Anti-Smog Roofing Technology

According to The World Health Organization, air pollution contributes to 7 million premature deaths every year. When it’s not triggering respiratory disease and heart attacks, it’s leaching carcinogens into the body. Ambient air pollution is one of the biggest environmental risks to health, and smog is pollution at its ugliest.

It occurs when volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxide react with sunlight. Smog can kill your landscaping, harm your family, and irritate your eyes and throat. Fortunately, the roofing industry is developing innovations to address its ever-present damage.

Reducing smog through science

3M has worked hard to develop eco-friendly fabrications for the roofing industry. Smog-reducing roofing granules are, perhaps, its most interesting introduction. They’re sold as shingles and cap sheets that leverage sunlight to transform NOx gasses into non-harmful emissions. The compounds that result fall onto the roof surface in the form of organic salts.

When rain washes the roof, those salts fall to the ground, adding nutrients to the garden below it. In short, 3M is turning pollution into fertilizer. Each smog-fighting roof does the clarifying work of two or more trees. These air quality improvements are highly scalable, so every roof counts. To date, 3M’s photocatalytic innovation has produced the smog-fighting capacity of a million trees.

Beyond 3M

3M isn’t the only roofing company fighting pollution. Other manufacturers have created their own smog-eating tiles relying on NOx oxidation. The photocatalytic process is the same from brand to brand, but each product comes with its own unique features.

Some manufacturers offer titanium oxide inclusion and ceramic tile options, so you needn’t restrict yourself to asphalt shingles. Even concrete tiles can convert nitrogen oxides into organic minerals. Some cool roofs can even fight smog while reflecting sunlight.

Does it work?

Smog-reducing shingles might sound too good to be true, but independent scientists have tested their efficacy. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s research was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Building and Environment. Researchers tested two kinds of photocatalytic roofing materials for their study, including 3M’s product.

showed that the products were effective at surface temperatures of between 25 and 60° Celsius. The hotter it became, the more efficient their NOx abatement powers were. The effect was deactivated in dry weather, but most of the resulting nitrate did, indeed, form and wash away. Studies also suggest that photocatalytic materials can perform well as plaster and other cement compounds. Your home is a de-noxification tool waiting to happen. You, too, can become an eco-warrior.

Do smog-reducing shingles last?

No matter how powerfully your roof fights smog, it must offer viable protection from the elements. It needs to provide a thermal barrier that’s energy-efficient and cost-effective. 3M’s technology is merely a photocatalytic coating applied to an ordinary granule, so it’s every bit as reliable as an asphalt roof. At a minimum, it lasts equally long and provides an equivalent R-value.

At best, it lasts longer and requires less maintenance over time. It will reduce your carbon footprint at no additional cost while helping your entire community to breathe more easily. Smog-reducing technology doesn’t alter the aesthetics of your roof. It only changes granules at a microscopic level, but they’ll certainly contribute to the aesthetics of your lush, green lawn. You might even qualify for a rebate.

Smog-reducing shingles aren’t all created alike. Several wholesalers have adopted 3M’s photocatalytic coating. Malarkey Roofing Products was the first, but other players have begun to follow suit. As the world grows increasingly urban, it’s crucial that city dwellers decarbonize their built environments. Now you have the ability to become part of an important global movement.

Are you thinking about a roofing project? Contact 1-800-HANSONS for a free roofing estimate today.