Cool colors, hot trends: Explore the versatility of stone-coated steel roofs

By Dani Sheehan. 

Known for providing durability, performance and protection that will last, Unified Steel™ has new cool colors for even greater energy savings. 

Cool colors have been a hot topic in the industry with an increased emphasis on sustainability, but do you know how to adequately discuss the benefits with your customers? Have you considered stone-coated steel within your offerings? In a recent episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Heidi J. Ellsworth sits down with Robin Anderson, technical and strategy development manager for Westlake Royal Roofing Solutions, to discuss the benefits of this incredible material and some of their latest additions to their portfolio.  

Robin explains that stone-coated steel is much more versatile than most people think. He says, “We are all over the place. A lot of people like to look at it as a warm weather application because it’s a nice, light metal-gauge steel, but it performs just as well in cold regions as it does in warm and hot regions.” Another benefit is that their selection fits with almost any architectural style. Robin continues, “One of the great things that we’ve done is we carry five different profiles in our panels. So, we mimic a lot of the traditional roofing materials so that you can have all the benefits of a metal roof without necessarily making it look like your barn.” 

Offering homeowners and building owners different colors, particularly cool colors, can have huge benefits by achieving energy efficiency. Robin breaks it down even further: “When you get into the cool colors, what you’re really talking about is the reflectivity of them. So, it’s kind of a combination of reflectivity and emissivity of what the product does. That’s how much it reflects, and how much heat dissipates from the roof. You put those two together and you come up with a solar roof index.” 

Essentially, cool colors help create an umbrella on top of the roof to reflect energy away from the structure so your homeowner or building owner doesn’t have to spend so much money on air conditioning or heating throughout the year. 

Putting a stone-coated steel roof in a cool color goes far beyond just energy savings. Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast episode to explore additional benefits against environmental conditions and help your customer choose a stone-coated steel roof.