6 Green Roof Benefits That Increase the Quality of Any City

Benefits of Green Roofs

The city of Vienna has been rated the number one place to live in the world 8 times in the last 10 years. Vienna has been at the forefront of exploring green roof benefits and is currently experimenting with some of the most promising ways to implement these systems. The benefits of green roofs that they have experienced firsthand could mean that we see more green buildings, green walls, and even green homes in the future.

Green roofs in densely populated urban areas have been shown to cool entire cities, cut the cost of energy bills, and even enhance the effectiveness of solar panels.

What is a Green Roof?

Green roof systems are designed to transform the otherwise empty space on the top of a building into a form of natural infrastructure capable of benefiting the population in a myriad of ways. Think of it as a park on a rooftop. 

Green roofs—or eco roofing— have conventionally been used to complement the installation of solar panels, but by allowing both plants and panels to exist in a symbiotic relationship for homes and buildings, they may also increase our well-being by transforming spaces into a sort of sanctuary. 

Here are 6 benefits of green roofs that can instantly increase the quality of life in nearly every city that everyone, even homeowners, should know about. 

Green Roof Benefits: They Reduce the Cost of Energy

A plant’s adiabatic capabilities mean that it has the power to both cool the area around it and retain excess heat. This allows eco roofing to cut the costs of both air conditioning and heating systems. Additionally, this lessens the overall demand for energy and therefore lowers greenhouse gas emissions.

Green roof systems also retain and store rainwater, saving costs for facilities. This both lowers the strain on our stormwater systems and acts as a natural collection area for useful greywater. Greywater is water not suitable for drinking, but that can be repurposed for vital utilities like plumbing.

Eco Roofing Effectively Battles Climate Change

Green roof benefits don’t just include saving money, they are an excellent tool against climate change. Every plant added to our planet increases its ability to absorb harmful greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels.

Scientists are currently working hard to find ways that allow natural organisms like fungi to absorb more carbon in our atmosphere than they already do. But aside from absorbing carbon, certain plants and shrubs can also cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back into space—what is known as the albedo effect. The more sunlight that is reflected away from the earth, the less heat is stored on the planet in the form of solar energy.

Plants and shrubs with a high albedo effect that are chosen for the area add to the benefits of green roofs.

Vienna is Cooling their City With Green Roof Systems

In a 2023 survey, Vienna was once again ranked to be the best place in the world to live. For over a decade now, the city has experienced green roof benefits firsthand. The Energy Planning Commission of Vienna has been experimenting with two types of green roofs: a shallow, more extensive version and a deeper, more intensive one.

Types of Green Roofs

Extensive Green Roofs: The extensive green roof model is 8 cm thick and is well-suited for growing succulents, mosses, herbs, and grasses. The simplicity of their vegetation makes them easier to maintain than their intensive counterpart, and they can cover a lot more space on a rooftop. 

Intensive Green Roofs: Intensive green roofs are 20 cm thick. They can accommodate a larger variety of different-sized plants including small trees. These systems require more care and water, but they also have the potential to better benefit the surrounding area.

Eco Roofs Enhance the Effectiveness of Solar Panels

The plants used for eco-roofs have the ability to cool the ambient air around them and have been shown to increase the performance of solar panels by as much as 20%. The more stable climate created by the plants increases the power output of solar panels. Vegetation layers also act as natural anchors for the panels, making them easier to install.

They Greatly increase Biodiversity

Eco roofs are one of the best solutions for rebuilding the ecosystems lost to urbanization.

With enough care and planning, the natural spaces created by green roofs can greatly increase the biodiversity of places where it has been decreased or removed altogether. These spaces can be designed to accommodate a variety of plants home to many diverse species of animals and insects.

Solar panels can also add to the benefits of green roofs regarding their biodiversity. The shade generated by the panels results in longer water retention for the plants which helps them grow. If the plants used for the green roof naturally thrive in shade, it further contributes to the biodiversity of the roof.

The added diversity of plants can even make a home for threatened species of birds, bees, and other animals.

They Greatly Enhance Our Health and Wellness

Plants are amazing to have in any city because they act as purifiers by filtering particles out of the air and can even reduce noise pollution when grown in sufficient quantities. If you have ever been in a building that has an indoor sanctuary of plants and trees, you will know exactly what this feels like.

The air is cleaner to breathe; sounds are sharper and more refined as they travel through airways.

Something as simple as the natural beauty of these spaces has an immense impact on mood and by extension productivity. An office building with a green roof will produce happier and healthier workers.

This benefit of green roofs also extends to include green walls.

What Is a Green Wall?

Green walls are essentially the same as green roofs, but instead of being created on a rooftop, they are integrated with the façade of a building. More space for vegetation means more benefits to the surrounding city.

The 3 Types of Green Walls

There are 3 types of green walls:

Ground-bound: These are by far the most cost-effective. Climbing plants that cling to buildings and support structures like trestles are planted around the base of a building. Enough ground is needed next to the wall of a building for this system to work.

Containers: When ground space for climbing plants is not available, planting containers can be placed around the base of a building to achieve the same effect as a ground-bound system.

Wall-bound: The entire side of a building can be made green with vegetation when the right irrigation and nutrient-supply systems are installed. Like intensive green roofs, the wall-bound model accommodates a larger variety of plants like flowers and shrubs but also requires more maintenance and infrastructure in the form of suspended planters.

They Pave the Way for More Solutions to Big-City Problems

Eco roofs with solar panels that have been designed with enough space for people to gather can turn any barren building into a lively oasis; thereby creating a higher-quality cityscape. The congestion problem many cities have due to a dense population may provide the perfect opportunity to lower greenhouse gases if more space is used to grow plants, shrubs, and trees.

The symbiotic relationship between vegetation and solar technology suggests there may be no need in the future to differentiate between natural and artificial infrastructure. Organizations like the David Suzuki Foundation have shown that municipalities can benefit financially by building natural infrastructures such as forests and wetlands. There is every reason to think that cities themselves will become more profitable by incorporating more natural infrastructures into them.

The cities of the future may do more than just enjoy these green roof benefits. They may also be able to profit from them for generations to come.