DaVinci unveils tiles for roofs that keep their cool

Las Vegas — DaVinci Roofscapes is coming out with four new roof tiles that reflect heat and emit the sun's energy back into the atmosphere, reducing the cooling load on homes and businesses as well as the heat-island effect in heavily populated areas.

The polypropylene products have been approved by the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) and will be available in March as part of the Lenexa, Kan.-based company's EcoBlend line.

DaVinci, CertainTeed Corp. of Valley Forge, Pa., and Inspire Roofing Products of Wixom, Mich., currently make up the three companies with CRRC-rated products in the polymer and composite category, according to the non-profit group's website. The council was formed in 1998 to develop credible methods to evaluate and label roof products.

Such ratings are becoming increasingly important as stricter requirements for newly constructed and renovated residential and commercial buildings go into effect to save energy and reduce the carbon footprint of the built world. When power plants burn fossil fuels to make electricity, they emit greenhouse gases, which trap heat and make the planet warmer.

DaVinci uses an additive in its new EcoBlend tiles that reflects back ultraviolet and infrared light, which should give a lot of electricity-hogging air conditioners a break, according to Chris Marshal, western region sales manager for the company that bills itself as offering a “renaissance in roofing.”

“It makes a difference certainly during the summer months and places like California, where they have Title 24,” Marshall said at the International Builders' Show, referring to a recently adopted building energy standard that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2017, and will set minimum energy-saving requirements in that state for new buildings and renovations.

“Roofing is a part of that effort,” Marshall said. “They are moving toward cool roofing with a statewide initiative, not a rule. For example, in Los Angeles County, they enforce it. They want cool roofs. Go to Orange County and they don't enforce it. They recommend it.”

DaVinci cool roof EcoBlend colors are called tahoe, autumn, brownstone and slate gray. The business also had two EcoBlends called weathered gray and castle gray that meet Energy Star requirements.

In addition, the roofing maker redesigned its slate profiles to better replicate the look of natural quarried slate.

“They are more refined. They're deeper with better shadow lines,” DaVinci spokeswoman Kathy Ziprik said.

The company has seen year-over-year, double-digit growth, she added.

“The polymers are getting better and better, and more importantly, the builders and remodelers and homeowners are accepting it and asking for it,” Ziprik said. “I equate this to when vinyl siding came out decades ago. People touched it and said, ‘eww, plastic, we don't want that.' They didn't know about. Now people know and understand polymer roofing and they are embracing it.”

DaVinci previously upgraded the profiles for its synthetic shake tiles, which are displacing the real thing in communities out West that have banned highly flammable wood shake as part of revised fire codes.

“This doesn't melt. It has a Class A flame spread,” Ziprik said of the plastic shake. “You can put a blow torch to it and we have videos of that online.”

Last year, DaVinci best-selling product was a wood shake called Bellaforte, according to Mark Hansen, vice president of sales and marketing. He expects the EcoBlend cool roof tiles to get a warm reception in California.

“This is a market our company already has a strong presence in due to the fire resistance of our synthetic roofing products,” he said in a news release. “Many insurance companies are refusing to insure homes with real wood shake roofs. Our polymer roofing products have the look of natural shake but with the highest fire rating available, giving peace of mind to homeowners and gaining the approval of insurance companies.”