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Cool Roof contractors
If you are roofing contractor and wish to participate in SMUD's Residential Cool Roof program and be listed as participating contractor, click here for additional information.
To locate and fill out the Residential Cool Roof Rebate Request form (Exhibit B), click here.
To find a participating Cool Roof contractor, click here.
Commercial Cool Roof a success
SMUD's Commercial Cool Roof program started in January 2001 and will close at the end of 2005.
SMUD was the first utility in the United States to offer rebates for Cool Roof technologies. Cool roofs became part of the California Energy Standard, Title 24, in October 2005.
Since its inception in 2001, the Cool Roof program has been responsible for promoting more than 8 million square feet of cool roof installations.
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
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 and financing. 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. Two main varieties of cool coatings are the cementitious and elastomeric types. The latter is more expensive but offers better performance characteristics.
Single-ply membranes
Pre-fabricated sheets applied in a single layer and heat-sealed for a continuous bond. More expensive than cool coatings, but yield better quality and better overall performance. Good for use on new roofs or on those in need of extensive repair.
Sprayed polyurethane foam (SPF)
SPF coatings are lightweight, easy to apply, and provide good insulation values. A spray gun is used to combine two separate ingredients. Instantaneous chemical reaction causes the
mixture to expand and create a hard foam. SPF requires cool roof coatings to be applied over it to protect the foam against UV light degradation.
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 roof tiles or coated metal roofs. Tiles are made of lightweight concrete or clay, and can be done in many colors. Bare metal roofs do not qualify for the rebate.
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 and Initial Thermal Emittance standard as previously
specified and as 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 are eligible for SMUD financing. All contractors are eligible to offer SMUD’s loan program to their customers in SMUD’s service area.
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