Amherst, N.Y.-based Birdair Inc. – a specialty contractor for lightweight, long-span roofing
systems and custom tensile architecture applications – has announced its Sheerfill® architectural
membrane is the first fabric membrane to be Energy Star®-qualified and Cool Roof Rating Council
(CRRC)-certified.
Manufactured by France-based Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics with US headquarters in
Wayne, N.J., Sheerfill’s highly translucent, cool fabric roof membrane promotes optimum
daylighting, which in turn reduces surface roof temperatures, decreases heat absorption and
minimizes air-conditioning requirements.
“We tested the percentage of reflectivity and emissivity from three different buildings
varying in age up to 20 years,” said Marcel Dery, architectural marketing manager, Saint-Gobain.
“Even after 20 years, the Sheerfill fabric membrane’s energy-saving attributes were virtually
unchanged.”
Energy Star, a collaboration between the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US
Department of Energy, promotes energy-efficient products and practices. The CRCC is a nonprofit
organization that develops methods for evaluating and labeling roofing products’ solar reflectance
and thermal emittance.
April 21, 2009
