Graphical abstract Diagrams of (A)conventional cool roofs, (B) super cool roofs, and (C) temperature-adaptive roofs whose color can change with temperature. Display Omitted

Highlights • Cool roofs are divided into conventional cool roofs, super cool roofs, and temperature adaptive roofs. • The use of cool roofs is limited by geography and climate, with the net cooling power of up to 150 W/m² in dry, rainless, and clear sky areas. • The use of cool roofs in cities may cause light pollution problems, which can be alleviated by special structures or materials. • Not only does atmospheric water vapor affect the radiative cooling power of cool roofs, but in turn, cool roofs can increase the water vapor content above the roof. • The large-scale use of super cool roofs may affect the urban wind field.

Abstract Cool roofs play a significant role in mitigating urban heat islands, improving indoor thermal comfort, and saving energy. In recent years, with advances in the manufacturing of nanophotonics and metamaterials, researchers have developed super cool roofs where the surface temperature remains below the air temperature in direct daylight and temperature-adaptive roofs where the solar reflectance or thermal emissivity can change with temperature. This paper reviews the research progress and status of conventional cool roofs, super cool roofs, and temperature-adaptive roofs. This paper affirms the role of cool roofs in mitigating urban heat islands and energy conservation. And this paper also summarizes some of the crucial issues that cool roofs may face when used in cities. The effects of cool roofs on urban wind fields, planetary boundary layer heights, and pollutants above cities as well as the effects of sky view factor, atmospheric humidity, dust, and aging on the performance of cool roofs are discussed. The results show that the use of cool roofs is limited by geography and climate. The net cooling power can reach 150 W/m² in dry, rainless, and clear sky areas. Cool roof technology is less effective in hot and humid climates because the first atmospheric window is affected to varying degrees by the increased radiation medium in the atmosphere, while the second atmospheric window is nearly closed in hot and humid climates, weakening the terrestrial long-wave radiation entering space. The use of cool roofs in warm and humid climates (over 80% relative humidity, with temperature over 24 °C) for most summer nights may limit the radiative cooling performance of the cool roof. The large-scale use of cool roofs in cities near huge lakes or seas may affect the urban wind field, causing a cooling island effect and a local build-up of pollutants. Finally, an outlook on the research prospects of cool roofs was given to provide ideas for further research.