The effects of roof reflectance on air temperatures surrounding a rooftop condensing unit

Recent anecdotal information suggests that “cool” roofs might produce significant energy savings by reducing the temperature of air entering rooftop air-conditioner (RTU) condensers. Unfortunately, measurements to support this claim are not well documented. To overcome this problem, we carried out a set of six rigorous field experiments to determine the effects of roof reflectance on the heating of condenser inlet air by the roof, and to assess the effects of condenser fan operation on the potential recirculation of hot discharge air from the condenser. The experiments involved combinations of two roof conditions (a “hot” roof and then the same roof with a “cool” coating) and three RTU operation modes (condenser fan and compressor both operating, condenser fan operating without the compressor, and condenser fan and compressor both not operating). For each case, we continuously measured outdoor air temperature at 26 locations near and far from the RTU, as well as roof surface temperatures at 2 locations (1 near and 1 far from the RTU), wind speed and direction, and solar radiation.