If you are interested in renovating your roof, then there are quite a few different options available to you. If you have a particular interest in environmentally friendly roofing, then that narrows down your options quite a bit. To help you narrow down your options even further, here is a comparison of two of the most popular types of environmentally friendly roofing: solar panels and green roofs.

Solar Roofing

As far as popularity goes, solar roofs are definitely one of the first things that come to mind when environmentally-friendly roofing is mentioned. Solar roofs offer a variety of benefits, but they aren't for everyone.

On the plus side, solar roofs can dramatically reduce your electricity bills in the long run. Many solar panel systems involve the use of a reservoir to store solar power for usage during the night and days where the sun is covered up by clouds. In fact, you can often make money by using a solar panel system by selling your excess electricity back to the local electric grid. Of course, the grid will need to be configured for such a scenario, and not all power grids have the capability of supporting such systems.

The main drawbacks are primarily the high initial cost and the possibility of poor sunlight. The high initial cost is self-explanatory, since solar panels are quite expensive, both to buy and install. They can also break, which can result in very high replacement costs. If you live in an area that doesn't get a lot of sunlight or if you simply have a spell of bad weather that blocks out the sun for an extended period of time, then your solar panels might be simply useless.

Green Roofing

Green roofs are essentially roofs that are covered in specific types of vegetation. Green roofing is also a little different than solar roofing, since it is meant to combat an entirely separate problem. While solar panels are built to reduce dependence on unclean sources of electricity, green roofs are good for reducing the negative environmental impact of cities and mitigating the potential damage of rain.

Green roofs help combat the heat island effect by ultimately lowering the temperature of cities. Furthermore, green roofs can increase the strength of building insulation, since the layer of plants will create an additional layer of natural insulation between the building and the exterior.

However, green roofs can be difficult to maintain manually and some of their benefits are lost if used in rural environments. The heat island effect is not a danger in non-urban environments, so there is less incentive to get a green roof.

For a local roofing contractor, contact a company such as Hazelmere Roofing LTD.