In the world of eco design, both green roofs and solar panels have many incredible benefits on their own. A green roof (also called living roof) is a roof of a building covered with vegetation and plants. This is all well-prepared and planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers (root barrier, drainage and irrigation). And secondly, a solar panel is a packaged connected assembly of photovoltaic cells. It is known due to its benefits to the environment and the sustainability.
Now we know the benefits of each one, we can ask ourselves: Are they a good combination? Do they work better together? Or, is there a new benefit if they are working together? Great questions; let’s find out the answers.
Green roofs work very well when they are installed with solar panels. The main advantages are the easy installation of the vegetation and the solar units; the reliable stability of solar units from load of the green roof; the higher efficiency of the panels due to the cooling effect of the green roof. The last one seems to be the most spectacular. Specialists say that heat is the worst enemy to the generators of electricity. So, the vegetation and the special membrane work to keep cool the building and this allows the solar panels to work better and to be more efficient. It is said that green roofs keep energy reducing the workload for the solar system. These living roofs actually improve solar system efficiency.
Important studies show up that green roofs combined with solar panels reduce the use of energy as much as 10% in a building. It also reduces the need of cooling during summer and the demand for heating in winter.
So, it is great to say that green roofs and solar panels are a match made in heaven and they work perfectly together. The panels can strengthen the living roofs by creating areas of biodiversity. The combination of these two features is a step further in sustainable eco-friendly home design.