Comments on: Steven Chu Wants Everyone to Get a White Roof

By: White Roofs Get People Riled Up! - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

White Roofs Get People Riled Up! - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:23:18 +0000

[...] late May, I blogged about a speech by energy secretary Steven Chu, advocating that people paint their roofs white to lower their cooling costs. Then, I followed up with a brief article about a local Bloomingdale man that had done just [...]

By: Wrack

Wrack — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:06:23 +0000

This is actually coming to the DC building code as a requirement for new (> 3-storey) buildings next year!

By: Derek

Derek — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:28:28 +0000

My neighbors in Shaw have already done this, and are reporting indoor temperature differences of at least 5 degrees. I'm hoping to get up on my roof soon and paint over the asphalt top that is currently there. White roofs and surfaces reflect most of the light that dark surfaces would absorb and radiate as heat. Try standing on a tar roof in the summer and you'll understand quickly why a white roof will save you on your cooling bills.

By: Paint Your Roof White, Save $20 a Month - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:03:38 +0000

[...] If Energy Secretary Steven Chu had his way, Americans would be painting their roofs white as often as homeowners in the ... [...]

By: tom veil

tom veil — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:21:28 +0000

I hear you about white roofs potentially looking silly, if what you have in mind is a single-family home with a sloped roof. On the other hand, DC has a pretty high percentage of buildings that have flat roofs (pretty much every office and apartment I can think of, and most townhouses). On a flat roof, the part that's painted white should be 100% invisible from the street, so aesthetics aren't as big a deal. Also, it's not like it has to be gleaming white. A building owner would get most of the gains if they replace a tar or asphalt roof with light grey gravel, for example.

By: Nikki

Nikki — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:10:44 +0000

I don't get it.