared emittance these requirements have two weaknesses. First, by specifying
Clay-cement neither a minimum thermal emittance nor a minimum solar
Clay tile - white 0.60e0.80 0.90e0.93 reectance index, they permit the use of bare-metal roofs with high
Clay tile - red 0.16e0.45 0.83e0.95
solar reectance but low thermal emittance. Second, the minimum
Concrete tile - white 0.65e0.80 0.85e0.90
Concrete tile - red 0.10e0.12 0.85e0.90 three-year aged solar reectance required for a steep-sloped roof
Metal (0.15) excludes only the hottest of roong materials, such as
Unpainted 0.20e0.60 0.05e0.35 granule-surfaced berglass asphalt shingles colored with conven-
Painted - white 0.60e0.75 0.80e0.90 tional dark pigments [22]. Studies have been conducted for
Painted e red 0.25e0.45 0.80e0.90
Bitumen
measuring the solar reectance of aged roof coverings. A eld study
Modied bitumen, 0.10e0.20 0.85e0.95 measuring the effects of aging and weathering on 10 California
mineral surface roofs found that the reectance of cool materials can decrease by as
Shingle, white 0.20e0.30 0.80e0.90 much as 0.15, mostly within the rst year of service [10]. Another
Shingle, red 0.25e0.30 0.80e0.90
study demonstrated that an initial solar reectance of 0.8 of a white
Shingle, black 0.04e0.05 0.80e0.90
roof membrane can be decreased by deposition of soot, dust, and/or
biomass to about 0.6 [23].
The heat island effect has been documented in many cities
may also be rough and/or non uniform. In general, Standards worldwide [24e27] and is an important issue for cities located in
C1549-2002 and E1918-1997 are used for measurement of solar Turkey, as well. Studies based on historical temperature data of
reectance of roof coverings in eld, while E903 provides a labo- cities located at western and southern part of Turkey indicate that
ratory method to validate the eld methods [20]. temperature increased as a result of urbanization notably in
Roof coverings are exposed to environmental agents, namely summer [28e31]. Future climate projections demonstrate that
wind, sunlight, rain, hail, snow, atmospheric pollution, and these cities will experience temperature increases up to 6  C [32].
temperature variations and consequently degrade over time. Even Electricity consumption in residential buildings already constitutes
the most durable materials are modied by deposition of ambient 24% of the total electricity consumption while industry accounts for
dust and debris, and may provide an opportunity for colonization 46%, other sectors (services, agriculture, and forestry) 29%, and
by biological organisms such as fungi and algae [21]. Aging and transport less than 1% [33]. Electricity production from combustible
weathering can reduce the solar reectance of roof coverings. fuels holds the highest share followed by hydro and wind, solar
Hence, for assessment of the long term performance of the cover- energy source [34]. The use of combustible fuels for electricity
ings, not only the initial values but changes in solar reectance and production in Turkey has high greenhouse impacts. Turkey signed
emittance over time must be taken into consideration. There are Kyoto Protocol in 2009 to undertake the obligations to reduce
several widely used building energy-efciency standards and greenhouse gas emissions. Since the given date, Turkey has been
programs, which dene initial and/or aged solar reectance and promoting the use of energy efcient technologies in buildings to
emittance values as cool roof requirements. ASHRAE Standard reduce energy consumption and new policies to ensure energy is
90.1e2010: Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Resi- supplied in the most sustainable way possible. Cool roof coverings
dential Buildings requires a minimum three-year aged solar are one of the environmentally friendly and energy efcient tech-
reectance of 0.55 and a minimum thermal emittance of 0.75. nologies, however their application is limited to a few examples in
ASHRAE Standard 90.2e2007: Energy Efcient Design of Low-Rise Turkey. Turkish designers, roof covering manufacturers and roof
Residential Buildings requires a minimum total solar reectance contractors lack knowledge on the benets of cool roof and the
of 0.65 and a minimum thermal emittance of 0.75. Environmental solar reectance performance of new and aged conventional roof
Protection Agency species initial and 3-years aged solar reec- coverings produced and commonly used in Turkey.
tance values that roof coverings shall meet as a criterion (low-slope This study presents the long term solar reectance performance
of commonly used roof coverings in Turkey. Long term solar reec-
tance performance was assessed based on the data obtained from
Table 2
Test specimens for laboratory measurement.
the laboratory measurements conducted on new and aged test

