With the advent of summer, the sale of air conditioners has drastically increased in India. This is a clear indication of the fact that summer season in the country is getting more and more hot and humid. The temperature during summer rise unabated causing extreme discomfort.
Despite both husband and wife trying hard to eke out a living, most of the middle class families living in an urban area are not fortunate enough to get a good night’s sleep because of the heat and humidity. Paying the rent for even a floor is difficult for many and buying an air conditioner to cut the heat is out of question. Thus people in urban areas do not prefer staying at the top floor of their houses. Many house owners these days find it hard to rent out the top floors of their house.
Heavy initial investment, huge and recurring electricity bills and frequent power cuts are deterrents to buying an air conditioner. And there is the dire environmental threat of unrealizable demand for electricity in peak hours.
Thus people are now thinking of an alternative option to keep the homes cool rather than completely relying on air conditioners. Here comes the need for constructing a cool roof in order to beat the summer heat. In many cities people are switching on to either construct houses that have cool roof or modify the roofs of existing houses into a cool one. These roofs reflect the heat and do not absorb it thus keeping the surface cool. Cool roofs are said to reduce the surface temperature by 30 degree Celsius and saves electricity cost of running an air conditioner by 17 per cent.
BENEFITS OF COOL ROOFS
- Reducing energy bills by decreasing air conditioning usage
- Improve indoor comfort for spaces such as garages or covered patios that are not air conditioned
- Lessening roof temperature, which may extend roof service life
- Reduce local air temperatures (also referred to as the urban heat island effect)
- Lower consumption of peak electricity, which can help prevent frequent power outages
- Reduce power plant emissions, including carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxides, and mercury, by lowering cooling energy use in buildings
The simplest way to bring down the temperature of the roof is to white wash a dark roof. This can bring down the interior temperature of the building by about 5 degree Celsius. Proper ventilations are also a must to ensure low temperature levels inside the house.
A variety of other cost effective options are available in the market spanning from simple lime wash with adhesives to polyurethane based insulation materials. Such low tech options combined with the improved ventilation can help improve indoor comfort for all sections of the society.
Present day architects have many choices of either using cool roofing material during construction or retrofit the present roofs with cool roof technologies. One can also opt for green roofs with vegetation cover, which prevent sunlight reflection but have cooling benefits.
The weather conditions in our country have drastically changed over a decade. These changes can be undoubtedly attributed to the climatic changes that the environment has undergone. Lot of factors have contributed to this change. Pollution from the vehicles and industries, which has contaminated land, water and air, population explosion, that has in turn led to deforestation and construction of high-rise buildings to name a few. Though it is the responsibility of every person to contribute in every possible manner to rectify these problems at large, formulating techniques to tackle this problem in present scenario is also very important.
About Author:
Seema Mohta has helped many property buyers in her 7 years of experience within Real Estate Industry by giving the right advice in choosing the right property at best price from the right buyers. She has worked with Various Real estate companies and has Good knowledge about property trends, Investments, Luxury penthouse projects, luxurious 2bhk and 3bhk apartments, Residential projects etc.