Want your roofing to be environmentally friendly? Here are some tips.
Roofing can be environmentally friendly and still protect your home. Why not go green with your rooftop in addition to other parts of a building’s structure. By choosing materials and techniques that leave less of a carbon footprint,
you could be creating a strong and long lasting structure, saving on utility bills, investing in your property value and saving the planet. What more could you ask for from a roof? Here are some tips:
-Recycled material: There are various shingles that have been produced from recycled throwaways. Materials used include plastic, wood fiber, rubber, and trash items from consumers, factories plus junk that would have ended up in the dump. These shingles are attractive and last a long time. Think a twenty or thirty year roof is long lasting? Some of these will be around for fifty years or even longer. Depending on the material, they may be so fireproof that your insurance premiums will be lowered, which means your house probably won’t burn down either.
-Reclaimed lumber shakes: Timber shakes are classic and if made from freshly chopped trees, aren’t so great for the environment. Reclaimed lumber has changed all this, however. Nowadays, timber that has been salvaged from old buildings, barns, pickle vats, fences and warehouses is being recycled and converted into roofing, flooring and more.
-Roofs that are truly green – as in gardens: Yes, many rooftops are living gardens that are beautiful, living and eco-sound. With the proper slope, sprinklers and drainage systems, commercial and residential structures are becoming gardens. An especially easy way to do this is something called Green Paks which is basically a ready-made fold-out pre-planted garden of grasses, flowers or what-have-you.
-Light Pipes: A new-fangled form of skylight or solar tube that is being placed on rooftops is called a light pipe. These are devices placed on the roof to harvest sunlight for heat and light to be distributed throughout the structure via pipes.
-Residential Wind Turbines: Harvesting wind energy is another method of gaining energy via your roof. These wind turbines are especially appropriate in areas with strong winds which can then be converted to power. Some individuals aren’t convinced that one of these could generate enough power for a household but it could certainly be useful in conjunction with other methods.
-White gravel on flat roofs: Today, there is an updated method that was originally used back in the olden days. That is, placing white gravel on rooftops to reflect solar heat and keep the building below it cooler. Today’s cool roofs combine white gravel with white glue for a highly reflective product. While this is great in hot climates, it isn’t a perfect solution for cold climates trying to absorb heat.
Environmentally friendly roofing can be a great idea. By using recycled and reclaimed products, a home builder’s carbon footprint would be greatly reduced. By adding innovative devices and ideas to your home such as a garden up top, light pipes, white gravel and white glue or harnessing the wind with turbines, you could be doing the green thing in a smart and attractive way.