Roof coverings Color/surface Optimum

characteristics roof slope
Clay-cement
Clay tile Red Steepa
Clay tile (ceramic tile) White Low-slopeb
Concrete tile Red Steep
Metal
Metal tile Painted-red Steep
Galvanized sheet Painted-white Steep
Aluminum sheet Unpainted Low-slope-steep
Copper sheet Bronze Low-slope-steep
Titanium-zinc sheet Black Low-slope-steep
Titanium-zinc sheet Silver Low-slope-steep
Bitumen
Modied bituminous Mineral covered-red Low-slope
membrane
Shingle Red Steep
Corrugated sheet Black Steep
a
For steep roofs, slope is greater than 2/12; for low-slope roofs.
b
slope is equal or smaller than 2/12 [19]. Fig. 1. Test setup.
166 S. Kltr, N. Trkeri / Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172

Table 3
Total solar reectance rates and solar reectance rates at each spectral range of new and 1-year aged test specimens.

Test specimens Solar reectance, R

New (unexposed) Aged (1-year exposed)

Spectrum (NM) Spectrum (NM)

UV VIS IR Total UV VIS IR Total

300e380 380e780 780e2500 300e2500 300e380 380e780 780e2500 300e2500

Clay - cement
Clay tile, red 0.06 0.15 0.62 0.36 0.07 0.16 0.62 0.37
Ceramic tile, white, shiny 0.54 0.84 0.77 0.80 0.50 0.81 0.77 0.78
Concrete tile, red 0.07 0.19 0.42 0.30 0.08 0.19 0.42 0.30
Metal
Metal tile, red 0.03 0.07 0.31 0.18 e e e e
Galvanized sheet, white 0.08 0.84 0.68 0.71 e e e e
Aluminum sheet, silver 0.50 0.62 0.72 0.65 e e e e
Copper sheet, bronze 0.08 0.19 0.53 0.34 e e e e
Titanium-zinc, black 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.07 e e e e
Titanium-zinc, silver 0.51 0.57 0.56 0.56 e e e e
Bitumen
Mineral covered membrane-red 0.06 0.11 0.20 0.15 0.06 0.11 0.21 0.16
Shingle, red 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.10 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.10
Corrugated sheet, black 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.05

Fig. 2. Solar reectances of the new (top) and aged (bottom) red clay tile at a spectral range of 200-nm to 2500-nm.
 S. Kltr, N. Trkeri / Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172
specimens and eld monitoring of two test specimens using two
pyranometers acting as an albedometer for duration of one year.
2. Method
Roof covering types that would be used as test specimens in
laboratory and in eld measurements were determined based on
a research, which presented the market share distribution of the
roof coverings in Turkey for the year of 2007 [35]. According to the
research, nearly 100 million m2 of roof coverings were applied in
Turkey every year and mostly clay tile was preferred followed by
shingle and mineral coated modied bituminous membranes.
Other commonly used roof coverings were galvanized sheet,
aluminum sheet, bituminous corrugated sheet, concrete tile,
copper sheet, titanium zinc and ceramic tile. Hence, clay tile and
shingle were chosen as test specimens for solar reectance
measurements in eld. The solar reectances of all the roof
coverings were measured in laboratory.
2.1. Laboratory measurements
Laboratory measurements included measuring the total solar
reectance rates and solar reectance rates at each spectral range
of new and aged test specimens.
Fig. 3. Surface conditions of the new (unexposed) and aged (exposed) test specimens.
167
2.1.1. Test specimens
12 types of test specimens including clay, cement, metal and
bitumen based roof coverings were selected for the laboratory
measurements. Table 2 presents types of test specimens, their
color/surface characteristics and optimum roof slope, which they
are installed. Clay tile with its typical red color is widely used in
Turkey. Red colored concrete tile, metal tile, mineral coated bitu-
minous membrane and shingle are used as roof coverings to replace
clay tile in the market by imitating the red color of the clay tile.
Therefore, red colored test specimens for the given roof coverings
were selected for the laboratory measurements. Most commonly
used colors were selected for the remaining type of roof coverings.
The specimens were sized as 4x4-cm and 10x10-cm as described in
ASTM E903-96 [14].
Solar reectance measurements in the laboratory were con-
ducted on the 12 new test specimens and on the 6 aged test
specimens. As the test method conducted for the aging process
were applicable for all types of surfaces with the exception of the
metallic surfaces [36], only 6 new test specimens excluding the
metal based specimens were aged.
2.1.2. Test instruments
A spectrophotometer and an accelerated weathering tester were
used at the laboratory as the test instruments. The spectropho-
tometer was used to measure the solar reectance rates of the 12
168 S. Kltr, N. Trkeri / Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172

Fig. 4. Daily average solar reectance of the red shingle.

