Historically,
the building industry has not been the center of the global
conversation around sustainability. That’s even though the United States
existing building stock consumes approximately 40% of the total energy
and produces roughly 30% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. But there’s
good news — as one of the world’s largest “ecosystems,” our industry
can play a critical role in achieving global decarbonization goals and
ensure a pathway to a brighter future.

To reduce these major
impacts and drive positive change, the building industry is asking: Can
we use today’s technology to reduce energy use and the associated
greenhouse gas emissions?

Retrofits and Energy Savings

To
help answer this question, a coalition of insulation trade associations
commissioned a third-party-facilitated study that quantified the
lifetime energy savings and carbon emission reductions that could accrue
by completing simple, cost-effective insulation retrofit projects. The
study was completed in three sections to assess the energy and emissions
impacts from insulation improvements to residential, commercial, and
industrial buildings.

Most applicable to the roofing industry,
the commercial building study looked at the impact of code-compliant
roof upgrades (at time of a roof replacement) and pipe insulation
upgrades. The buildings analyzed in the commercial report represent both
public and private structures and include the following building types:
primary and secondary schools, stand-alone retail, small and medium
office buildings, and mid-rise apartments (based on U.S. Department of
Energy prototype buildings). The latest Commercial Buildings Energy
Consumption Survey¹ reports that together, these buildings account for
approximately 25% of existing building floor space in the U.S.

The
total energy savings of the studied insulation retrofits (looking at
both roof replacement and pipe insulation upgrades) are summarized in
the table below. These numbers summarize energy savings across all
climate zones and scenarios.

For
each commercial building type, the roof replacement was responsible for
most of the potential energy savings due to the relative size of the
project. For example, the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers
Association (PIMA) published a summary of the study findings, which
shows that over a 30-year period, upgrading roof insulation on existing
commercial buildings can save building owners more than $65 billion
dollars in energy costs. Similarly, it could also eliminate nearly 360
million metric tons of CO₂e emissions, which is equivalent to the annual
energy use of more than 45 million American households.

Pivoting Focus 

Generally,
energy code requirements have focused on new construction, with
significantly fewer resources given to the implementation and compliance
for upgrades to existing buildings. But the growing focus on the
nation’s decarbonization goals, combined with the significant
environmental impacts associated with the existing U.S. building stock,
has challenged policymakers to devote more resources towards compliance
efforts targeting building alterations.

Last December, the DOE
announced $45 million in competitive grants to help states and
partnering organizations adopt and implement updated building energy
codes. This funding is the first installment of a five-year,
$225-million program established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
passed in 2021. This funding is in addition to the $1 billion available
through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which makes substantial
investments in upgrading the performance of buildings through projects
that include building envelope retrofits. Roof replacements are the most
common envelope retrofits for existing commercial buildings.

The
commercial building portion of the report released by ICF is one more
policy tool that underscores the importance of addressing existing
building envelope performance through innovative energy code compliance
strategies.

Roofing Contractor Considerations 

Across
the country, roof replacements on commercial buildings will become a
valuable compliance option as building performance requirements and
other new policies are adopted to achieve the aggressive energy savings
and emissions reductions that are now necessary. This, coupled with new
and expanded tax incentives available to building owners who implement
code-compliant building envelope upgrades, puts opportunity with the
roofing contractor.

As these commitments to sustainability
initiatives continue to gain momentum, roofing contractors can benefit,
making the case for energy-efficient roof replacements. The insulation
study released by ICF supports this pathway forward, as it points to
simple, cost-effective roof replacements as the keys to enhancing the
performance of the buildings we live and work in. Backed by these
findings, roofing contractors can focus on meeting their customers’
needs while playing a critical role in decarbonizing the built
environment.

To learn more about the opportunities and benefits of energy-efficient roof replacement projects, visit www.polyiso.org/page/InsulationSavingsExistingBuildings.