Urban heat islands linked to the release of air pollutants from asphalt and bare roof coverings. Green roofs are a mitigant.

Heat Islands: Bare Roofs Release Pollutants

Urban Heat Islands can cause asphalt and roof coverings to release more secondary organic aerosols (SOA) than road traffic. Cars still release the most pollutants overall, but the SOA produced from rooftops and asphalt is significant and has, until now, largely gone unreported.
This study is yet another argument for implementing green infrastructure such as vegetated, green roofs to cool our cities, restore the natural water cycle, and improve biodiversity.

Heat Islands Cause Bare Roofs to Release Air Pollutants

The benefits of a green roof are not limited to environmental matters. Living roofs also provide economic, health, and social advantages.

Top 10 Benefits of a Green Roof

It is no surprise that green roofs provide environmental benefits, but did you know they can provide economic, health, and social benefits as well? A green roof is an excellent investment that will ultimately pay for itself. By adding a vegetated roof to the city you are able to cut cost related to energy usage, contribute to the reversal of the urban heat island effect, reduce ambient noise, increase biodiversity, increase your roofing membrane’s lifespan, naturally filter the air, and even find new hobbies to decrease stress. From the well-known benefit of stormwater management to the unfamiliar tax credits, read about all the perks provided by living roofs.

These are the Top Benefits of a Green Roof

These are the main challenges to green roof biodiversity.  Which are the most effective methods to increase urban biodiversity fast?

Top Green Roof Biodiversity Challenges

What about green roof biodiversity? A sedum extensive green roof is much more diverse and brings so many ecological benefits ranging from stormwater to cooling, to pollution capture compared with a black or white roof. Sure, it might not be perfect, but the comparison should not be to that of natural forests, but to a black, virtually sterile roof. If our target is to green our cities quickly, we need to be less stuck in dichotomous thinking and go for the methods that are tried and tested and that we know work. Sometimes this means installing a super diverse intensive green roof, and sometimes, this is a thin extensive sedum roof. Both increase urban biodiversity.

Is Green Roof Biodiversity Important?

Here we compare retention and detention. Dick explains why detention is a more reliable tool for stormwater management.

What is stormwater detention?

Detention is water temporarily held by the green roof that flows out at a later time. Why is this important? This manages stormwater run off by reducing/ delaying peak flow rates. Effects from runoff include infrastructure damage, over flowing pipes and sewers, flooding, and erosion. In this video, Dick and Joep compare and contrast retention and detention strategies for managing stormwater runoff. The models help demonstrate the effects of urban stormwater discharge.

What is Stormwater Detention?

How green roof retention is currently tested and how this can be a misrepresentation of real-world retention values.

Best Methods to Test Green Roof Retention

What is retention? It is the process of holding water on the green roof, also known as evapotranspiration.  In this video, Joep and Dick use models to explain how the ASTM-E2399 test is used to measure retention. The ATSM test actually measures the maximum weight of the green roof. Why is this important? This is one way to reduce runoff and increase cooling potential.

Are you considering a green roof? Learn about green roofs, their history, benefits to the environment,  and the installation process.

8 Green Roof Myths Exposed

Whether you know them as green roofs, living roofs vegetated roofs, or eco-roofs they are tied to many misconceptions. Many people worry that intensive and extensive green roofs are too expensive, they have many faults that will cause roof damages, they cannot be protected by a warranty, they can be installed by anyone, and they do not have much research conducted on them. After some analysis, you will realize the idea of green roofs is simpler than the misconceptions lead on.

Learn About the Top 8 Green Roofs Myths

Soil poorly distributes water on green roofs. A combination of needled mineral wool and soil solves this issue and reduces irrigation needs.

How To Minimize Green Roof Irrigation

Green Roof Diagnostics laboratory has tested over 800 different green roof profiles over the last 2 years, and many of them showcase that green roof soil, in particular, is a funny product that is not always very good at managing water, or better said it doesn’t compensate for uneven rainfall distribution very well.

Minimize Green Roof Irrigation

A sustainable city limits urban sprawl and uses green infrastructure to add back essential green areas needed for air quality and stormwater control.

