Dive Brief:

• The City of Los Angeles has changed its building code to require that new homes or ones getting new roofs have "cool roof" materials that reduce how much heat the roof soaks up from sunshine.
• The goal is to reduce the overall heat-island effect of densely built cities, and the reflective roofs should save homeowners in utility costs by making homes easier to keep cool.
• The city's Department of Water and Power was already trying to encourage less-absorbing roofs with incentives, and those are expected to increase to encourage compliance with the new ban on black (and other dark) traditional shingles.

Dive Insight:

Requiring roofs that bounce away some of the sun's heat energy should help encourage the use of such materials generally. Los Angeles is a large market, and there is an incentive for manufacturers to make larger quantities and thus reduce prices when a bigger market is guaranteed.