Cool Roof Rating Council Gaining Steam

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The Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC), a member-based, nonprofit, educational organization, now has over 100 listings in its

Rated Products Directory. These listings represent roofing products that have been tested by CRRC-accredited labs according to specified ASTM standards. To date, the information in these listings is useful as general information only, but by early 2004 the listings will include three-year aging data, at which point they will likely be cited by various agencies and programs as the authoritative source for data on heat-rejecting characteristics of roofing products. CRRC is currently working with the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and various state energy agencies regarding the integration of these ratings into their codes and standards.

The CRRC was created to meet the guidelines for a “supervisory entity” spelled out by the California Energy Commission (CEC), author of the Title 24 energy standards. The CRRC was modeled on the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC), according to Darrell Mills, a supervisor in the nonresidential building office at CEC. “Rating councils are sometimes used to help state government avoid getting into the nitty-gritty technical details of ratings of various products,” reports Mills.