Cool roofs, VOCs and insulation: The future of the coatings industry

By Emma Peterson.

Learn how regulations and building codes in California are shaping the direction of the coatings industry.

In this episode of CoatingsTalk, Greg Hlavaty and Hal Leland of Western Colloid stopped by The Coffee Shops to talk to Karen Edwards about what is shaping the coatings industry today, and what that might mean for the future. One of the big topics they touched on was the building codes and regulations that are coming out of California. Not only are these shaping a huge industry market, but larger, national codes often trickle out of these two regions. Greg explained, “You want to keep your eye on California, because many of the places don't even bother doing their own research. Some of them take it word for word what was put in the codes for California.”

Energy efficiency and cool roofs

California is known for having some of the most stringent requirements in the building industry, especially when it comes to energy efficiency. Hal explained, “We're going to save the world in California. We're currently on the 2022 energy codes, and they change these codes every three years. The 2025 building efficiency standards will apply to newly constructed buildings, additions and alterations.” These new standards for 2025 are laid out by the California Energy Commission (CEC), who have set the goal to reach a 100% clean energy future for all.  

In the roofing industry in particular, the CEC has emphasized and recognized the work of the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) in Title 24. This outlines that roofing products should be tested for solar reflectance and thermal emittance values through the CRRC tests. The products must then qualify with a certain level of rating to be in compliance with the CEC’s building codes. This is leading a rise in the use of coatings, as they often come with better Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) ratings than shingles and other traditional materials (indicating that coated roofs are better at returning solar energy to the atmosphere).

Insulation and coatings

There are also newer specifications for insulation in California’s building code. Greg explained, “Even if you're re-roofing, you have to add the insulation that you would have if you were a new construction. And when that happens, it starts a ripple effect that affects many cost factors on that building.” This ripple effect includes things like the space between air conditioning units and the roof, the height of your pipes and more.  

In response to this, there has been a shift towards roof coatings as a solution. Greg elaborated, “If you can put on a fluid-applied membrane as a renovation, called a maintenance and repair system as they're classified with FM and UL, then that can be accepted in its place. It's maintenance and repair. And so, more and more consultants in California are specifying fluid-applied systems because it's costing their building owners more money to tear off, re-roof, raise air conditioners/other types of units to get them high enough off the roof to put more insulation in and then re-roofing it than coatings.”

Air quality and VOCs

Another huge factor in navigating regulations in California is the South Coast Air Quality Management District. This district covers Los Angeles County, Orange County and the San Bernardino Riverside County and is the organization behind the smog-control and reduction in the valley. Today, they regulate the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that enter the air through fines and fees. VOCs are emitted as gases from a variety of sources, including paints, permanent markers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials, office printers and more. Coatings can also release VOCs, though research shows they have lesser impact than common things like cars, trucks and factories.  

The challenge for the coatings industry is that, in an effort to lower VOCs in the environment, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has placed some extreme regulations. Greg explained, “They can be overly onerous on the regulations and sometimes, to meet that regulation, manufacturers would need to ruin a product.” For example, there might be a push to remove 100% of all VOCs from a product. On the surface this seems like a great idea, however the reality can be more complicated. Greg shared a bit about that complexity, saying, “Almost all in our industry have taken out 90% of VOCs. And the remaining 10% is what we need to make a good product. We could take it all out, we could take other things all out and then the building owner is left with something that doesn't work on their roof.” If that poor product is installed, the environmental impact may actually be larger because of the efforts of removal and recoating repeatedly than if you had simply installed the original product. Navigating these regulations has been a huge factor in the coatings industry and will continue to be a balancing act for professionals.  

Read the transcript, Listen to the episode or Watch the video to learn more about the codes and regulations shaping the coatings industry!