FAQs

In most Australian climate zones, the cooling energy saved usually more than offsets any additional heating energy, particularly for buildings that are predominantly cooled during the daytime, such as commercial buildings. In winter the sun is lower in the sky so sunlight on the roof is less intense, days are shorter and there is often more cloud cover.

See Steel Select for specifying COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel.

COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel helps reduce the surface temperature of a roof, which can translate to a cooler room temperature. A BlueScope Steel building study found that the insulated building with COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel in Whitehaven™ used for roofing reduced the internal temperature of the room in hot weather by up to 2C compared to the identical building with a roof made from ZINCALUME® steel. View our Test Study.

COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel has equivalent corrosion performance to COLORBOND® steel in marine environments, as reflected by the equivalent warranty offer.

The reality is energy costs are going up, not down. That's a concern for most commercial and industrial building owners and tenants. So it's reassuring to know that a roof made from COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel in Whitehaven™ can help reduce the annual cooling energy costs of your building by up to 7.5%¹ compared to COLORBOND® steel in Surfmist®. Best of all, COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel delivers all the quality, durability and warranty* support that comes only with genuine COLORBOND® steel. Read more.....

^{1. COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel in Whitehaven™ has a 9% higher solar reflectance than COLORBOND® steel in Surfmist®. Based on independent roof studies this difference could result in cooling energy savings of up to 7.5%. Savings will vary and depend upon the level of insulation, location of air-conditioning ducts, building shape and function. COLORBOND®, ZINCALUME®, Surfmist® and BlueScope are registered trade marks and Coolmax® and Whitehaven™ are trade marks of BlueScope Steel Limited. © 2010 BlueScope Steel Limited ABN 16 000 011 058. All rights reserved.}

Sec J requires you to verify the energy efficiency of the building from a heating and cooling perspective. This is typically done in one of two ways:

1. Comply with a series of Deemed to Satisfy (DTS) requirements such as putting a certain amount of insulation in the roof and walls. The use of COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel may or may not provide concessions as the requirements are necessarily conservative.
2. Use energy efficiency verification software, which gives you wider scope. This is the more common method for commercial buildings because the cost of the expert modelling is insignificant compared with the potential efficiency gains that can be made over using DTS measures. The use of COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel for roofing in the verification software is likely to provide the most benefit. For instance, a reduction of roof insulation may then lead to a roof spacer not being required. Alternatively the use of COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel may compensate for an underperforming element or an element that is expensive to achieve the level required.

No. BlueScope Steel has worked exclusively with our paint suppliers to develop a coating solution that delivers the thermal benefits of COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel.

Using COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel not only results in cost savings from reduced ongoing operational costs but also has the potential to reduce up-front expenditure on HVAC cooling equipment. For an understanding of the possible savings for your particular commercial or industrial building, we refer you to the calculator.

Yes. Samples of COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel in Whitehaven™ are available in a standard swatch size. Contact Steel Direct on 1800 022 999.

There are several advantages associated with using COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Air-conditioned commercial buildings may enjoy direct cooling benefits that typically pay back the costs many times over the life of the roof.
• Single story commercial buildings without air-conditioning are likely to be cooler in hot weather improving thermal comfort within the building.

COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel keeps the roof cooler leading to less thermal stress.

Specifying COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel over lower solar reflectance roofing materials also may help mitigate the impact of urban heat islands and can favourably impact the lifespan of roofing materials, see our test study.