Green Technology

Green Roof Technology

The ideal roof is a green roof. It is environmentally friendly, produces less waste and can save you money on your heating and cooling bills.

You’ll usually find green roofs in new buildings—since the necessary structural support is designed in. In a complete intensive green roof system, every part is designed to work together—the waterproof roof membrane and protective layers, the type of growing medium and plants, with the weight load and plant height taken into consideration.

Green roofs help insulate buildings by preventing heat from moving through the roof. They can dramatically improve a roof’s insulation value by shading the external surface of the building so the sun can’t heat it in the first place. The soil and plants of a green roof can also help insulate for sound by absorbing or deflecting urban noise.

One of the most useful features of a green roof is that it helps decrease the total amount of rain runoff in residential areas and reduce storm water flow—keeping it out of municipal storm sewers and drains. Green roofs retain rainwater and store it—the plants then release the moisture slowly back into the atmosphere. Any excess water that does run off the green roof has been filtered naturally by the plants.

A green roof will also improve local air quality. By filtering the air moving across it, a green roof can remove airborne particulates and pollution. And because plants use heat energy to evaporate the water they store, green roofs can help reduce the urban heat island and cool the air.