Fig. 5. Daily average solar reectance of the red clay tile.
 S. Kltr, N. Trkeri / Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172 169

Table 4
The measured reected solar radiation, incoming solar radiation, calculated solar reectance for every 15-min between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and daily average solar
reectance of red shingle for Mar. 19, 2010.

Location Istanbul Technical University, Ayazaga Campus

Date 19.03.2010
Climatic data no rain
Test specimen Bituminous shingle
Surface condition dry
Measurement
Hours 10:00 10:15 10:30 10:45 11:00 11:15 11:30 11:45 12:00 12:15 12:30 12:45 13:00 13:15 13:30 13:45 14:00
Reected solar radiation, n, W/m2 69,7 69,4 72,5 80,4 82,5 81,9 82,5 81,6 84,7 84,7 85 83,2 83,2 82,9 81 80,7 78,8
Incoming solar radiation, W/m2 541 576 583 624 705 724 728 729 730 750 758 752 741 744 741 728 713
Solar reectance 0,13 0,12 0,12 0,13 0,12 0,11 0,11 0,11 0,12 0,11 0,11 0,11 0,11 0,11 0,11 0,11 0,11
Daily average solar reectance 0,12

new and 6 aged test specimens over the solar spectral region from
200-nm to 2500-nm. UV-WIN software was used to record the
measured solar reectance rates at 10-nm intervals over the solar
spectral region from 200-nm to 2500-nm. The accelerated weath-
ering tester, which is a device that radiates xenon arch light to
simulate solar radiation at a spectral range of 300-nm to 800-nm,
was used for aging the 6 new test specimens. Ultraviolet spectrum
(300e380-nm) and visible spectrum (380e780-nm) respectively
corresponds to approximately 11% and 72% of the total irradiance
simulated in the weathering tester [36].
2.1.3. Test protocol
Test protocol comprised four consecutive stages. Initially, solar
reectance rates of the 12 new test specimens were measured.
Subsequently, 6 new test specimens were aged and solar reec-
tance rates of the aged test specimens were measured. Finally, 6
new and 6 aged test specimens were comparatively assessed for
surface degradation by visually inspection.
Solar reectance rates of the 12 new test specimens were
measured according to the method given in ASTM E903-96 [14].
The spectrophotometer was calibrated with a mirror, as a reference
sample, at 1-nm intervals. Following the calibration, a new test
specimen was placed at the 150-mm diameter-integrating sphere
attached to the spectrophotometer and a 12-min measurement was
conducted on the test specimen. At the end of the measurement,
UV-WIN software recorded the measured solar reectance rates at
10-nm intervals and provided a graph demonstrating the solar
reectance rate of the new test specimen at a spectral range of 200-
nm to 2500-nm. Based on the standard TS 11172 EN 410-2000 [37],
measured solar reectance rates at 10-nm intervals between 300
and 380-nm, 380e780-nm and 780e2500-nm were used to
calculate the solar reectance rates at each spectral range-
ultraviolet, visible, infrared-, respectively and the total solar
reectance rate (300e2500-nm) of the new test specimen. Above-
mention steps were conducted for the remaining new test
specimens.
Table 5
Daily average solar reectance rates for the red clay tile and the red shingle.
Test specimen Date
Clay tile-red February 20, 2010
March 18, 2010
June 21, 2010
September 27, 2010
February 20, 2011
Shingle-red February 18, 2010
March 19, 2010
June 01, 2010
September 21, 2010
February 15, 2011
Clay, cement and bitumen based test specimens were placed to
the accelerated weathering tester to be exposed to xenon arc light
for a duration of 50-days, which corresponds to 1-year exposure in
actual service conditions. 6 new test specimens were aged in
accordance with the method provided in ASTM G155-01 [36]. At
the end of the aging process, solar reectance rates of the 6 aged
test specimens were measured at the spectrophotometer. Finally,
the total solar reectance rates and the solar reectance rates at
each spectral range of 12 new and 6 aged test specimens were
obtained as test results.
One of each new clay, cement and bituminous based test spec-
imen was reserved for a comparison of the surface degradation of
new and aged test specimens by visual inspection.
2.2. Field measurements
Field measurements included monitoring the total solar reec-
tance of red clay tile and red shingle test specimens using two
pyranometers acting as an albedometer for duration of one year.
2.2.1. Test specimens
Red clay tile and red shingle were applied on 4.00  4.00-m
sized surfaces. The surfaces were sloped by %3 in order to drain
rainwater away from the roof coverings.
2.2.2. Test instruments
Local meteorological data such as temperature, relative
