What Are Green Roofs?

A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and soil, or a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. This does not refer to roofs which are merely colored green, as with green roof shingles. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems.

Container gardens on roofs, where plants are maintained in pots, are not generally considered to be true green roofs, although this is an area of debate. Rooftop ponds are another form of green roofs which are used to treat greywater.

The term green roof may also be used to indicate roofs that use some form of "green" technology, such as solar panels or a photovoltaic module. Green roofs are also referred to as eco-roofs, vegetated roofs, living roofs, and greenroofs.

Benefits

A modern green roof (California Academy of Sciences). Constructed for low maintenance by intentionally selecting a wide selection of native plant species, with only the hardiest varieties installed on the roof.

Green roofs are used to:

• Grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

• Reduce heating (by adding mass and thermal resistance value) and cooling (by evaporative cooling) loads on a building especially if it is glassed in so as to act as a terrarium and passive solar heat reservoir.

• Increase roof life span.

• Reduce stormwater run off.

• Filter pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air.

• The soil and plants on green roofs help to insulate a building for sound; the soil helps to block lower frequencies and the plants block higher frequencies.

• Filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater.

• Increase wildlife habitat in built-up areas

A green roof is often a key component of an autonomous building. Green roofs can also reduce heat loss and energy consumption in winter conditions.

Green roofs can be categorised as"semi-intensive", intensive, or extensive, depending on the depth of planting medium and the amount of maintenance they need. Traditional roof gardens, which require a reasonable depth of soil to grow large plants or conventional lawns, are considered "intensive" because they are labour-intensive, requiring irrigation, feeding and other maintenance. Intensive roofs are more park-like with easy access and may include anything from kitchen herbs to shrubs and small trees. "Extensive" green roofs, by contrast, are designed to be virtually self-sustaining and should require only a minimum of maintenance, perhaps a once-yearly weeding or an application of slow-release fertiliser to boost growth. Extensive roofs are usually only accessed for maintenance. They can be established on a very thin layer of "soil" (most use specially formulated composts): even a thin layer of rockwool laid directly onto a watertight roof can support a planting of Sedum species and mosses.

Another important distinction is between pitched green roofs and flat green roofs. Pitched sod roofs, a traditional feature of many Scandinavian buildings, tend to be of a simpler design than flat green roofs. This is because the pitch of the roof reduces the risk of water penetrating through the roof structure, allowing the use of fewer waterproofing and drainage layers.

Modern green roofs, which are made of a system of manufactured layers deliberately placed over roofs to support growing medium and vegetation, are a relatively new phenomenon. The modern "trend" started when green roofs were developed in Germany in the 1960s, and have since spread to many countries. Today, it is estimated that about 10% of all German roofs have been "greened".Green roofs are also becoming increasingly popular in the United States, and are starting to be installed around many parts of Europe.

A number of European Countries have very active associations promoting green roofs including Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Sweden and the UK. Outside of Germany the City of Linz in Austria has been paying developers to install green roofs since 1983 and in Switzerland it has been a federal law since the late 1990s. In the UK their up-take has been slow but a number of cities have developed policies to encourage their use, notably in London and Sheffield.

Many green roofs are installed to comply with local regulations and government fees, often regarding stormwater runoff management. In areas with combined sewer-stormwater systems, heavy storms can overload the wastewater system and cause it to flood, dumping raw sewage into the local waterways. Green roofs decrease the total amount of runoff and slow the rate of runoff from the roof. It has been found that they can retain up to 75% of rainwater, gradually releasing it back into the atmosphere via condensation and transpiration, while retaining pollutants in their soil. Elevation 314, a new development in Washington D.C., uses green roofs to filter and store some of its stormwater on site, avoiding the need for expensive underground sand filters to meet D.C. Department of Health stormwater regulations.

Combating the urban heat island effect is another reason for creating a green roof. Traditional building materials soak up the sun's radiation and re-emit it as heat, making cities at least 4 degrees Celsius (7 °F) hotter than surrounding areas. On Chicago's City Hall, by contrast, which features a green roof, roof temperatures on a hot day are typically 14€ 44 degrees Celsius (25€ 80°F) cooler than they are on traditionally roofed buildings nearby.

Green roofs are becoming common in Chicago, as well as Atlanta, Portland, and other United States cities, where their use is encouraged by regulations to combat the urban heat island effect. In the case of Chicago, the city has passed codes offering incentives to builders who put green roofs on their buildings. The Chicago City Hall green roof is one of the earliest and most well-known examples of green roofs in the United States; it was planted as an experiment to determine the effects a green roof would have on the microclimate of the roof. Following this and other studies, it has now been estimated that if all the roofs in a major city were "greened," urban temperatures could be reduced by as much as 7 degrees Celsius.

Green roofs have also been found to dramatically improve a roof's insulation value. A study conducted by Environment Canada found a 26% reduction in summer cooling needs and a 26% reduction in winter heat losses when a green roof is used. In addition, greening a roof is expected to lengthen a roof's lifespan by two or three times, according to Penn State University's Green Roof Research Center.

Rooftop water purification is also being implemented in green roofs. These forms of green roofs are actually treatment ponds built unto the rooftops. They are built either from a simple substrate or with plant-based ponds.

Green roofs also provide habitats for plants, insects, and animals that otherwise have limited natural space in cities. Even in high-rise urban settings as tall as 19 stories, it has been found that green roofs can attract beneficial insects, birds, bees and butterflies. Rooftop greenery complements wild areas by providing "stepping stones" for songbirds, migratory birds and other wildlife facing shortages of natural habitat.