In 2011, a cooperation between the Ministry of Environment (MINAM) and the Ministry of Education (MINEDU) of Peru carried out the Project Ecolegios, Sustainable Architecture. The project did studies never done before in Peru linking the comfort of the classrooms with the students’ academic performance. Two extreme weather situations were taken as a reference. The cold of the High Andean Mountains in Puno and the heat and intense humidity of the forest in Loreto. In both regions, the students were not provided with a suitable classroom in the aspects of lighting, intense noise and specially, the high and low temperatures inside the classrooms which were preventing concentration and a good academic performance of the students and the teachers.

In the study, it was proven that a clear connection exists between the ambient temperature and the academic performance. The best performance is reached by a room temperature about 23 C °. And as a conclusion: “Increasing the temperature, results in lower academic performance”. Additionally, it was also demonstrated that an increase of temperature of 32 C °, very often in the Peruvian forest and the north coast of the country, limits the academic performance around 40 %.

The same situation happens in Lima, the capital of Peru. An urban city, with a dry and humid weather and lack of green areas, where the heat island effect is really strong over the buildings specially for schools where there are young students.

Considering these conditions, an innovative technology like the Cool Roof is a simple and proven solution that can be replicated massively in Peru. The benefits compared to a traditional roof are exceptional:

• Reduce energy use, and in this way, reduce energy costs like electricity, and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Reflect and emit the sun’s solar energy back to the sky instead of absorbing and transferring heat to the building below. For this reason, help to lower outside air temperatures contributing to reduce the heat island effect.
• A cooler air temperature, improve air quality and human health.

MASPROTECTO is a Swiss Peruvian company specializing in giving waterproofing solutions in Peru, encouraging the use of eco-friendly roofing like the Green Roof and Cool Roof. As well as before we promote Green Roof, nowadays we are determined to promote the appropriate use of Cool Roofs in Peru helping to public and private organizations to understand the technical aspects to consider, as well as the materials and energy-efficiency standards for Cool Roofs in order to have all the benefits from them.
In 2010, MASPROTECTO did the waterproofing for the First Big Green Roof for an Office Building in Lima with around 1,000 square meters’ area, demonstrating that these kinds of solutions are efficient without risks of building damages.

Now, our first step is the First Cool Roof for a National School in Lima, Peru. Initially, the school has the need to prepare the roofs waterproofing and protect them from the raining. At that moment, they considered the installation with regular asphalt membranes, which was not viable because of the expensive surface preparation that it was necessary and the costs of the high-quality material to ensure a good waterproofing for a long term. Also, a good and green solution to consider was a Green Roof, but in a city like Lima, these systems are still expensive for Peruvian national institutions and difficult to keep on time for the lack of water. Once we present the multiple benefits of the Cool Roof and its lower costs compared to the alternatives before, the Director of the National School N° 101 Shuji Kitamura and the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) embrace the idea with much enthusiasm.

Roofs in Peru are challenging. Usually occupied by years of dust, irregular surfaces and even trash. Without a noteworthy rain, the buildings didn’t consider a good drain system. For the school, we needed to clean the surface, organize the water tanks, redirect electric cables and prepare the surface to receive the Cool Roof material. Explaining the benefits of these works to the authorities, parents and teachers was a way to raise awareness and commitment from them, therefore was a project with collective effort.

Now, thanks to this school, we are able to quantify the potential energy and environmental benefits of Cool Roofs in Peru. Two classrooms, a library and an auditorium were coated following the technical recommendations of the material provider which is approved by the Cool Roof Association Council in the United States of America.

We think that this is the best opportunity for Peru to join efforts and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Representatives of the Peruvian Ministry of Environment (MINAM) and Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation (MVCS) of Peru have seen the benefits of this system for schools, hospitals, houses and any buildings as a way to the reduce the use of air conditioning, which it is often not possible to provide for its maintenance expenses.

We would like to go forward with the Cool Roof Initiative for Peru, raising awareness about the climate change and promoting energy-efficient solutions for everyone.

Video: Presentación de Primer Cool Roof para un Colegio Nacional en Lima, Perú (Introducing the First Cool Roof for National School in Lima, Peru)