What A Real Green Energy Roof Looks Like
Many of us are trying to live
"greener" lives. Some of us have started small, by doing simple
things like recycling or making sure to turn off lights when we leave a room.
Others of us are further along in our efforts of living green. We are riding
our bikes or carpooling to work, we are buying more efficient or even hybrid
vehicles, and we are even building green energy homes.
There are many different ways to build a green energy home, whether you are wanting to completely live "off the grid," or just utilize as many green building materials as possible. And one area of your home that you can really go a long way with your living green efforts is your roof.
There are many different ways to build a green energy home, whether you are wanting to completely live "off the grid," or just utilize as many green building materials as possible. And one area of your home that you can really go a long way with your living green efforts is your roof.
Here are a few features of a
"green energy" roof:
1. Insulation
The
insulation of your roof is a great place to start when working to make your
roof more green. There are many different recycled and/or energy efficient
roofing insulation products or materials that you can purchase to help make
your roof more energy efficient. These products/materials have become very easy
to find, and very comparable in pricing to traditional roofing installation
materials.
2. Solar
Panels
Roofing
solar panel systems are growing in popularity with the environmentally-minded.
And when talking about making your home more environmentally friendly, they are
one of the most popular choices. These solar panels trap energy from the sun,
and then use that trapped energy and convert it into power for the home. This
solar energy is not only a renewable and sustainable form of energy for the
home, but it also helps to save homeowners a lot of money in energy costs.
3. Green Roof
Plants
Over
the past few years, the term "green roof" has changed from the
general definition of "an environmentally friendly roof," to
something much more specific. Nowadays, when someone refers to a "green
roof" or a "green energy roof," more times than not they are
actually referring to a very specific concept or set up. According to the more
current terminology, a "green roof" refers to a roof that some or all
of its surface is covered with plants, used for the purpose of increasing
environmental benefits.
These green roofs very easily absorb storm water, so they are usually self-sustainable. They also can serve as the insulation for a roof. And they have great benefits to homeowners for saving on heating and cooling bills. Many newer systems have started to combine solar panel technology with the green roofing systems to help generate the most benefits to their homeowners.
Benefits of
Green Roofing Systems
There
are two main reasons why more and more people are working to "go
green." Some people do it because of the environmental benefits of their
choices. And others are working their way into green energy roofs and other
environmentally friendly choices in their homes because of the benefits that
they have to them directly.
Here are just a few of the benefits of energy
efficient roofing options:
-
Environmental benefits: recycled materials, renewable energy sources (not using
up fossil fuels), etc
-
Reductions in heating and cooling costs (money savings)
-
Hypoallergenic (many of these environmentally friendly materials are better for
people with allergies and/or asthma)
-
Longer lasting (many of these greener options actually have longer lifespans
than other roofing material options)
-
Increased home value
-
Government rebates. Many governments will offer rebates to homeowners who
install some of these green options, making them very inexpensive or even free
to install. So they get the energy cost savings at little to no cost to them.
Author Bio:
This
article was written by Nicole. She writes about green energy options, including solar panels perth.