humidity, rainfall intensity, wind speed, and wind direction were
measured continuously by a weather station. Additionally, two
pyranometers were used for measuring incoming global solar
radiation and reected global solar radiation from the surfaces of
the test specimens simultaneously. The pyranometers were placed
back to back in order to act as an albedometer and mounted on an
arm of the weather station that placed the bottom pyranometer at
a height of 50-cm above the surface to minimize the effect of the
shadow on measured reected radiation. Both pyranometers were
sensitive to radiation in the 305e2800-nm band. All sensors were
connected to a data acquisition system for storing the data. Cloud
Solar reectance amount was observed for the hours between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00
305-2800-nm p.m. for each day.
0,29
0,28 2.2.3. Test setup and test protocol
0,28
Field measurements were conducted on an area of approxi-
0,27
0,24 mately 100-m2 at Maslak, Istanbul, which is a major metropolitan
0,11 area. The two test specimens, the weather station with the pyran-
0,12 ometers arm were aligned south in order to eliminate the shadow
0,11 of the people conducting the test and minimizing the effect of the
0,10
0,09
shadow from the test instruments, Fig. 1. There were no other
shadows on the measurement area other than the minimal shadow
170 S. Kltr, N. Trkeri / Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172
Fig. 6. Surface conditions of new (a) and aged (b) red clay tile.
cast by the pyranometers arm. The pyranometers were parallel to
the surface of the test specimens.
The weather station with the pyranometer arm was erected on
wheels to be driven over the two test specimens. It remained on
one of the test specimens for a week. The weather station measured
the climatic variables while the pyranometers measured the
incoming and reected global solar radiation. At the end of the
week, the station was driven over the other test sample to monitor
the variables. The measurements were conducted on the same
point of the test surfaces. The data logger recorded temperature,
relative humidity, rainfall intensity, wind speed, wind direction,
incoming and reected global solar radiation at 15-min intervals.
The recorded data in ASCII le was converted to MS Excel le. Solar
reectance of the test specimen was calculated as the ratio of
incoming solar radiation intensity to the reecting solar radiation
intensity. Daily average solar reectance rates were calculated
using the data obtained between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at sunny
days.
3. Test results
3.1. Laboratory measurements
The total solar reectance rates and the solar reectance rates at
each spectral range of 12 new and 1-year aged 6 test specimens are
provided in Table 3. Spectral range is given as ultraviolet (UV),
visible (VIS), infrared (IR) and total. For example, the new red clay
tile has solar reectance rates of 0.06, 0.15, 0.62 and 0.36 in UV, VIS,
IR ranges and in total spectrum, respectively. 1-year aged red clay
tile has solar reectance rates of 0.07, 0.16, 0.62 and 0.37 in UV, VIS,
IR ranges and in total spectrum, respectively. Fig. 2 presents the
graphs demonstrating the solar reectance of the new red clay tile
specimen and the aged red clay tile specimen, as examples.
Table 3 indicates that the new white ceramic tile has the highest
solar reectance, whereas the new black bituminous corrugated
Fig. 7. Surface conditions of new (a) and aged (b) red shingle.
sheet has the lowest reectance. The new red clay tile is slightly
more reective than the new red concrete tile. The new red mineral
coated modied bituminous membrane has the highest solar
reectance when compared with red shingle and black bituminous
corrugated sheet. The new red clay tiles solar reectance rate is
higher than the new red concrete tile, red metal tile, red mineral
coated modied bituminous membrane and red shingle. The solar
reectance of the new black titanium-zinc metal sheet is slightly
higher than the same colored new bituminous corrugated sheet.
After the accelerated weathering (1-year exposure), most of the
roof coverings demonstrated nearly the same solar reectance
performance as the new specimens at all spectral ranges. For the
remaining roof coverings, it may be stated that accelerated
weathering in a laboratory chamber led to slightly higher reec-
tance. Additionally, no change in appearances of test samples was
observed, Fig. 3.
3.2. Field tests
Field measurements were conducted between Feb. 2010 and
Feb. 2011; namely, for 1 year as weathering typically reduce the
