A green roof is an extension of a new or existing roof that has a high-calibre waterproofing and root-repellent system, a drainage system, a filter cloth, a lightweight growing medium and plants.
Drainage layers, filter cloths and growing plants may already be organized in movable, interwoven grids in green roof systems. Or sometimes each piece is installed individually. Green-roof development involves the creation of "contained" green space on top of a building.
No individual type of green roof works for all buildings, climates and client needs. So your garden roof will be unique and not the same as anyone elses. Based on the depth of growing medium, garden roofs are categorized as "intensive" or "extensive".
An extensive roof has 6 inches or less of growing medium. It weighs a smaller amount and has lower costs and maintenance but also has lower plant diversity.
An intensive roof has more than six inches of growing medium and tends to have greater plant diversity, as well as higher weight, costs and maintenance.
Green roofs can give cost savings on heating and cooling. The size of the building, the climate and the kind of living roof will affect outputs. Generally a 6 inch extensive roof reduced heat gains by 95% and heat losses by 26% in comparison to a conventional roof.
Green roofs briefly store water so a green roof can reduce excessive volumes and reduce drain overflow. Living roofs also can minimize flooding and erosion damage to buildings, by reducing peak flows.
Whilst they are not intended to be replacements for true natural areas, some green roofs can provide provisions for wildlife. They can be part of a system to complement wildlife habitats within an urban setting. Green roofs could represent island habitats or, better yet, stepping stones for wildlife movement in vastly populated areas. Even in tightly populated areas, green roofs can attract birds and beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies.
Growing your own fruit and vegetables on your living roof can be advantageous to our pockets as well as our carbon footprints: it avoids the need to go to the shop when running out of fresh fruit and vegetables which will in turn reduce the need to travel in your car.
As temperatures increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon-based solar photovoltaic panels reduces. A green roof can boost solar-panel efficiency, and the quantity of power they produce, by decreasing the roof's surrounding temperature. In turn, solar panels can help protect the green roof from wind damage.
Installation of the living roof is not time consuming nor very costly: the experts will lay a single ply roofing membrane down to stop water penetrating your home, then it is all down to you.
For more information on how installing a green roof can save you money, please visit www.icb.uk.com
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