Green Roof Albedo

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.

Green roof albedo.

Sustainable roofing glossary albedo. One of the more recent advancements in the field of green commercial construction are what are known as cool or albedo roofs. 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. On the contrary green roofs recorded an equivalent albedo of 0 7 0 85 gaffin et al 2006.

Ultimately the albedo of a green roof is about twice higher than the albedos found for dark roofing surfaces. 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. In contrast to conventional roofs these kind are specifically designed to reduce internal building temperature by reflecting the sun s uv rays. One way to increase the albedo of a roof is to plant vegetation.

2006 also made a comparison of temperatures of the subsurface the conventional rooftop level and the green roof surface.