Last Updated on April 5, 2022 by Kravelv
Every step of planning your roofing is important––from designing it to choosing the material. It can make a huge difference in how it can protect your home, its overall curb appeal, and even the total value of your home. But these aren’t the only things you can achieve with your roof.
Nowadays, reducing one’s carbon footprint is becoming increasingly important. This is because a lot of human activities can affect the environment. So, it only makes sense that more people want to consider sustainability when it comes to their homes.
What Is A Sustainable Roof?
With that said, going for green roof systems, or anything eco-friendly, is becoming more popular. But the nature of sustainable roofs can be unclear, so it’s best to clarify it before investing in them.
To be brief, sustainable roofing aims to be energy efficient and produce some clean energy. To achieve this, the eco-friendly materials used are usually recycled or extracted from nature. It also provides adequate roof ventilation and insulation, which helps reduce the need for heating and cooling appliances such as HVAC systems. Some sustainable roofing systems are also designed to effectively catch stormwater so you could use this for other activities, like irrigation, cleaning, and more.
Choosing a sustainable roofing system
If this is something that you want to achieve, take a look at the following steps to make sure that you can easily choose a sustainable roofing system:
1. Learn The Costs
Usually, homeowners have a specific budget set for home improvement projects, such as roofing replacements, restorations, and installations. The first thing you should do when looking for sustainable roofing is to look at the costs.
It’s best to ask about the costs before anything so you can determine whether it’s something that you can afford at a certain time. But, more importantly, knowing the costs matters because it allows you to weigh whether the services and quality of the roof are worth it.
2. Look For Available Roofing Contractors In Your Area
The next thing to do is to look for a roofing contractor or company in your area. This will help you save up on costs and see what services are readily available where you are. While there are sustainable roofing services that are offered by companies that are a little far away, this can affect the sustainability of the process. This is because more materials will have to be transported from further away, causing more carbon emissions.
3. Get To Know The Materials
Another aspect to look into is the different sustainable roofing materials. This way, you can gain an understanding of their properties and more.
Here are some of the known sustainable roofing materials in the market:
- Metal – It’s long-lasting, energy-intensive, and easy to recycle.
- Slate – This material is extremely long-lasting, durable, and beautiful.
- Clay tiles – These are also long-lasting, durable, and water-resistant.
- Wood shakes – This is known to be the most sustainable option when you want to reroof your home.
- Recycled roofing materials – These roofing materials are made from rubber and plastic, but it looks like wooden slate. These are some of the most durable options for sustainable roofing.
- Green roof – This type of roof reduces pollution, is energy efficient, improves roof life expectancy, raises biodiversity, increases property value, improves drainage, and promotes health and wellbeing.
4. Understand The Installation Process
The installation process is also vital when looking for sustainable roofing. This is because some installation processes can produce a lot of carbon emissions. So, it’s best to look for roofing materials that are easy and faster to install.
5. Check How Long It Lasts
Long-lasting roofing materials are one of the most important aspects to assess. This is because throwing out damaged roofing materials is only going to contribute to land pollution. Furthermore, buying more roofing materials and performing additional installation services will only cause more carbon footprint. So, to minimize these negative effects, look for long-lasting and durable materials.
6. Look For Energy Efficient Roofing
You want a roof that can help improve the temperature in your home, reducing the need for air conditioning or a heater. At the same time, some of these sustainable roofing materials can improve the air quality inside and outside the house. This means that there will be no need to use electric air purifiers.
Conclusion
Switching to sustainable roofing is one of the best ways you can contribute to the environment for the long haul. This is because it affects how much garbage you produce, the energy you use, and how much carbon emissions are released into the environment through the entire process of maintenance, repairs, and installation.