Providing an exact definition for a sustainable roof can be tricky because ‘sustainable’ means different things to different people (although hopefully we can all broadly agree on what we mean by a roof!). When people talk about ‘sustainability’ what they usually mean is ‘environmentally friendly’. There are a number of ways in which a roof can be environmentally friendly (or not!) and, as a general rule, the more of these you can accomplish with your roof, the more sustainable it will be.

Cutting energy usage

One of the key elements of sustainability is reducing the amount of energy we use. Around 50% of our home energy usage goes on heating and many homes lose a large amount of the heat they generate through their roofs. The better we can make our roofs at retaining heat, the less energy we will therefore need to use to keep our homes at a comfortable temperature.

There are two main ways to make our roofs better at keeping in heat. Firstly, we can insulate them better, either by increasing the thickness of the insulation under our roofs or by using better quality insulation which retains more heat per millimetre of thickness. Secondly, it is important to reduce the amount of warm air escaping from our roofs through cracks and gaps in the roof structure. By fixing both of these issues we can create roofs that keep us warm with much less heating, making our homes more sustainable and with the nice bonus of saving us money on our energy bills!

The other thing people often overlook is the energy required to manufacture and transport the roofing materials, referred to as the ‘embodied energy’ of roof. Switching to roofing that requires less energy to produce and transport cuts the embodied energy and makes your building more sustainable from day one.

Generating energy

If you have spent any time at all looking at the nation’s roofs over the last few years, you can’t have missed the increasing number of solar panels popping up all over the place. More than just a fashion statement, solar panels and roof tiles can seriously boost your home’s sustainability credentials. Even in our not-always-super-sunny climate, solar panels can produce a significant amount of electricity helping to slash your building’s carbon footprint.

If you are serious about making your home or business more sustainable, solar panels can have a massive impact and will usually pay for themselves in the savings you make on your bills.

Reducing waste

The construction industry has a reputation for being pretty wasteful, so if you want your roof to be truly sustainable you need to look at ways of cutting the waste generated by your roof. Choosing roofing that generates the least amount of waste possible during the manufacturing process will go a long way to making your roof more sustainable. You also need to think about what will happen to your roof when it eventually needs replacing, so choosing materials that can easily be recycled is the sensible choice.

Send your sustainability through the roof with Metrotile

Metrotile’s lightweight steel roofing has a number of advantages that make it one of the most sustainable options on the market.

Our tiles fit together extremely tightly, making them excellent at retaining warm air, and are thinner than many other options, leaving plenty of room for extra insulation. They are up to 7 times lighter than traditional roofing so require less fuel to transport, cutting their carbon footprint. We also offer a range of photovoltaic products, meaning your roof can generate energy as well as cutting your usage. Finally, our tiles come with a 40 year weatherproof guarantee meaning you won’t need to replace them in a hurry and, when you do, they are 100% recyclable!

To find out more or to ask for a quote, call Metrotile today on 01249 658 514 or use our contact form for a swift response.