While we strive to keep our information current, this is not an all-inclusive list. Please contact the individual agency for updated program information.

Cool Roof Codes and Ordinances

Last Updated August 11, 2022

STATE

AGENCY

CODE OR ORDINANCE

WEBSITE

Alabama

Alabama Energy and Residential Codes (AERC) Board

Alabama State Building Code

Alabama Energy and Residential Codes

California

California Energy Commission

California's Building Energy Efficiency Standards

(Title 24, Part 6)

California Energy Commission

California

City of Chula Vista

Green Building Code

City of Chula Vista

California

City of Los Angeles

Los Angeles Green Building Code - Mandatory Residential

Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety

California

Los Angeles County

Title 31 Green Building Standards Code

LA County Department of Regional Planning

Canada

City of Toronto

Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 492, Green Roofs

City of Toronto

Colorado

City of Denver

Green Buildings Ordinance

City of Denver

Florida

Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation

Florida Building Code

Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation

Florida

City of Miami Beach

City of Miami Beach, Urban Heat Island Ordinance No. 2019-4252

Miami Beach Rising Above

Georgia

Georgia Department of Community Affairs

Georgia Building Code

Georgia Department of Community Affairs

Georgia

City of Atlanta

City of Atlanta, Chapter 75 - Sustainable Development Design Standards

City of Atlanta

Hawaii

Hawaii State Energy Office

Hawaii Energy Building Code [PDF]

Hawaii State Energy Office

Hawaii

County of Kauai

Kauai Energy Code [PDF]

Council of the County of Kauai

Illinois

City of Chicago

Chicago Building Code

City of Chicago

New York

City of New York

Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York State

New York State Department of State

Pennsylvania

City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia Energy Conservation Code

City of Philadelphia

Texas

State of Texas

Energy Conservation Code of the Texas Industrialized Housing and Buildings Program

State of Texas

Texas

City of Austin

City of Austin Building Technical Codes

City of Austin

Texas

City of Dallas

Dallas Green Construction Code (enacted by Green Ordinance No. 30327) [PDF]

City of Dallas

Texas

City of Houston

City of Houston Construction Code

City of Houston

Washington, DC

District of Columbia

District of Columbia Energy Conservation Code

District of Columbia

Cool Exterior Wall Codes and Ordinances

Last Updated August 11, 2022

STATE

AGENCY

CODE OR ORDINANCE

WEBSITE

Hawaii

Hawaii State Energy Office

Hawaii Energy Building Code [PDF]

Hawaii State Energy Office

Cool Roof Model Codes & Standards

Last Updated February 1, 2022

CODE / STANDARD

TITLE

EDITION

DESCRIPTION

WEBSITE

ASHRAE Standard 90.1

Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (I-P Edition)

2019

This model code provides the minimum requirements for energy-efficient design of most buildings, except low-rise residential buildings. The code becomes mandatory once it is adopted by a jurisdiction. Roofs are required to meet minimum three-year-aged solar reflectance and thermal emittance values.

ASHRAE

ASHRAE Standard 90.2

Energy-Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings

2018

This model code establishes minimum whole-building energy performance requirements for energy-efficient residential buildings. The code becomes mandatory once it is adopted by a jurisdiction. Roofs are required to meet minimum three-year-aged solar reflectance and thermal emittance values.

ASHRAE

California

California Green Building Standards Code; Title 24 Part 11 (CALGreen)

2019

California's Green Building Standards Code. The code becomes mandatory once it is adopted by a jurisdiction

CALGreen

IECC

International Energy Conservation Code

2021

This model code regulates the minimum energy conservation and efficiency requirements for new buildings.

ICC - International Code Council

IgCC

International Green Conservation Code

2018

This model code takes a whole system approach to the design, construction and operation of buildings that result in better indoor environments and lower impact on natural resources. The code becomes mandatory once it is adopted by a jurisdiction. Roofs are required to meet minimum three-year-aged solar reflectance and thermal emittance values.

ICC - International Code Council

RESNET 301

Standard for the Calculation and Labeling of the Energy Performance of Low-Rising Residential Buildings using the HERS Index

2019

This standard provides a consistent, uniform methodology for evaluating and labeling the energy performance of Dwelling Units and Sleeping Units, including all detached and attached housing types. Requires compliance with minimum solar absorptance and thermal emittance values.

RESNET

Cool Exterior Wall Model Codes & Standards

Last Updated February 1, 2022

CODE / STANDARD

TITLE

EDITION

DESCRIPTION

WEBSITE

ASHRAE Standard 90.1

Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (I-P Edition) Addendum S

2019

This model code provides the minimum requirements for energy-efficient design of most buildings, except low-rise residential buildings. The code becomes mandatory once it is adopted by a jurisdiction. Wall requirements are located in Section 5.5.3.2 (Above-Grade Wall Insulation). The 2022 edition will offer a compliance credit for the installation of highly-reflective wall materials in all climate zones.

