Building a cooler future

By Emma Peterson. 

With the launch of a new educational campaign, the United States Cool Surfaces Deployment Project aims to accelerate the use of cool roofs and walls. 

In 2022, a team came together, hailing from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Arizona State University, the Smart Surfaces Coalition and the Cool Roof Rating Council. They proposed 19 transformative ideas to advance the knowledge and implementation of “cool” roofs and walls in the United States. advance the knowledge and implementation of “cool” roofs and walls in the United States.  

Cool roofs and walls are key to building a more energy-efficient and heat-resilient future. Roofs and walls that reflect more solar energy can especially be of use in disadvantaged communities with homes that often have less insulation, inefficient air conditioning, higher utility bills, worse air quality and more exposure to extreme heat. For an individual building, cool roofs and walls can lower energy costs or keep the indoors cooler. The widespread use of cool surfaces can help combat urban heat island effects and, on a larger scale, the climate crisis.  

With support from Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office, the U.S. Cool Surfaces Deployment Project (formerly the Cool Surfaces Manhattan Project) outlined three main goals for 2024:  

1. Providing technical assistance to local, state and federal government agencies 
2. Educating the public, building professionals and policymakers about the benefits of cool surfaces 
3. Designing high-profile demonstrations in disadvantaged communities, especially those located in mixed-climate regions without a history of using cool roofs and walls. 

As a part of the effort to achieve these goals, the U.S. Cool Surfaces Deployment Project just launched an educational campaign called “” This campaign partnered with over 30 stakeholders, which include everyone from industry professionals, manufacturers and associations to government agencies and non-profit environmental groups, to build a website that helps people learn project team and partners  — including media-friendly messages, graphics and videos, fact sheets, guidelines, case studies and more — to the public. 

If you would like to join the education campaign or demonstrations, please complete this short form. To learn more about the US Cool Surfaces Deployment Project, please visit CoolSurfaces.LBL.gov or contact Ronnen Levinson (email: RMLevinson@LBL.gov) and Iona Isachsen (email: i.isachsen@smartsurfacescoalition.org).