Telangana announces ‘cool roof’ policy to reduce impact of heat on buildings

Telangana government on Monday announced a one of its kind “Cool Roof Policy” for buildings, to make them heat resilient, besides reducing the energy consumption.

Taking a unique initiative, the Telangana government on Monday announced a ‘cool roof’ Policy for independent residential and commercial buildings, besides apartments, to make them thermally comfortable and heat resilient, besides reducing the energy consumption.

Releasing the policy document, minister KT Rama Rao said starting April 1, the “cool roof” policy was made mandatory for all government, non-residential and commercial buildings irrespective of the size of the area they are built in. (HT Archives)

Releasing the policy document at a meeting, state municipal administration and urban development minister KT Rama Rao said starting April 1, the ‘cool roof’ policy was made mandatory for all government, non-residential and commercial buildings irrespective of the size of the area they are built in.

However, for buildings with a plot area of less than 600 square yards, it has been kept optional or voluntary.

“Occupancy certificates would be issued only after the builder complies with the policy guidelines,” KTR, as the chief minister is called, said.

According to the policy, there are three different types of material which could be used for cooling the roofs. In the first type, roofs can be coated with a material or paint having high reflectivity. These are liquid applied coatings made of simple materials such as lime wash, or an acrylic polymer or white plastic coating.

In the second type, prefabricated materials such as poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) membranes or bitumen-based sheeting can be used to cover an existing roof in order to increase the roof surface’s solar reflectance and thermal emittance.

The third type of cool roofs involve the application of high albedo, ceramic mosaic tiles or shingles on top of an existing roof or to a new roof, the policy document said, adding that the choice of an appropriate cool roof material depends on a range of factors, such as existing roof material, durability and maintenance and availability of skilled labour.

Prominent builder and general secretary of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India, Hyderabad chapter V Rajasekhar Reddy said though people have been using these cooling techniques here and there, it was for the first time in the country that a policy on cool roofs was brought in.

“It is a very simple procedure, but will go a long way in reducing the impact of heat in regions like Telangana, which record high temperatures during the summer. The cool-roof technology will definitely reduce the energy consumption in the form of air-conditioners and fans to a large extent, thereby controlling the carbon-dioxide emissions,” he said.

He said the cost of cool-roofing ranges from ₹1.50 per square metre to ₹300 per square metre, depending on the material used.

KTR said as per the policy which would be in force till 2028-29, targets have been fixed per year. For the financial year 2023-24, targets have been set to cover five square kms Cool Roof area in Hyderabad and 2.5 square kms in the rest of Telangana.

“The total aggregated area to be covered under cool roof area by 2028-29 in Hyderabad was 200 square kms and 100 square kms for the rest of Telangana,” he said.

The state government would also offer a special training programme for builders and all those involved in the construction industry about cool roof products and their benefits at the National Academy of Construction, Madhapur, the minister added.

Apart from leading to a carbon offset of 30 million CO2, the cool roof concept is expected to reduce the indoor temperatures by 2° to 4° Celsius compared to traditional roofs. “It will also lower the costs since cool roofs need limited maintenance and can save 20% in energy costs,” KTR said.