Wonder What a Heat Island Is?

Wish I’d asked myself that question before we re-shingled our house 8 years ago. A very dark gray architectural shingling was selected to complement the lighter gray on the exterior walls. Traditional. Having just repainted our house an even lighter gray late last year, I occasionally ask myself what light-colored roof shingling would look good in place of the heat-trapping dark gray?

For a proposed sustainable commercial project I was briefly involved with recently, I suggested a vegetated roof to the non-profit owner and gave reasons including heat island and stormwater quantity and quality control. “We want the roof to look like the slate shingling of the iconic (late 19th c.) dormitory building over there,” was the reply.

So, what’ll it be—traditional design or sustainable design, the coming traditional design? Your project would earn 1 LEED point for cool/ vegetated roof cover; or, solar panels in toto or in combination with cool/vegetated.