solar reectance within the rst year with little change in solar
reectance thereafter [11]. Graphical test results of daily average
solar reectance of the red shingle for Feb. 18, 2010; Mar. 19, 2010;
June 01, 2010; Sept. 21, 2010 and Feb. 15, 2011 are given in Fig. 4.
Graphical test results of daily average solar reectance of the red
clay tile for Feb. 20, 2010; Mar. 18, 2010; June 21, 2010; Sept. 27,
2010 and Feb. 20, 2011 are given in Fig. 5. Table 4 provides the
measured reected solar radiation, incoming solar radiation,
calculated solar reectance for every 15-min between 10:00 a.m.
and 2:00 p.m. and daily average solar reectance of red shingle for
Mar. 19, 2010, as an example. In the graphical test result of red
shingle for Mar. 19, 2010 (Fig. 4), change in the 15-min calculated
solar reectance may be observed. This is mainly due to the change
in the incoming solar radiation. Daily average solar reectances of
 S. Kltr, N. Trkeri / Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172
the red clay tile and the red shingle for the given dates are provided
in Table 5.
Fig. 6a and b demonstrate the surface conditions of new and
aged red clay tile. Fig. 6b reveals dirt accumulation on the surface of
the red clay tile. Fig. 7a and b show the surface conditions of new
and aged red shingle.
4. Discussion and conclusions
This study presents the solar reectance of new and aged roof
coverings commonly used in Turkey. Solar reectances of several
roof coverings were measured in laboratory in accordance with
ASTM E903-96 [14] and in eld in accordance with ASTM E 1918-06
[19], with the exception that the solar reectance values were
monitored continuously instead of being measured at specic
times.
ASTM E903-96 [14] is a laboratory test method, which provides
a general measure of solar reectance for at and uniform surfaces.
In general, the solar reectance is intended to indicate how much of
the suns ultraviolet, visible, and infrared energy is reected. The
method given in the standard provides measurement of solar
reectance rates in ultraviolet, visible, and infrared energy ranges
and in total spectrum. The absorbance of ultraviolet radiation can
cause alterations in the atomic structure of some materials, causing
effects such as discoloration or degradation on the materials that
can be permanent. Hence, the method is useful in determining the
materials susceptibility to degradation. The accelerated weathering
tester, which is a device that radiates xenon arch light to simulate
solar radiation at a spectral range of 300-nm to 800-nm, was used
for aging the new test specimens. The environmental stresses on
the roof coverings; exposure to wind, moisture, atmospheric gases,
pollutants and biological growth were not within the scope of this
simulation. Hence, data derived from laboratory measurements for
assessing the long term performance of roof coverings only
accounted for the aging of the test specimens by ultraviolet
radiation.
Based on the criteria given by Environmental Protection Agency,
the initial solar reectance values derived from the laboratory
measurements (Table 3) indicated that the roof coverings (standing-
seam proled unpainted aluminum sheet, bronze copper, black and
silver titanium zinc, red colored mineral coated modied bitumi-
nous membrane), which are used in low-slope roofs, did not meet
the criteria. Hence, surface treatments such as elastomeric cool roof
coatings can be applied to the existing surfaces to increase the solar
reectance up to 0.65 to meet the criteria. As for low-slope roofs,
only white ceramic tile did meet the criteria. Roof coverings (red clay
tile, red concrete tile, white galvanized sheet, unpainted aluminum
sheet, bronze copper, silver titanium zinc), which are used in steep
roofs, did meet the criteria. Cool colored options should be devel-
oped for red metal tile, black titanium zinc, red shingle and black
corrugated sheet to increase the solar reectance up to 0.25 to meet
the criteria. After the accelerated 1-year exposure in the laboratory,
the results of the aged solar reectance performance (Table 3)
indicated that 1-year exposure in the laboratory to ultraviolet radi-
ation had no signicant impact on the solar reectance performance
of the roof coverings.
ASTM E 1918-06 [19] is a eld test method, which requires only
a portable instrument and applies equally well to large at and
curved surfaces, whose pitch does not exceed 2:12. However, Lev-
inson et al. [38] have reported some restrictions for this method,
one of which is that the sky must be clear, particularly around the
sun. Haze or cloudiness can change the spectral power distribution
