Green Living at Home: The Economics
Cool Roofs and Keeping Homes Comfortable
How reflective roofs, insulation, shading and ventilation reduce indoor heat and cooling bills, and why they matter more as heatwaves intensify.
As heatwaves grow more intense, keeping homes cool is both a health and money issue.
Cool roofs
Cool roofs use white or reflective coatings or materials that reflect sunlight instead of absorbing it. They can lower indoor temperatures noticeably in top-floor rooms.
- Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan, launched in 2013, promoted cool roofs, especially in low-income homes with tin or concrete roofs.
- Telangana adopted a cool roof policy in 2023.
Other passive cooling
- Shading windows with awnings, trees or blinds.
- Insulation in roofs and walls.
- Ventilation: cross-ventilation and exhaust fans.
- Traditional designs: courtyards, thick walls and jaalis.
Economic benefits
- Lower electricity bills for fans and ACs.
- Health: reduced heat stress, especially for the elderly and those without ACs.
- Productivity: better sleep and work.
Costs
Cool roof coatings are relatively cheap, often a few hundred rupees per square metre, making them one of the most cost-effective heat measures.
Building codes
India’s Energy Conservation Building Code and Eco Niwas Samhita for homes set efficiency guidelines for new buildings.
A family living in a top-floor flat with a tin roof paints it with a reflective white coating. The room's temperature on hot afternoons drops noticeably, and they run their cooler for fewer hours.
Cool roofs, shading and ventilation can cut heat cheaply.
- Cool roofs reflect sunlight and lower indoor temperatures.
- Ahmedabad's 2013 Heat Action Plan and Telangana's 2023 policy promoted them.
- Shading, insulation and ventilation reduce cooling needs.
- Passive cooling is cheap and protects health.
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