It can get pretty hot in Pensacola, Fla., during the summertime, where it's not uncommon for temperature to clear 100 degrees. When this happens, the air conditioner in a building often runs continuously in an effort to keep inside temperatures down—and the effort isn't always successful.
With this challenge in mind, an official with Wells Fargo made the decision in January 2011 to redo the roof of the Northview Branch building in an effort to conserve energy and preserve the life of the roof. APV eCoolRoof from APV Engineered Coatings, a new cool roof coating system comprised of a Kynar Aquatec resin-based topcoat and an elastomeric acrylic basecoat, was applied to the roof in April. Working together, these two products can provide as much as 63 percent increase in life cycle energy savings for a structure.
Patrick Murrell, owner of Structure Cleaning and Coating and the nation's first Pro-X Certified ContractorT for APV eCoolRoof, was instrumental in the choice by Wells Fargo of the APV eCoolRoof coating system. A strong relationship with Wachovia led to the relationship with Wells Fargo as the company goes through the rebranding process of its bank branches. While this is Murrell's first bank branch job using APV eCoolRoof, he suspects it won't be his last.
"We expect the use of APV eCoolRoof to lower the utility bills of the branch quite a bit," said Murrell. "Before application of the APV eCoolRoof coating system the roof temperature was around 140 degrees, while the underside of the roof inside the bank was 90 degrees—and this was when the outside air temperature was only 78 degrees. APV eCoolRoof is a quality product ideal for light commercial applications like this; we look forward to hearing about cooler days ahead inside the bank."
Application of APV eCoolRoof is well-timed as the utility that serves the area, Gulf Power Co., launched its Commercial/Industrial EarthCents programs on June 1. Offering commercial customer rebates, applicable upgrades include the installation of a reflective roof.
APV eCoolRoof was applied in mid-April, and folks at Wells Fargo plan to keep an eye on the project, noting before and after statistics, to determine whether to expand the product usage to additional bank branches. Initial statistics indicate that, since the application of the APV eCoolRoof product, the roof temperature of the building has been fluctuating between the same as the ambient air temperature to a maximum of three degrees above the ambient air temperature. This indicates a 60-62 degree decrease in roof temperature.
Make Quick Work
The installation process for the APV eCoolRoof coating system was quick: one day to clean and prep the roof of the building, one day to apply the basecoat and one day to apply the topcoat. The rolled asphalt roof of the branch covers about 6,400 square feet. Reflectivity (TSR) data of the uncovered roof (prior to APV eCoolRoof installation):
"APV eCoolRoof Topcoat has been engineered to significantly increase the emissivity and total solar reflectance properties of a roof's surface and sustain it for a minimum of 10 years," according to Thomas Venarge, president of APV Engineered Coatings. "This field-applied topcoat product is designed to be applied over APV eCoolRoof basecoat to produce the ultimate high performance barrier to the sun's rays. Our research shows that this product extends the life of a roof by twice as long as a traditional roof coating."
The eco-friendly APV eCoolRoof has a low VOC content and resists ultraviolet (UV) ray degradation, chalking, water pickup, dirt pickup, staining, chemicals and corrosion, algae and fungal growth along with abrasion. Made in Ohio, the product increases the comfort level of the interior of a structure by providing lower indoor temperatures, which reduces the amount of energy used from cooling systems.
The APV eCoolRoof coating system meets or exceeds initial Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) requirements to reflect sunlight and heat away from a structure. The products are currently participating in a three-year certification program of age testing, after which they will qualify for ENERGY STAR® and CRRC ratings. Initial TRS readings taken by an independent test laboratory accredited by the CRRC, indicated APV eCoolRoof had an average TSR of 92.62 percent, currently the third-highest of all products rated by the CRRC.
(High)Rise to the Occasion
Available nationwide directly from APV Engineered Coatings for use on commercial projects such as high rise buildings, refrigerated warehouses, domed facilities, factories and stadiums, APV eCoolRoof is warranted for 10 years for reflectivity. The product may be applied over a multitude of surfaces, PVC, asphalt, rubber (including EPDM), metal, SBS & APP modified bitumen, single-ply, and polyurethane foam systems.
The Kynar Aquatec resin used in APV eCoolRoof is a tough, engineered thermoplastic offering a unique balance of properties to withstand harsh thermal, chemical and UV environmental conditions. Manufactured by Arkema Inc., the resin provides APV eCoolRoof the ability to resist abrasions, dirt and the growth of mold and mildew.
