As green building strategies evolve to keep up with increasingly stringent building energy codes and standards, so do cool roofs. A roof, as any other building component, can be selected to best serve a particular purpose, such as weather resistance or thermal regulation. Cool roofs are optimally designed to minimize the transfer of heat from the sun to the interior of a building.

In early October of last year, Congress/former President Bush signed the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, virtually ensuring the continued health of the solar roofing industry through 2016. Solar-powered roofs qualify for a 30-percent federal tax credit (directly reducing the property owner’s federal tax bill) as well as a five-year accelerated depreciation.