How can my community take action to reduce urban heat islands?
• Many communities are taking action to reduce urban heat islands, using a number of strategies, cool roofs among them. Cool roofs can lower cooling energy use, peak electricity demand, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, heat-related incidents, and solid waste generation due to less frequent re-roofing. Building owners and roofing contractors have used cool roofing products for more than 20 years on commercial, industrial, and residential buildings. They may be installed on low-slope roofs (such as the flat or gently sloping roofs typically found on commercial, industrial, and office buildings) or the steep-sloped roofs used in many residences and retail buildings. Through the ENERGY STAR program, EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) help consumers and other purchasers identify the most energy-efficient roofing products. Roofing materials with the ENERGY STAR label have met the minimum solar reflectance and reliability criteria. A high solar reflectance is the most important
