Glare Study of Highly Reflective Cool Roofing Membrane

This case study discusses glare potential from a roofing system replacement will be discussed. A 40 story high office building has two lower towers attached on either side of a taller central tower. The client wanted to replace the existing red modified bitumen roofing membrane with a new highly reflective cool roofing membrane (high albedo) on the two lower towers. During the roof system selection process, the design team was concerned about possible discomfort due to glare that could be brought into the occupied space at the central tower from the high reflectance of the lower roofs. Although daylighting is a positive design consideration, understanding the performance of the daylighting and glare control is also vital. This study mainly focused on the possible discomfort that glare generates from the reflection of the highly reflective cool roofing membrane located below the attached central tower.

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