Cool Roofs for improving thermal performance of EU office buildings

The solar energy absorbed by the external envelope of buildings rises their surface temperatures by several degrees above the outdoor air temperature, especially in summer. On a building scale, this highly affects the thermal comfort conditions of the occupants while increasing the energy demand for space cooling. On a urban scale, this effect leads to air temperature values higher than those achieved in rural areas, i.e. contributes to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. Cool materials, known as having the ability to limit the magnitude of solar radiation absorbed by built surfaces, represent an interesting solution for the mitigation of both the above mentioned issues. This book deals with the study of cool materials to be applied on the roof (Cool Roofs) of existing office buildings located throughout Europe. In this way, the performance of this technology is thoroughly assessed as a function of different climates, building features and material optical properties, thus showing the best conditions for their application.