In 2008 the Government’s Water Strategy for England acknowledged that the below-ground piped systems were insufficient when coping with extreme rainfall and identified the importance of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) and green roofs, for climate change mitigation and water management.

The Green roofs inclusion within the SUDS strategies have been limited to date however must surely be desirable, as they:

Extend the roofs waterproofing durability

Reduce energy consumption

Provide amenity space

The feasibility of the green roofs within the SUDS strategies shall therefore be evaluated against SUDS design criteria.

1)      Water Quality Improvement by ways of reducing water runoff velocity, filtering pollutants such as nitrogen, copper, zinc, lead and calcium.

2)      Amenity Benefits by ways of providing green space (e.g. roof gardens, communal parkland, areas of recreation and entertainment. Increased access to greener and cleaner spaces is believed to benefit health by reducing blood pressure, and reducing heart rates.

3)      Ecological Enhancements: Almost 90% of England’s population live in approximately 10% of land cover. Habitat lost to urban development therefore lowers species diversity-threatening future food and medicine sources. Whilst not directly replacing habitats green roofs can create compensatory habitat for a variety of flora and fauna.

4)      Hydraulic Performance: Conventional drainage systems typically convey greater and faster run off however green roofs manage storm water more sustainably through the evaporation of rainfall intercepted by the plant surfaces.

Lowering Runoff Volumes…

Long term research from the University of Sheffield, has highlighted has indeed indicated that green roof’s are indeed effective in reducing run off volumes.

Reducing Flood Risk….

The response to extreme events is clearly of most interest in managing flood risk….the green roofs performance in this response was equally noteworthy: Of 30 significant events, a hydrologic benefit was evident for every event, whether this be reducing the run off of water or reducing the volume of water.

With previous research haven been investigated different roof configurations and in different climates, worldwide, divergent results are inevitable. There are also seasonal trends.

The Future?

Hopefully in the future green roofs schemes will feature more prodominantly within SUDS Strategies, as they must recognise the physics-based research of the hydraulic benefits.

Watch more videos on www.greenroofs.com Learn the basics of greenroofs here: what living roofs are, what they do, and how they help solve the most pressing ecological and developmental issues facing the built environment showing projects from around the world.

Each year the amount of green space in the UK is affected by the continued requirement for new builds. The key players and influencers in the house building market need to take urgent action to ensure that new builds are designed with green space in mind.

Gordon Brown has set targets for 5 new eco-towns accounting for 100,000 homes. Thankfully these developments are ear marked for old industrial or brownfield sites. However, due to population increases and lack of space it is likely that there will be a case for high density housing. 

Key living roofs commentators such as Dusty Gedge would argue that designers should make green space a top priority in early design stages to help ensure that high density housing maximises green space. Living green roofs can help to maximise green space in such developments. We often forget about the amount of roof space available which can be used as sky gardens. With so much space being taken up by the footprint of buildings, calls for sky gardens or green roofs are now high on the agenda.

Green roof systems not only are an aesthetical feature but they help significantly reduce the urban heat island affect. Many of us will be well aware that inner city temperatures are often 5 degree’s higher than our rural neighbours. Green roofs lock in moisture giving a cooling affect to our inner city concrete jungles. They act as a haven for wildlife and importantly reduce surface water run off. So in turn helping to reduce strains on drainage systems. 

Large schemes encorporting green space are not uncommon and one well known example is the BedZED eco-homes. The Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) recognised the importance of roof terraces and balcony’s including green roofs to maximise green space. Not to mention the improved insulation properties that green roofs can achieve.

Each year the amount of green space in the UK is affected by the continued requirement for new builds. The key players and influencers in the house building market need to take urgent action to ensure that new builds are designed with green space in mind.

Gordon Brown has set targets for 5 new eco-towns accounting for 100,000 homes. Thankfully these developments are ear marked for old industrial or brownfield sites. However, due to population increases and lack of space it is likely that there will be a case for high density housing. 

Key living roofs commentators such as Dusty Gedge would argue that designers should make green space a top priority in early design stages to help ensure that high density housing maximises green space. Living green roofs can help to maximise green space in such developments. We often forget about the amount of roof space available which can be used as sky gardens. With so much space being taken up by the footprint of buildings, calls for sky gardens or green roofs are now high on the agenda.

Green roof systems not only are an aesthetical feature but they help significantly reduce the urban heat island affect. Many of us will be well aware that inner city temperatures are often 5 degree’s higher than our rural neighbours. Green roofs lock in moisture giving a cooling affect to our inner city concrete jungles. They act as a haven for wildlife and importantly reduce surface water run off. So in turn helping to reduce strains on drainage systems. 

Large schemes encorporting green space are not uncommon and one well known example is the BedZED eco-homes. The Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) recognised the importance of roof terraces and balcony’s including green roofs to maximise green space. Not to mention the improved insulation properties that green roofs can achieve.

Green roofs are more commonly known as power saving resources in California due to all of the power that they help to harness and recycle. These roofs are extremely popular in farms and open fields because they help produce the needed energy to power up a house without using any electricity or power from outside sources. The material and technology used to make a green roof are simple. Some of them use plants, pots and foil. Others use other materials such as windmill like objects or a natural generator to help a house maximize their energy potential.

Advantages Of A Green Roof

A green roof is built by covering an entire area or roof by some sort of vegetation—either completely or partially. This green cover may carry entire gardens, have irrigation facilities, drainage systems and additional features. They are complicated to construct, but have many advantages. It not only makes a building look beautiful, but has a positive impact on the environment as well. They also reduce heating of the place, and can act as a solar heat pool if glassed. It does natural filtering of pollutants and harmful gases and make great agricultural spots.

To have this kind of an energy saver in a home, a person can easily either put the components together themselves or hire a special contractor that knows how to do this. It is very important to realize how this can help the planet when it comes to using and harvesting unused, renewable energy.

With this method a person can use plants, grass or even dirt to help capture some of the energy from the sun or wind to use as their own personal energy keepsake. There are a lot of ways that this can help people save a lot of energy and also store it for later for more purposes.

Green Roofs For Green Living

Green roofs are amazing things that have revolutionized the way we harness and use energy and this is one of the reasons why many companies are using them to promote green living. They are allowing homes to use as well as reuse energy in an effort to go green. Everything that we do affects our planet, and this new design helps us better our eco system and help us save more money in the process. This is a method that takes a while to develop but the results long term and seen daily. There are many other things while using green roofs in such as energy saving titles to promote a greener environment.

The best part of a green roof is all of the information that we learn and put to use as we discover how to depend on more natural forms of energy. These roofs are very noticeable as they come in the forms of plants and dirt and whole beds of flowers for any one who wants to have them installed in their own homes. One of the most prominent way that these flowers are used are in the back of each house, as they work better to capture and turn the heat into energy to help power up to 10 houses in a block or more.