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A green roof, also known as a living roof or a rooftop garden, is a vegetative layer that is grown on the top of a roof. Green roof construction has been necessitated by the fact that there is a greater need to recover green space and as a result maintain environmental quality and sustainability. Green space recovery has been necessitated because of the replacement of land with impervious surface sowing to rapid urbanization and population growth. The continued urban expansion and population growth have absorbed the habitats of indigenous plants, birds, and insects.
In the USA, there has been an increase in the popularity of green roof construction over the years on account of its many known benefits. One company that has been known to offer the green roof construction service in the U.S. is Green Roof Technology. The Green Roof Service LLC was founded in 2002 as a subsidiary of green roof engineering and installation Company, started in 1985 and based in Germany during the green roof revolution in Germany. The Green Roof Technology division was officially established in 2011 despite the fact that green Roof Service LLC has been operating in the U.S. since 1999.
The Green Roof Technology is comprised of qualified and specialized consultants, engineers and architects. The services offered by the company cover all your construction needs in regard to green wall, green roof, and natural pool. Consequently, here are the many benefits of a green roof construction to the building owner, the community and the environment.
Green roof construction, unlike the traditional black tar roof, is able to reduce the costs of energy through heat absorption and providing buildings with natural insulation. It uses sustainable green building materials that can help reduce unwanted waste, minimizing environmental degradation. and It has been established that an extensive green roof of six inches is able to reduce the energy demands during the summer by at least 75%. During the winter, green roofs are able to help in the minimization of heat loss by added insulation.
A green roof construction enables the waterproofing membrane to be covered. Therefore, the waterproofing membrane is safeguarded against UV rays and daily fluctuations of extreme daily temperature. The waterproofing membrane on a green roof is able to last at least 2 or 3 times longer compared with conventional roofing waterproofing membranes.
A dead or unused roof space is able to be transformed into a garden space through green roof construction. The rooftops can, as a result, be employed for the purpose of urban agriculture and recreational and social spaces.
The impervious urban areas surface usually encourage stormwater runoff, especially during heavy or continuous rain. Moreover, rapid roof stormwater runoff can also aggravate flooding, increased erosion and the direct discharge of raw sewage into our rivers.
The green roof reduces stormwater runoff since the stormwater that eventually manages to leave the green roof is delayed and the volume is reduced. It has been established that a green roof is able to retain about 60% to even 100% of the received stormwater. Also, the green roof together with its plants returns a portion of the stormwater to the environment through evapotranspiration.
Urban heat island (UHI) refers to the temperature difference between the surrounding countryside and urban areas. In large cities, the temperature difference can be as much as 22?. The urban conventional roofs are able to both absorb and trap heat due to the fact that generally they have dark surfaces and are only able to reflect inadequate solar radiation.
Green roofs are able to reduce the effect of UHI because they utilize evaporative cooling, unlike conventional roofs, by the virtue of having plants and growing media. Some of the heat is absorbed by the green roof and the water evaporation from the soil and plants helps in the ambient temperature lowering because the air is cooled and humidified.
As an undisturbed area, a green rooftop can act as a home for creatures that are struggling to survive in urban areas due to reduced green space. A ground-nesting bird like Killdeer can benefit from the presence of a green roof for not only nesting but also raising its young ones.
The green roof vegetation leaves produce oxygen and trap dust particles and gaseous pollutants and therefore, assists immensely in their reduction from the air and environment.
Covered in green roofs and walls and totalling 15,000 square meters of green space altogether, PARKROYAL on Pickering is a famous green structure famed for its architectural eco-friendly design.
Sporting a curving green roof and an encompassing eco-friendly structure, the School of Art, Design, and Media at the NanYang Technological University is an architectural marvel that boasts a series of green roofs.
While the initial expenses for green roof construction may outweigh that of a non-green roof, it is important to understand that the associated long-term gains outweigh the concerns of initial cost. All you need to do is ensure that you use the service of a reputable construction company for your green roof construction project to be able to realize the numerous potential benefits.
