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"Live" Green
Roofs: A “green roof” consists of a waterproof membrane put over a rooftop and covered with soil and living plants. There are two types of green roofs: intensive and extensive. Intensive green roofs have soil depths of a foot or more and can support a large variety of plants and even trees. These types of roofs require heavy structural supports due to the added weight of soil, plants and irrigation. They require frequent maintenance and are typically found on commercial structures. An extensive roof, on the other hand, requires 2-5 inches of soil and is covered with a more limited selection of plants. These roofs require minimal maintenance and may not require structural reinforcement depending on how your house is built. These are the most common type of green roofs found on homes.
There are
numerous
environmental
benefits to
a green
roof.
First, a
green roof
provides
extra
insulation
and energy
efficiency
for your
home. The
vegetation
and added
soil layer
on the roof
keeps a home
cooler in
the summer
than does a
run of the
mill roof.
According to
the EPA, on
hot summer
days, the
surface
temperature
of a
vegetated
rooftop can
be cooler
than the air
temperature,
whereas the
surface of a
traditional
rooftop can
be up to
90°F (50°C)
warmer. In
addition to
cooling your
building,
they also
serve to
cool the
area around
the
building.
This can
reduce the
“heat
island”
effect,
which is
when dense
urban areas
are hotter
than
surrounding
areas of
similar
climate due
to the heat
generated by
pavement,
buildings
and
rooftops.
There are additional environmental benefits to green roofs:
+ They
collect and
process rain
water and
keep large
amounts of
polluted
runoff from
heading into
our rivers,
lakes and
oceans;
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| Bio-fuel & Biomass | Biogas |
| Distributed/Embedded Generation | Fuel Cell/ Hydrogen / Batteries |
| Energy from Waste | Solar |
| Water (hydro, Tidal, wave) | Wind |
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