Residential Cool Roof
With a Cool Roof, everybody wins!
Homeowners win with:
- Lower cooling costs
- Reduced A/C equipment wear
- Longer roofing life
- Greater building comfort
Before: Hot roof, with gray asphalt
The community wins with:
- Cooler neighborhoods (reduced “Urban Heat Island” effect)
- Lower energy demand during peak cooling periods
- Lower levels of smog
- Less roofing waste sent to landfills
After: Cool Roof, with red clay tile
 View a video about how the Cool Roof program helps SMUD residential customers save money and energy. |
With a Cool Roof
Save an average of 20 percent on future air conditioning costs with SMUD’s innovative Cool Roof program. Help reduce SMUD’s electricity peak demand and air conditioning energy load associated with high solar energy absorbed Cool Roof on the surface of roofs during the Cool Roof summer months and mitigate the overall urban heat island effect in Cool Roof the Sacramento area.
The Cool Roof program provides an incentive to homeowners of 20 cents per square foot for flat roofs, and 10 cents per square foot of steep slope
roofs. Contractors must install products that meet SMUD’s solar reflectivity and emissivity standards, which are:
Flat roofs
- Reflectivity greater than 75 percent
- Emissivity greater than 75 percent
Steep slope roofs
- Reflectivity greater than 40 percent
- Emissivity greater than 75 percent
SMUD customers are free to select any licensed roofing contractor to be eligible for SMUD rebates. However, in order for a SMUD customer to obtain SMUD financing, the roofing contractors must be on the SMUD cool roof contractors’ referral list and take the required one hour long SMUD financing training workshop. Contractors should call SMUD Financing services at (916) 732-5472 to schedule the required training.
Roofing contractor who wish to be listed in SMUD's Residential Cool Roof program contractors' referral list, e-mail program manager Misha Sarkovich to request the listing (please provide the following information: company name, complete address, phone number and license number).
SMUD offers a referral list of contractors, without any endorsements. SMUD does not guarantee the quality of a contractor’s work or provide any warranty on the work.
Cool Roofs reflect solar energy (high reflectivity) and discharge stored heat (high emissivity). In this way they keep the roof cool. That keeps inside temperatures – and cooling costs – down. Compared to standard roof surfaces, Cool Roofs stay 50 degrees to 60 degrees cooler on hot summer days!
Flat roofs
Cool Roofs for flat roof surfaces come in three main types (SMUD rebate = 20¢ per sq. ft.):
Cool Roof coatings
Best used on existing roofs in good condition. These are applied as thick coatings by means of spraying or rolling. The most common type of cool coatings is the elastomeric coating. To locate the eligible Cool Roof Products list for Low Slope coating applications, click here.
Single-ply membranes
Pre-fabricated sheets applied in a single layer and heat-sealed for a continuous bond. A lot more expensive than cool roof coatings, but yield much better quality and better overall performance. Good for use on new roofs or on those in need of extensive repair. To locate the eligible Cool Roof Products list for Low Slope Single-ply Membranes applications, click here.
Sprayed polyurethane foam (SPF)
SPF coatings are lightweight, easy to apply, and provide good insulation values and waterproofing. A spray gun is used to combine two separate ingredients on the site. Instantaneous chemical reaction causes the mixture to expand and create hard foam. However, the SPF requires cool roof coatings to be applied over it, in order to protect the foam against UV light degradation. To see a list of eligible Cool Roof Coating products, click here.
Steep slope roofs
Cool Roof for Pitch Roof (SMUD rebate = 10¢ per sq. ft.)
The cool roof products for steep slope roofs must have the initial reflectivity greater than 40 percent and emissivity greater than 75 percent. These products are most commonly the lightweight, light color roof tiles made of concrete or clay or coated metal roofs. Tiles are made of lightweight concrete or clay, and can be done in many light colors, and usually in light gray, brown or red colors (no dark colors). Click here for an example of light weight (no need for roofing structural reinforcement) and light colored concrete tiles that meet the minimum program guidelines for solar reflectance (40 percent or higher initial solar reflectivity).
Bare metal roofs do not qualify for the rebate because bare metal roofs have low emissivity (i.e. retain heat). Asphalt shingle products for steep slope applications do not qualify for the SMUD’s rebates because the asphalt shingle products do not currently meet the program requirement of having at least 40 percent initial solar reflectivity. (The highest solar reflectivity for today's asphalt shingle products is about 27 percent.)
To locate the eligible Cool Roof Products list for Steep Slope Tiles (concrete or clay tiles) applications, click here.
To locate the eligible Cool Roof Products list for Steep Slope Coated Metal applications, click here.
Get the list of Cool Roof products
To qualify for rebates
In addition to being listed on the qualifying EPA Energy Star® product list, the Cool Roof products in the SMUD Cool Roof program must meet the initial Solar Reflectance standard of 40 percent for the steep slope roofing products, or 75 percent for the flat roof products, as well as the Initial Thermal Emittance standard of 75 percent for both the steep and flat roofs, as being rated by the Cool Roof Rating Council.
Roof surface temperature for a non-Cool Roof material (left) is 140 degrees, while the Cool Roof on the right at the same time is only 88 degrees.
All residential mobile homes and single-family homes must have an electrical central air conditioning (AC) system. Wall AC units are not eligible for rebates. New construction projects are not eligible for rebates.
Installation costs of residential Cool Roof products (labor and materials) are eligible for SMUD financing. Only the contractors who are listed on the SMUD participating cool roof contractors’ referral list and who took the required SMUD financing training workshop are eligible to offer SMUD’s loan program to their customers in SMUD’s service area.
SMUD offers financing at fixed interest rates. For more information on our financing program including the current interest rates and terms, please click here.
Rebates for this program may be terminated without prior notice if the funds are depleted.
Each homeowner needs to complete the Cool Roof Rebate Form and provide two additional documents: copy of the actual Invoice and copy of the permit for this roofing project.
Mail or fax all three documents to:
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Residential Cool Roof Program, MS A203
PO Box 15830
Sacramento, CA. 95852-1830
Fax number: (916) 732-5695, Attn: Residential Cool Roof
For more information call (916) 732-5490 or e-mail at PDurant@SMUD.org
Back to Top