Green infrastructure for Sustainable Cites

A sustainable city is densely populated. This might appear counterintuitive, but the current urban sprawl weighs heavily on both environment and economy. A more densely populated city will allow for more effective land use and reduce pressure on surrounding agricultural, recreational, and wild surrounding lands.  Green infrastructure can be used to add back green areas to the cityscape in a cost, and space-effective manner.

The Future City is Green!

Green roof spring maintenance - a quick guide for a lush, healthy, and highly functional living roof!

Green Roof Spring Maintenance

An extensive green roof requires very little maintenance, but a green roof is still a living thing in need of some tender loving care, especially after the long and cold winter. Read more in this quick guide!

Spring Maintenance for Green Roofs

Green infrastructure is slowly replacing old and outdated grey stormwater water management and is often the financially sensible solution.

What Stormwater Management Options are there?

Stormwater management is needed to prevent flooding, erosion, pollution of water, to appropriately refill our aquifers, and to reduce habitat degradation. Stormwater management is particularly important in urban areas where most surfaces are impervious and do not absorb much water.  Green infrastructure and green roof stormwater management are replacing old & outdated grey infrastructure.

Green & Grey Stormwater Management Options

How can we mainstream nature-based solutions such as green roofs through economic incentives, communication, and research?

Are Green Roofs Nature-Based Solutions?

Green roofs are a type of nature-based solution as we let nature work for us instead of against us. How can we work on mainstreaming these natural solutions and make them financially attractive and widely accepted? We interviewed Dr. Helen Toxopeus from Utrecht Sustainable Finance Lab.

Green Roofs as Nature-Based Solutions

What is retention? Green roof stormwater management comes in two parts: retention and detention.  Retained water never leaves as runoff...

What is Green Roof Retention and why is it Important?

Green roof stormwater management  is made up of retention and detention. What is vegetated roof retention? Retained water leaves as vapor through evapotranspiration and detained water is slowed down runoff...

What is Green Roof Retention and Why is it Important?

Learn the difference between green roof retention and detention in this article and short explainer video.

What is the Difference Between Retention and Detention?

The difference between green roof retention and detention is the direction of the water. Retained water returns to the air as vapor and detained water is slowing down runoff.  Learn more about these hydrological vegetated roof  terms in this video article!

What is the Difference Between Green Roof Retention and Detention?

Find out when a detention roof, e.g. a Purple-Roof, is a perfect stormwater solution for your project.

Is a Detention Roof a Good Fit for Your Project?

Detention roofs are excellent stormwater management tools and provide all the benefits of a green roof. Purple-Roof also provides a clear green roof ROI. However, not all projects are suitable. Find out more!

Does a Detention Roof Make Sense for Your Project?

Blaue, Blau-Grüne Dächer und Purple-Roof (in Deutschland: Detention Roof) sind Lösungskonzepte zur Detention - Wahre Starkregenmanagement!

Top 3 Detention Roofs auf dem Markt

Wussten Sie, dass Sie mithilfe Ihres Daches Wasser zurückhalten können? Blaue, Blau-Grüne Dächer und Purple-Roofs/Detention Roof sind Lösungskonzepte zur Detention, die auch Ihre Anforderungen ans Regenwassermanagement erfüllen und Grüne Kapitalrendite generieren!

Blaudächer, Blau-Grüne Dächer und Purple-Roof sind alle Detention Roofs

Green roof research is moving fast forward! These are the latest advancements in the field of green stormwater management.

Advancements in Green Roof Research

Green roof research shows that traditional green roofs have many benefits, but they are unreliable stormwater management tools. Detention roofs can provide stormwater management as well as the green benefits of traditional green roofs.

Green Roof Research for a Sustainable Future!

Wie vermag Dachbegrünung, Dächer kühl zu halten?  Verdunstungskühlung gekoppelt mit dem Energieverbrauch durch Photosynthese...