ASHRAE

CALGreen

California Green Building Standards Code (Title 24, Part 11)

2019

California's Green Building Standards Code. The code becomes mandatory once it is adopted by a jurisdiction. Wall requirements are located inSection A5.106.7.2

CALGreen

IgCC

International Green Conservation Code

2018

This model code takes a whole system approach to the design, construction and operation of buildings that result in better indoor environments and lower impact on natural resources. The code becomes mandatory once it is adopted by a jurisdiction. Wall requirements are located in Section 501.3.5.2 (5.3.5.2).

ICC - International Code Council

RESNET 301Standard for the Calculation and Labeling of the Energy Performance of Low-Rising Residential Buildings using the HERS Index2019This standard provides a consistent, uniform methodology for evaluating and labeling the energy performance of Dwelling Units and Sleeping Units, including all detached and attached housing types. Requires compliance with minimum solar absorptance and thermal emittance values for above-grade walls. Wall requirements are located in Sections 4.2.2 and 4.3.1.RESNET

Cool Roof Voluntary Programs

Last Updated January 2, 2022

LOCATION

AGENCY

PROGRAM OR STANDARD

DESCRIPTION

WEBSITE

US National

Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS)

US-CHPS v2.0

The goals of CHPS are to fundamentally change the design, construction, and operation of schools to protect student and staff health; conserve energy, water, and other natural resources; and reduce waste, pollution, and environmental degradation. The standard becomes mandatory if the school is funded by the State Department of Education.


Roofs are required to be CRRC rated and meet a minimum Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) value.

CHPS

US National

US Environmental Protection Agency


ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Roof Products; Specification 3.0; 2017

ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed label for energy efficient products. ENERGY STAR certified roofs are required to have minimum initial and three-year aged solar reflectance values.

ENERGY STAR

United States and Canada

Green Building Initiative

Green Globes Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings; ANSI/GBI 01; 2021

Green Globes is an online assessment protocol, rating system, and guidance for green building design, operation and management. It is interactive, flexible and affordable, and provides market recognition of a building’s environmental attributes through third-party assessment.

Green Globes

California

Build It Green

GreenPoint Rating System

GreenPoint Rating

The GreenPoint Rated label shows that your home remodel was built to trusted environmental standards and evaluated by a certified GreenPoint Rater.

GreenPoint

US National

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

National Green Building Standard; ICC 700; 2020

Voluntary standard for green building design and construction. Contains a heat island mitigation compliance option based on SRI.

NAHB

International

US Green Building Council (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

Site Sustainability - Heat Island Reduction; Version 4.1

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) voluntary green building certification system. It is a third-party green building certification program and the globally recognized standard for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings and neighborhoods. There is a heat island mitigation compliance credit for the installation of a cool roof based on minimum solar reflectance, thermal emittance, and SRI values.

USGBC

US Southeast

EarthCraft

EarthCraft House Technical Guidelines; 2018 [PDF]

The EarthCraft House Technical Guidelines apply to all new construction and gut rehab projects in the EarthCraft House program, including single-family homes, duplexes, and townhomes. Requires installation of ENERGY STAR certified roof product.

EarthCraft

New Jersey

New Jersey, State of

New Jersey Green Building Manual; 2019

New Jersey Green Building Manual

Green Manual

Washington

Washington, State of

Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard, Version 4

Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard (ESDS)

ESDS

Cool Exterior Wall Voluntary Programs

Last Updated February 1, 2022

LOCATION

AGENCY

PROGRAM OR STANDARD

DESCRIPTION

WEBSITE

United States and Canada

Green Building Initiative

Green Globes Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings; ANSI/GBI 01; 2021

Green Globes is an online assessment protocol, rating system, and guidance for green building design, operation and management. It is interactive, flexible and affordable, and provides market recognition of a building’s environmental attributes through third-party assessment. There are reflective wall requirements in Section 7.3.4.3.

Green Globes

National

Green Seal

Green Seal Standard for Paints, Coatings, Stains, and Sealers (GS-11-2021)

This standard establishes environmental, health, and performance requirements for certain

architectural coatings that are intended to be applied on-site. There are reflective wall requirements in Section 2.8.

Green Seal

National

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

National Green Building Standard; ICC 700; 2020

Voluntary standard for green building design and construction. There are reflective wall requirements in Section 701.1.6.

NAHB

International

US Green Building Council (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

Site Sustainability - Heat Island Mitigation with Cool Walls Pilot Credit

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) voluntary green building certification system. The USGBC published a LEED v4.1 Heat Island Mitigation pilot credit for solar reflective walls on April 9, 2021. The intent of the credit is to reduce the urban heat island (UHI) effect through the use of cool exterior wall products.

The credit is worth one possible point under the Heat Island Reduction Sustainable Sites Credit for the Building Design and Construction (BD+C) rating system. To achieve the credit, at least 75% of the building’s gross exterior wall area (including vertical fenestration) must be surfaced with a wall material that has a solar reflectance of at least 0.60 and thermal emittance of at least 0.75

USGBC


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