of sunlight, and the passage of a cloud across the sun can lead to
serious error. The other one is that the spectral distribution of
incident solar radiation and the incidence angle of the solar beam
171
both vary with hour of day and day of year. This can limit the daily
time window for the eld measurements. At the mainland US mean
latitude of 37 N, this condition would be met from about 08:45 to
15:20 local standard time (LST) on June 21; about 10:00 to 14:00
LST on March 21 and September 21; and not at all on December 21.
The eld measurements included monitoring the incident and
reected solar radiation of two large at and curved surfaces by
two pyranometers acting as an albedometer for duration of one
year. The cloud amount was observed for the hours between 10:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for each day. The measured incident and reected
solar radiation data was used for calculations of the solar reec-
tance of the test specimens of the clear sky days. Observation of the
cloud amount for each day of a year was a hard task; hence, a device
mounted to the weather station monitoring the cloud amount
would have been useful. Monitoring solar reectance of test spec-
imens on sunny days for the hours between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
proved to be useful for tracing the change in solar reectance of the
roof coverings. Monitoring the climatic variables such as rainfall
intensity simultaneously was used for the identication of the
agents, which causes change in the solar reectance. Istanbul is
located at latitude of 40 N; hence it was intended to monitor the
solar reectance of the roof coverings on March 21, June 21 and Sep
21. June 21, 2010 and Sep. 21, 2010 were only the sunny days and the
weather station was located on the clay tile and shingle roofs at the
given dates, hence it was possible to derive the solar reectance of
clay roof and the shingle roof, which were 0.28 and 0.10, respec-
tively. Another limitation to ASTM E 1918-06 [19] is that the stan-
dard is not applicable to roof coverings used at steep roofs (2:12).
Clay tile and shingle are used at minimum slopes of 25% and 20%,
respectively. However, in eld measurements, the test specimens
were used at a slope of 3%. As increased roof slope may result in less
accumulation of surface particles like dew, dust, and air pollutants
on roof coverings, the low-slope used in eld measurements (3%)
may result in slight underestimation of long term solar reectance
performance of both roof coverings.
The solar reectance values obtained from the eld test revealed
that the red clay tile roof is a cool roof (initial daily average solar
reectance 0.29, 1-year aged daily average solar reectance 0.24),
while the red shingle roof is not (initial daily average solar reec-
tance 0.11, 1-year aged daily average solar reectance 0.09). The
results of the aged solar reectance of the red clay tile showed
a consistent slight decrease (0.29e0.24) in the solar reectance,
which was due accumulation of dirt (Fig. 6b) on the surface. The
results of the aged solar reectance of the red shingle indicated
a slight decrease (0.11e0.09) in the solar reectance due to the
weathering, (Fig. 7b). Comparison of the new and 1-year aged solar
reectance values of red clay tile and red shingle measured both in
laboratory (red clay tile new: 0.36, aged 0.37; red shingle new: 0.10,
aged 0.10) and in eld (red clay tile new: 0.29, aged 0.24; red
shingle new: 0.11, aged 0.09) showed that there was no signicant
difference between the values.
As a conclusion, Turkey should adopt cool roof requirements as
a policy to reduce cooling energy consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions. Turkish roof covering manufacturers should improve
their products in terms of solar reectance - emittance and provide
data of their products for users, designers and contractors. New
roofs should be built with cool roof coverings. Existing roofs should
be rehabilitated as cool roofs and maintenance programs should be
developed for cool roofs in order to maintain their long term solar
reectance performance.
Acknowledgments
Authors gratefully acknowledge to Istanbul Technical University
(ITU) and Kloglu for funding the research project. Authors
172 S. Kltr, N. Trkeri / Building and Environment 48 (2012) 164e172
express their appreciation to members of Glass Technology Group
of Sisecam and Prof. Dr. Omer Lt Sen (Asst. Director of Eurasia
Institute of Earth Sciences in ITU) for their technical expertise and
support.
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