The BE Blog

Subscribe

There’s a new water-based coating on the market that is taking roofs and building envelopes by storm. It’s called Kynar Aquatec, a platform of emulsions developed by Philadelphia-based Arkema Inc. What this new coating is doing is raising industry standards for durability and performance of water-based roof coatings.

New Jersey’s Atlantic City Convention Center is the largest roof-mounted, grid connected, solar system in the United States. If you’ve read the recent article in The New York Times or seen it on CNN, you already know that. However, none of the primary media outlets discuss the real story, which is the roofing project itself.

I just heard about an interesting new product the other day. Energy Alternatives LLC announced the introduction of its Greenward Ridge Vent. According to Ted Poulos, Vice President of Energy Alternatives, the patent-pending design harvests ambient hot attic air as it escapes through the ridge of the roof.

I recently received a link to a YouTube video called “Did You Know?” It is fascinating look at the pace of change, including business and employment trends.

In the world of solar roofing, the solar panels commonly output direct current (DC), which is commonly channeled to an inverter, which converts it to alternating current (AC). One company looking to eliminate wiring to a large central inverter is Akeena Solar (www.akeena.com), headquartered in Los Gatos, Calif.

The concept is fascinating: You just send in the address of a residential or commercial building, and you receive a detailed report with an aerial photo and line drawings of the roof with length, pitch and area noted for easy and accurate estimates and professional presentations.

I’m amazed at how fast the decline of the U.S. economy has impacted our lifestyles. We are buying far fewer goods and services that we now consider luxuries, and we are slowing the pace of our lives in the process.

OK, times are rough and tough. We're all feeling it. But, I truly believe that at least part of it is a function of the weather. I'm excited for the spring thaw.

If you’ve been by the EternaBond booth at a trade show, perhaps Chris Margarites has flagged you down and given you this demonstration: He uses his EternaBond roofing tape to join a piece of metal to a piece of EPDM to a piece of PVC to a piece of just about anything and dares attendees to pull them apart.

If there is any advantage to the current economic recession it is that it gives us the time and opportunity to reinvest in ourselves. In today’s fast-paced business cycle, we often lack the sufficient time for training in new materials and methods. Now is the perfect time to devote to continuing education.