Roofing Technology Trends
1. Drones in The Roofing Industry
A major roofing trend to notice in 2020 is that drones are becoming increasingly popular amongst roofers, and not just for building inspections. In accordance with neighborhood guidelines, commercial and residential roofers can use drones to research and spot homes in ways that were not possible just a few years back. High-def drone photos may be used alongside apps like ez3d for measuring the roof on-site.
More and more, roofers are using drone photography to capture exceptional pictures for websites, advertising, and marketing purposes. You’ll want to include 4K aerial shots on your website to show “before and after” snapshots of projects you’ve completed. You may even take images of workers on-site and share it with other local property owners through social media, or a centered mailer or email marketing campaign.
Drones are great because you can just “set them” and forget them, to a certain extent. Flights can be pre-programmed, where the drone will go on “auto-pilot,” run its route, take pictures, and land when finished. The automation makes for splendid time-savings for roofers.
In the case of smaller commercial properties or multi-family homes, drones save workers the need for physically climbing on a roof to take measurements, making the job environment much safer.
2. Innovative & Durable Commercial Roofing Types
Energy-saving technology as well as storm damage prevention are the major focus in commercial roofing advancements. There is an ever-growing need for incorporating sustainable energy into the building and restoration of roofs. It’s becoming increasingly common to have sun or PV panels installed with new roof installations. Of the more innovative commercial roof types being adopted in construction are those that reduce electricity needed to heat and cool homes of different sizes.
3. Cool Roofs
A “cool roof” is a roofing type that keeps heat out of buildings due to its ability to reflect solar rays. In other words, these roofs are made with substances that could absorb and mirror infrared and ultra-violet wavelengths from the sun. These roofs are normally white, as the more typical darker roof colors tend to increase a building’s temperature. They’re also made to be more “elastic,” so they can expand as they soak up high levels of heat, and resist any damaging effects as they return to their normal size.
Cool roofs absorb extra warmth, allowing buildings to use a lot less energy to keep themselves cool, and by way of extension, reducing emissions and pollutants.
4. Green Roofs
You may be thinking, “Wait, green roofs have been around for ages!” If so, you are right! However, they haven’t become a popular choice for roofing until the last 10 years or so. Not only are green roofs much more visually appealing than the typical commercial roof, but they also help reduce energy costs by keeping the building cool. Although, they go about doing this in a much different way than a cool roof.
Also known as “vegetated roofs” or “living roofs,” they are literally composed of layers of soil and vegetation on top of the building’s roof structure. Green roofs are the best at capturing and absorbing rainwater, preventing the rain from draining down to the street level and mixing with harmful chemicals and byproducts. They also do an exceptional job of shading the building as well as surrounding buildings and paving, which help cool down the built environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.