TPO Roofing was invented by the chemical company DOW in the early 1990's.

TPO is a trade name for a variety of polymer roofing blends. TPO membranes are a combination of rubber and hot air welded seams made from ethylene propylene rubber. They are highly resistant to ozone, are algae-resistant, environmentally friendly and safe to install. The material is often advertised as a monolithic (seamless) roof. TPO resists tears, impacts and punctures with good flexibility to allow for building movement. TPO's are available in white, light gray, and black with thicknesses of either 45 mils (.045") or 60 mils (.060"). The width of the membrane depends on the manufacturer but they usually come in widths of six to six-and-a-half feet and are 100 feet long.

TPO Roofing is considered a fully-adhered roofing. That means the roofing membrane is already attached to the substrate material with adhesive, thus it forms a strong chemical bond. TPO is highly heat reflective, fire resistant, and energy efficient. It also resists UV rays and dirt. TPO is also used in the automotive industry where it is known for impact resistance. This crosses over into the roofing industry where hail damage to roofs is a common concern.

Another advantage of TPO, for the roofing contractor and manufacturers at least, is that there is a shift from some lower priced materials like EPDM to the higher priced TPO materials. Commercial roofing sales reached $3.3 billion overall in 2007 with single-ply products being the largest segment. TPO has been taking more of that large share.

As the green movement grows, TPO is becoming more and more popular, particularly because it is recyclable. Not only can it be recycled for roofing materials, but it can be burned as a fuel. TPO burns extremely clean with no toxic emissions when no flame retardants are present. It therefore has a high potential as a high energy fuel for waste-to-energy programs.

TPO roofs are considered “cool roofs.” A cool roof is defined in many ways by people or by different municipal codes. Basically, a cool roof reflects and emits the sun’s heat back upward without allowing it to pass into the building or home. The more sun it reflects and emits, the cooler the roof. The Cool Roof Rating Council, CRRC, maintains an on line database of cool roof products. Some TPO roofs score high on the scale, some do not, so be advised.

TPO roofing is the way to go for many .