Reduzierung von Urbanen Hitzeinseln mit Dachbegrünung

Reduzierung von urbanen Hitzeinseln mit Dachbegrünung Urbane Hitzeinseln (UHI) entwickeln sich besonders in urbanen Regionen und stehen für örtlich erhöhte Temperaturen, wenn die Landschaft sich von grün zu grau verändert. Was einst grün, feucht und kühl war, ist nun Asphalt, Stein und Zement und heizt daher schnell auf.

Gründächer Reduzieren Urbanen Hitzeinseln

Unsere zukünftige urbane Umwelt braucht grüne Infrastruktur wir Gründächer.  Wie begrünte Dächer dazu beitragen können, die Luftverschmutzung zu verringern.

Gründächer Reduzieren Luftverschmutzung

Dieser Artikel wird sich mit der Wirksamkeit von begrünten Dächern und Fassaden bei der Reduzierung der Luftverschmutzung und der Verbesserung der Luftqualität befassen. Wir werden uns auch den Stickstoffhaushalt und -abfluss anschauen, da dies ein Thema ist, das sehr eng mit Luftverschmutzung zusammenhängt.

Dachbegrünung Reduziert Luftverschmutzung

A Detention Roof generates a return of investment for your green roof! Green is profitable!

A Detention Roof Creates a Green Roof ROI

Create an ROI for your green roof through Detention! A Detention Roof is a true stormwater management tool that kicks out your old tank and, in addition,  gives you all the benefits of a resilient green roof: heat island & pollution mitigation, increased biodiversity, and much more!

Using a Detention Roof to Create a Green Roof ROI

There are alternatives to phenol-formaldehyde mineral wool for green roofs. Non-toxic needled mineral wool is an excellent substitution!

Non-Toxic Mineral Wool for Green Roofs!

Mineral wool significantly improves green roof retention and makes the living roof more resilient. Phenol-formaldehyde-containing mineral wool is an old technology. There are non-toxic alternatives on the market that have been Declared Red List Free.

Is Phenol-Formaldehyde right for the Green Roof?

Detention green roofs fast-forward sustainable urban gray-to-green transition through a clear ROI based on reliable stormwater management.

Green roof ROI for fast gray-to-green transition

Urban Development: From Gray-to-Green Roofs

Winter installations of sedum roofs can be very successful. These are resilient plants. Here are a few things to consider!

Winter Installation of Sedum Roofs

Winter installations of sedum roofs can be very successful, especially if you use sedum mats.

Can You Install Sedum Green Roofs in Winter?

Green Roof Diagnostics provides independent research; helping the green roof industry analyze, quantify, model, and test components.

Green Roof Diagnostics: Independent Green Roof Research

Data-Driven Green Roof Research

Green roofs can mitigate air pollution by absorption of particles and gasses, as well as by a reduction of urban heat island effects.

How Green Roofs and Living Walls Mitigate Air Pollution

Green Roofs Mitigate Air Pollution

Green roofs mitigate urban heat island effects through evaporative cooling. Nature-based & sustainable with many secondary benefits.

How Green Roofs Mitigate Heat Island Effects

How Green Roofs Mitigate Urban Heat Island Effects

Green infrastructure is the stormwater management of the future. Stormwater runoff should be seen as a resource.

Green Infrastructure Stormwater Management

Manage Stormwater with Green Infrastructure

Green Roof Details for Purple-Roof, a non-proprietary specification for living roofs. 100% frustration-free!

Interactive Purple-Roof Green Roof Details

Green roof details matter! These documents need to be crisp, clear, and easy to follow as they lay the base of the early communication around the roof project. Purple-Roof is a non-proprietary specification for vegetated roofs.

A Quest for Improved Green Roof Details

Mineral wool increase green roof retention. Mineral wool needling removes the need to use toxic phenol-formaldehyde.

Why Use Mineral Wool on Green Roofs?

Mineral wool on green roofs increases water retention. Mineral wool needling does not use toxic phenol-formaldehyde.

Mineral Wool on Green Roofs - Compaction and Toxicity?

Microbial inoculations of vegetated roofs are getting more common. Are green roof inoculations the key to green roof performance?

Do Green Roof Inoculations Work?

Are Green Roof Inoculations Worth It?

Living roof terminology such as retention and detention are sometimes mixed up. Here is a short explanation on which is which.

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