This summer I worked as an intern at Over Easy Solar. My task was to inspect roofs in Oslo to check out the state of some of Oslo municipality's biosolar roofs, in other words green roofs with solar panels☀️🌿
Did you know that green roofs:
🌱 Reduce a Buildings Energy Usage?
Green roofs have insulating abilities that help keep the inside temperature cool in the summer and store the heat inside the building in the winter. Saving energy has been one of the main motivations behind the green roofs I’ve visited this summer!
🌱 Are Great for Storm Water Retention?
In urban areas, flooding and strained drainage systems have become increasingly evident with the increase in unpredictable extreme weather, also here in Oslo! Green roofs are able to hold on to rain water and release it slowly, delaying parts of the water entering the city drainage systems. This way, the green roofs help reduce the risk of flooding and avoid the need for upgraded drainage systems.
🌱 Help the Local Biodiversity?
The second picture included in this post is from Storbylegevakten in Oslo, and while you might not see it in the picture, the roof was buzzing with bumblebees all over the sedum! Utilizing green roofs, especially in urban areas, increases the available area for bees and other pollinating insects to thrive. With the declining insect population in the world, giving green oases to our pollinators living in cities is extremely important.
🌱 Reduce the Temperature of the Surroundings?
The vegetation on green roofs is able to reduce the temperature surrounding the roofs by several degrees! This effect is why green roofs can be crucial in mitigating what is called the “Urban heat island effect”, meaning the increased temperature in urban areas caused by lack of vegetation and waste heat, among other contributors. This is also positive for combination roofs, one of the main focuses of us in Over Easy Solar, as the green roof cools the PV panels and keeps the efficiency high!
🌱 Bind both CO2 and Air Pollution?
The plants growing on the green roofs not only have the ability to bind CO2, our most abundant greenhouse gas, but also airborne particles clouding our urban air. Green roofs therefore help clean the atmosphere and the air we breathe every day!
Included are some pictures from thriving green roofs I’ve visited during the summer.
I hope you found this as fascinating as me, and that this can help spread awareness of the importance of green roofs in future urban planning, as we work together towards a more sustainable future☀️🌿
