Throughout the past 10 years, I’ve written a lot about the many free calculator apps available to help roofing contractors sell the benefits of energy-efficient, long-lasting roofs. As a result, more than half the reader inquiries I receive involve requests for information to obtain and use these free apps. Well, the good news is that all the calculator apps I’ve talked about continue to be free and easily available via the Internet. So, if you’d like to learn more about these free roofing apps, I’m using this month’s column to provide a brief description and Web link for each app.
EnergyWise Calculator. EnergyWise combines several important roof design features in one calculator. First, you can compare the annual heating and cooling costs of different types of roofing systems with different insulation levels. In addition, you can use the calculator to verify the requirements for recent versions of the leading model energy codes. Finally, you can check to see if your roofing system needs a vapor retarder and where it should be placed within the roofing system. As an extra benefit, you can print out an energy evaluation ready for insertion into your roofing proposal. EnergyWise is a free online calculator (registration required) sponsored by NRCA. For more information, visit http://energywise.nrca.net.