Green Roof Albedo

The new concrete is a whitish gray color that is able to reflect sunlight and keep not only the roads cooler but also the adjacent buildings.

Green roof albedo.

Sustainable roofing glossary albedo. The city of chicago has also attempted to make a change by creating a network of green alleyways by removing the former dark pavement and replacing it with albedo concrete. One of the more recent advancements in the field of green commercial construction are what are known as cool or albedo roofs. 2006 also made a comparison of temperatures of the subsurface the conventional rooftop level and the green roof surface.

In contrast to conventional roofs these kind are specifically designed to reduce internal building temperature by reflecting the sun s uv rays. On the contrary green roofs recorded an equivalent albedo of 0 7 0 85 gaffin et al 2006. They have a positive impact on temperature both within the building and outside as well as improving air quality. Albedo or solar reflectance is a measure of a material s ability to reflect sunlight including the visible infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths on a scale of 0 to 1 an albedo of 0 0 indicates that the surface absorbs all solar radiation and an albedo of 1 0 represents total reflectivity.

Although the primary focus of a green roof is not simply improving the surface albedo like the intentions of cool roofs it is still a significant improvement from a traditional black roof.