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Green Roofs
The green roof is the one building element that improves
with age!
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or
completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium
planted over a waterproofing membrane. Often times, it also
includes additional layers such as a root barrier, drainage
and irrigation system.
Green roofs can be:
Extensive - typically less than 6 inches of growing medium,
making them lighter in weight and often times requiring less
maintenance,
Intensive - typically more than 6 inches of growing medium,
allowing them to support a wider variety of plants but are
in turn heavier and require more maintenance,
Modular trays - individual trays typically pre-planted with
green roof growing media and vegetation and placed atop
waterproof and drainage layers.
While each system is different and every project is unique,
green roofs always help achieve a variety of environmental
and cost-saving goals.
Benefits
Also known as eco-roofs, vegetated roofs and living roofs,
green roofs provide many ecological and aesthetic benefits,
including:
•Controlling storm water runoff, erosion and pollution
•Improving water quality
•Mitigating urban heat-island effects, cooling and cleaning
the air
•Conserving energy
•Reducing sound reflection and transmission
•Reducing heating and cooling energy costs
•Creating wildlife habitats
•Improving the aesthetic environment in both work and home
settings
Another significant benefit of green roofs is extended life
expectancy of a roof. Based on 35 plus years German
experience, a green roof can be expected to double or triple
the life of the underlying conventional roof by protecting
it from wind-blown debris, shielding from UV radiation, and
buffering temperature extremes, thereby minimizing damage
from daily expansion and contraction. This in turn minimizes
construction waste in our landfills.
Applications
The first thing to find when considering a green roof for
residential or commercial applications is the building's
structural load capacity. Other considerations include
access to water and the amount of sun and wind exposure the
plants will receive.
Potential Savings
A green roof with about four inches of growing media (an
extensive system) may reduce a building's cooling needs by
25 percent and prevent heat loss by 26 percent! This can be
a substantial energy savings as every 1 degree Fahrenehit
can reduce electricity use for air conditioning by 8
percent. Green roofs also make significant contributions to
a building's LEED rating, with as many as 15 credits
available depending upon design and level of integration
with other building systems.
At GreenScaped Buildings, we speciailize primarily in
extensive green roof systems. We also offer individual green
roof components, such as growing media, plants and
irrigation systems.
And of course, while green roofs are the single component of
a building that improves with age, remember - maintenance is
a critical part of its success!
About the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD)
Ordinance
The Austin City Council approved the Energy Conservation
Audit and Disclosure
(ECAD) ordinance, Austin City Code Chapter 6-7, to improve
the energy efficiency
of Austin homes and buildings that receive electricity from
Austin Energy.
View the Guide for Homebuyers, Homesellers, and Homeowners (pdf)
to
learn which Austin Energy incentives can help homeowners
meet ECAD requirements.
Improving energy efficiency can help reduce electricity
bills for renters and owners of homes, multifamily
properties, and commercial buildings. The ordinance also
helps meet one of the goals of the Austin Climate Protection
Plan—offsetting 800 megawatts of peak energy demand by 2020
to reduce Austin’s carbon footprint.
Energy
Conservation Audit and Disclosure
- Determine If You
Need an Audit -
To see if your home
needs an energy audit, answer the questions on the online
tool,
the ECAD Audit Self Check.
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