Not long after South Florida's version of the Big Bad Wolf took a vacation from huffing and puffing and blowing houses down a couple of years ago, the region's building boom went on break too.
During this downtime, some South Florida roofing companies ramped up eco-businesses and invested in training and development.
SOLAR SYSTEMS
Fort Lauderdale-based Advanced Roofing took a look at the bright side, literally. In 2007, the 25-year-old commercial roofing business generated Advanced Green Technologies.
''The downturn in construction allows the workforce to be trained in green-collar jobs'' and in how to properly install solar products, says Yann Brandt, AGT's vice president.
The 15-employee start-up provides renewable energy products for commercial and residential applications, with an emphasis on building-integrated photovoltaic, or solar, systems.
''We thought it would be a neat idea to take a solar panel, laminate it and glue it to the roof, because we don't like putting holes in roofs,'' Brandt explains.
AGT has a three-year, $108 million contract with Michigan-based United Solar Ovonic to distribute its cutting-edge Uni-Solar PV products in Florida. Brandt says the hurricane-resistant PV panels are the only ones that meet Miami-Dade's Product Control Approval System standards.
In AGT's pipeline: combination products that both generate electricity and heat water, plus systems that use mirrors and magnifying lenses to concentrate the sun's energy.
Brandt likens the expense of photovoltaic systems, around $7 or $8 per watt, to investing in a generator.
But James A. Kirby, an architect and associate executive director of the National Roofing Contractors Association in Chicago, says there is still much to be determined about the new generation of PV products. ''We're not necessarily sure if that's going to be a system that's going to hold up for years and years and years. We hope it will,'' he says.
GREEN ROOFS
Green, or vegetated, roofs improve building aesthetics, increase energy efficiently and even gather storm-water runoff. But these highly specialized, irrigated rooftop gardens haven't quite taken root in South Florida.
Europe is about two decades ahead of the United States on green-roof installations, and the recent profusion of green roofing in the Northeast and Chicago is being spurred by tax and developer incentives, says Michael Levine, president of Medley-based Murton Roofing Corp., which is a division of the giant Illinois-based Tecta America.
He maintains that green roofs are not so different from some of the condo plaza decks Murton has been installing down here for years. Still, the company that topped off both the American Airlines Arena and the Dolphin Mall can't seem to get Miami-Dade to green-light a green roof for its own offices. ''We're gonna retry it, coming up with maybe a little lighter system,'' Levine said.
However, Levine cautions, this is no do-it-yourself project. ''Obviously you need a good roof system, but really it's supposed to be a reservoir, so the key is you don't just put dirt up there,'' he said.
And there are cost considerations. Levine estimates green roofs to be ''100 percent more expensive'' than traditional roof systems.
WHITE ROOFS
White, cool or reflective roofs also help beat the heat. Switching from a traditional black to an eco-friendly white can reduce your roof's temperature by 70 to 90 degrees, experts say.
''When it's July in Miami, do you walk outside with a black shirt on or a white shirt?'' Kirby asks.
White roofs are all Albert Mizrahi remembers seeing as a kid half a century ago in Miami-Dade. The sales manager for Florida Power and Light's residential Building Envelope program says it's time to return to that era of common sense.
Installing a white roof can cut your power bill by 10 percent to 15 percent during certain times of the year, Mizrahi estimates, cautioning that this is a rough estimate because many factors are involved.
''The beauty of white roofing is it actually prolongs the life of the roof,'' Mizrahi says. ``It keeps it at an ambient temperature.''
Levine, of Murton, finds applying an approved white coating to an existing roof to be one of the most cost-effective ways to go green because it not only prolongs the life of the roof, it also reduces heat and earns an FPL rebate. ''It seems to be a win-win,'' he says.
METAL ROOFS
Flat-panel metal roofs are known to be hurricane-resistant, but few people might realize they are also ''probably the greenest roof you can get,'' says Charles Angell, president of Miami-based Angell Roofing.
Metal roofs, which comprise about half of Angell's work, reflect most of the sun's rays, cool quickly and outlast other roofs by more than a decade. Plus, they are recyclable and can be made from recycled materials.
Metal roofs also take less energy to dispose of and create. For example, a square foot of raw materials from a metal roof weighs less than a pound and can fit in the palm of your hand. The same square foot of raw tile materials weighs closer to seven pounds, Angell notes.
That's also key for hurricane resistance. ''Lightweight metal panels withstand impact,'' he says. Miami-Dade lists the standing seam and the 5-V crimp panels as the top two metal roof products, Angell says.
And metal has become comparable to tile in cost and appearance, Angell adds.
A FRESH AWARENESS
New organizations are raising awareness and helping the roofing industry become increasingly involved in eco-building.
''Built environments are a big culprit in greenhouse gas,'' with growing potential to sap more resources than even the transportation or industrial sectors, says Craig Silvertooth, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing, which opened just last month to drive research, provide the latest information and back legislation.
AGT is a founding member of the organization, and Brandt says investing in technology now will help make the United States more competitive. ''The federal government used to incentivize cellphones and high-definition televisions in the '80s,'' he points out.
Although Levine estimates that eco-roofing only makes up about 5 percent of his business currently, he believes it's the future. How far in the future will depend on increasing incentives to help the bottom line take off.
''Everyone wants to be green until the bill comes in,'' says Levine, whose own South Florida nature photography decorates his office, ``and then it's different -- especially with this economy right now.''
Roofing companies offer eco-alternatives