Supported by the Glenview, Ill.–based Metal Construction Association, a team of MCA members, contractors, and manufacturers have developed a new retrofit roofing concept that merges existing technologies into an integrated metal roof system that can improve energy efficiency and lower energy demands in buildings. The team also includes members of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) has awarded MCA a grant for a 20-month project demonstrating the performance of this integrated retrofit system that will be installed on a DoD building at an Air Force base in Texas. Preparations for the installation now are in progress. When it is complete and the building is instrumented, the system will be monitored for its impact on energy use, water use, and overall savings.
The holistically designed metal retrofit roofing system creates an air space by adding structural subframing atop the existing roof. A new cool metal roof then is installed over the assembly. Within the air space, the installation will include high-performance insulation, solar water heating, and solar thermal air cooling. The surface of the retrofitted roof enables solar-generated electricity and rainwater collection systems to be installed on top of the new metal roof. The DoD project will provide substantiated research data and cost savings that meet or exceed the DoD’s stated directive to reduce energy consumption in all forms. A mock-up of the integrated system also will be displayed at Metalcon International, Oct. 11–13 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Visit www.metalconstruction.org.