How Do Green Roofs Provide Insulation

They absorb heat from the sun they absorb co2.

How do green roofs provide insulation.

1 cool your roof cool roofs are lighter in color than traditional black asphalt or dark wood shingles and save energy by reflecting light and heat away rather than absorbing them. Unlike traditional black tar roofs green roofs reduce energy costs by absorbing heat instead of attracting it and providing natural insulation for buildings. The greater insulation offered by green roofs can reduce the amount of energy needed to moderate the temperature of a building as roofs are the site of the greatest heat loss in the winter and the hottest temperatures in the summer. There is a lot of cynicism that they don t actually serve enough eco purpose to be worthwhile but they do have some genuine benefits.

For one thing it can be rolled into batts. However a green roof does not provide additional insulation. Cotton is a natural and renewable resource which makes the plant one of the greenest insulation products on the planet. Sound waves are absorbed and reflected.

In addition to thermal insulation a green roof also has a sound insulating effect. Sound waves are both absorbed reflected or deflected. Green roofs provide innumerous benefits including shading by foliage retarding heat transfer by advection transfer of heat or matter by the flow of a fluid providing thermal mass effect prompting evapotranspiration increasing stormwater retention and protecting waterproof roofing assemblies. Whilst the growing medium tends to block lower sound frequencies the plants tend to block higher frequencies.

They use heat energy during evapotranspiration a natural process that cools the air as water evaporates from plant leaves. Well some of that material actually gets recycled into insulation. The substrate blocks the lower frequencies while the plants absorb the higher frequencies. The basic anatomy of a green roof consists of vegetation growing medium filter membrane drainage layer waterproof root repellant layer roofing membrane support for plantings above thermal insulation vapor control layer and structural roof support.

Cotton insulation is similar to fiberglass insulation in several ways. This is known as the albedo effect and many studies have documented significant energy savings from simply lightening the color of a roof. A green roof s plants remove air particulates produce oxygen and provide shade. When it comes to roofing green roofs are without doubt one of the more visible signals that you have built a sustainable home.

According to a study conducted by the national research council of canada even a six inch extensive green roof can reduce summer energy demands by more than 75 percent.