New CRRC Rapid Ratings Process Simulates Three-Year Weathering in Mere Days

Oakland, CA, USA – August 11, 2015

The Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) is pleased to announce the launch of the new Rapid Ratings Program, a program that enables users to obtain temporary aged ratings through a laboratory process that simulates three-year weathering. The incorporation of Rapid Ratings into the CRRC’s Product Rating Program is a significant accomplishment for accelerating product development and expediting product ratings for the roofing market. The optional process allows manufacturers to temporarily list laboratory- aged ratings for their products at a significantly accelerated rate—the aging simulation is completed in less than a week.

The Rapid Ratings process uses ASTM D7897 - “Standard Practice for Laboratory Soiling and Weathering of Roofing Materials to Simulate Effects of Natural Exposure on Solar Reflectance and Thermal Emittance.” ASTM D7897 was developed by Dr. Ronnen Levinson, Dr. Mohamad Sleiman, Dr. Hugo Destaillats, and Dr. Thomas Kirchstetter at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with assistance from Dr. Hashem Akbari at Concordia University and support from the CRRC.

CRRC Rapid Ratings is an optional product rating process that uses laboratory-simulated, interim aged values for CRRC rated products. The Rapid Ratings process does not replace three-year field weathering of product samples at CRRC approved test farms. All CRRC rated products must still complete three-year weathering, which is critical for informing consumers of product performance over time.

Rapid Ratings are displayed on the CRRC Rated Products Directory and on the CRRC product label until the product completes the required three-year field weathering process. Upon completion of the weathering process, the Rapid Ratings will be replaced by the field-exposed aged values.

Only CRRC approved Rapid Ratings Laboratories can conduct the testing required for the CRRC Rapid Ratings Program. To date, R & D Services, Inc. and PRI Construction Materials Technologies, LLC are qualified as Rapid Ratings Laboratories and additional laboratories will be included as they join. Please visit http://coolroofs.org/product-rating/product-testing for information about becoming a Rapid Ratings Laboratory.

For more information on the CRRC Rapid Ratings Program or to submit products for CRRC Rapid Ratings, please visit www.coolroofs.org/product-rating/rate-a-product.

The CRRC is a non-profit educational organization formed in 1998 to develop accurate and credible methods for evaluating and labeling the solar reflectance and thermal emittance of roofing products and to disseminate the information to all interested parties. Please contact the CRRC at [email protected] or (866) 465-2523 for more information on its programs and the ANSI/CRRC S100 standard.