April 7, 2025
Mrs. Foushee (for herself, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Ruiz, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Thanedar, and Ms. Garcia of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a program to provide rebates for the purchase and installation of cool roof products.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Cool Roof Rebate Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Cool roof product rebate program
(a) Establishment
The Secretary shall establish and carry out a program to provide rebates to eligible households for the purchase and installation of eligible cool roof products.
(b) Rebate amount
The amount of a rebate provided under the program established under subsection (a) shall be—
(1)
with respect to an eligible cool roof product installed on a low-sloped roof—
(A)
$0.25 per square foot if such eligible cool roof product has—
(i)
a minimum 3-year aged solar reflectance of 0.80 and a minimum 3-year aged thermal emittance of 0.75; or
(ii)
a minimum 3-year aged Solar Reflectance Index of 99; and
(B)
$0.75 per square foot if such eligible cool roof product has—
(i)
a minimum 3-year aged solar reflectance of 0.90 and a minimum 3-year aged thermal emittance of 0.75; or
(ii)
a minimum 3-year aged Solar Reflectance Index of 114; and
(2)
with respect to an eligible cool roof product installed on a steep-sloped roof—
(A)
$0.25 per square foot—
(i)
if such eligible cool roof product is an asphalt shingle product and has—
(I)
a minimum 3-year aged solar reflectance of 0.25 and a minimum 3-year aged thermal emittance of 0.75; or
(II)
a minimum 3-year aged Solar Reflectance Index of 23; and
(ii)
if such eligible cool roof product is not an asphalt shingle product and has—
(I)
a minimum 3-year aged solar reflectance of 0.40 and a minimum 3-year aged thermal emittance of 0.75; or
(II)
a minimum 3-year aged Solar Reflectance Index of 43; and
(B)
$0.75 per square foot—
(i)
if such eligible cool roof product is an asphalt shingle product and has—
(I)
a minimum 3-year aged solar reflectance of 0.40 and a minimum 3-year aged thermal emittance of 0.75; or
(II)
a minimum 3-year aged Solar Reflectance Index of 43; and
(ii)
if such eligible cool roof product is not an asphalt shingle product and has—
(I)
a minimum 3-year aged solar reflectance of 0.60 and a minimum 3-year aged thermal emittance of 0.75; or
(II)
a minimum 3-year aged Solar Reflectance Index of 71.
(c) Combining rebates
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an eligible household from receiving any other grant, rebate, or other financial assistance with respect to the same eligible cool roof product for which a rebate is provided under the program established under subsection (a).
(d) Termination date
The program established under subsection (a) shall terminate on September 30, 2030.
(e) Reporting requirement
Not later than 6 months after the program established under subsection (a) terminates, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing, for each program participant—
(1)
whether the participant used the rebate to help retrofit an old roof or install a new roof;
(2)
if the participant retrofitted an old roof, which older roof product the new eligible cool roof product replaced or covered; and
(3)
what eligible cool roof product the participant purchased using the rebate.
(f) Authorization of appropriations
(1) Program
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the program established under subsection (a) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
(2) Cool Roof Calculator
There is authorized to be appropriated $600,000 to update the Cool Roof Calculator developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
(g) Definitions
In this Act:
(1) 3-year aged
The term 3-year aged means, with respect to solar reflectance or thermal emittance of an eligible cool roof product, the solar reflectance or thermal emittance is tested after completing 3 years of field exposure, or tested after laboratory exposure that has replicated the effects of 3 years of natural exposure if the eligible cool roof product has begun but not yet completed field exposure, in accordance with the most recent standard issued by the American National Standards Institute and the Cool Roof Rating Council, S100–2025: Standard Test Methods for Determining Radiative Properties of Materials.
(2) Asphalt shingle
The term asphalt shingle means asphalt roofing in shingle form, composed of glass felt or felts impregnated and coated on both sides with asphalt, and surfaced on the weather side with mineral granules.
(3) Blackbody radiator
The term blackbody radiator means a perfect absorber and emitter of radiation.
(4) Eligible cool roof product
The term eligible cool roof product means a product that has a rating from the Cool Roof Rating Council.
(5) Eligible household
(A) In general
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term eligible household means an individual or family—
(i)
residing in a single-family or multi-family building;
(ii)
the total annual income of which is less than 200 percent of the median income of the ZIP Code in which the individual or family resides (as reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development); and
(iii)
residing in a ZIP Code Tabulation Area that is in the 75th percentile or higher of the Heat and Health Index of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(B) District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, and territories
With respect to an individual or family residing in the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, or a territory of the United States, until the date that their respective State or territory is added to the Heat and Health Index of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the term eligible household means that such individual or family—
(i)
resides in a single-family or multi-family building; and
(ii)
has a total annual income that is less than 200 percent of the median income of the ZIP Code in which the individual or family resides (as reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development).
(6) Incident solar flux
The term incident solar flux means the solar power per unit area that strikes a surface.
(7) Low-sloped roof
The term low-sloped roof means a roof with a slope (ratio of rise to run) of 2:12 or less.
(8) Radiant heat flux
The term radiant heat flux means the radiant power per unit area.
(9) Reflected solar flux
The term reflected solar flux means the solar power per unit area reflected from a surface.
(10) Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
(11) Solar reflectance
The term solar reflectance means the ratio of reflected solar flux to the incident solar flux.
(12) Solar Reflectance Index
The term Solar Reflectance Index means a calculated value that combines solar reflectance with thermal emittance into a single metric, in accordance with section 2.2.9 of the manual titled CRRC–1 Roof Product Rating Program Manual
of the Cool Roof Rating Council.
(13) Steep-sloped roof
The term steep-sloped roof means a roof with a slope (ratio of rise to run) greater than 2:12.
(14) Thermal emittance
The term thermal emittance means the ratio of the radiant heat flux emitted by a material tested at a temperature near 300 Kelvin to that emitted by a blackbody radiator at the same temperature.