Green Roofing Options

If you’re thinking about a sustainable building product, a good place to look is your roof. Most people don’t think about roofing material, but just the best deal you can get for you money. However, since most homes have asphalt shingles, a material with a high environmental impact, and low reusability, and with a short life, roofing is area that needs a second look.

For starters the water runoff is not safe to drink, but there’s no regulation about letting it run into the soil. If your roof is starting to show its age, that presents a perfect opportunity to replace it with a greener option. There are a number of options when it comes to environmentally friendly roofing. Here are a few.

One of the most popular choice in green roofing material is the living roof. Quite literally it is green. A living roof contains a layer of soil or a soil substitute and plants grow on top of them. The first benefit is that they significantly increase the insulation factor of the house which will reduce your heating and cooling bill. Additionally green roofs help the home blend into its surroundings, and they’re quite beautiful. If the home is new, topsoil that’s been displaced during construction can also be recycled as part of a living roof.

You can also reduce your grocery bill by growing vegetables and herbs. City dwellers will especially appreciate this type of roof sinceit provides a park like space to spend time. In cities, they reduce the urban heat island effect somewhat, and they also keep storm water from running off onto the street or ground. Plants can help remove pollutants from the air and water while on your roof, and they’ll help increase the local wildlife population. These roofs are really catching on in in large cities where green spaces are fewer and government incentives are being offered to place a living or green roof on buildings.

Green roofs have a few negatives though. They are much heavier than a traditional roof which means the infrastructure may need to be strengthened to hold them up. If the supporting structure is poorly designed, the roof may leak or attract animals to to set up housekeeping. However, this won’t happen if the structure is properly designed.

Another choice is the metal roof. You should know there is some debate about the sustainability of metal roofing. The positive aspects are that it is a material that lasts a long time, almost never needs to be replaced, and can be recycled after removal. On the other hand, metal production is an environmentally damaging process. For the best of both worlds, recycled metal can be used, but that’s not always possible. However, for those who want to collect rainwater for use around the home, enameled metal roofs are a good choice, as they don’t contaminate the water. They’re lighter than living roofs, but heavier than a conventional asphalt shingle roof. Metal roofs also interfere with signals from satellite antennas.

Although cedar shake roofs require harvesting of trees, they are another popular roofing material. The shakes are made of untreated cedar, and they won’t rot the way other woods do. In general, they last longer than asphalt shingles. The cedar shake industry says this material is renewable, sustainable, and recyclable.

Finally, a long standing roofing tradition in the Southwest is ceramic tile which is nontoxic and long lasting. Kilning clay into tiles requires a reasonably large investment of energy. That means that, like a metal roof, there’s a large investment in tile. However, the durability and nontoxic properties of this material offset the problems for many. Tiles tend to be expensive and very heavy. Although single tiles may need to be replaced periodically, the roof as a whole is quite durable. Unglazed tiles are the most popular, but glazed is an option as well.

Whatever roofing material you choose, keep in mind that the term green is not regulated or monitored. You’ll have to do your due diligence to make sure the products you choose are environmentally sound based on science rather than hype.Your thoughts?