Rooftops on new buildings built in commercial zones in France must either be partially covered in plants or solar panels, under a law approved on Thursday.
Green roofs have an isolating effect, helping reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building in winter and cool it in summer.
They also retain rainwater, thus helping reduce problems with runoff, while favouring biodiversity and giving birds a place to nest in the urban jungle, ecologists say.
The law approved by parliament was more limited in scope than initial calls by French environmental activists to make green roofs that cover the entire surface mandatory on all new buildings.
The Socialist government convinced activists to limit the scope of the law to commercial buildings.
The law was also made less onerous for businesses by requiring only part of the roof to be covered with plants, and giving them the choice of installing solar panels to generate electricity instead.
Green roofs are popular in Germany and Australia, and Canada’s city of Toronto adopted a by-law in 2009 mandating them in industrial and residential buildings.
Just FYI, my younger brother is involved in solar energy and his most recent work involves installing solar roof shingles. His clients seem to be quite wealthy with large homes.
He is encouraging me to research solar options for whenever I decide to move/downsize to a retirement home. I will do so in the future.
" He is encouraging me to research solar options for whenever I decide to move/downsize to a retirement home. "
That would be wise. If I were to build another house, I would build an underground / earth bermed house, and have a solar panel array. I would still have one or two wood burner stoves.
I looked into geothermal options; they seem reliable and save money, but are costly to install.
My friend in Vermont had one of those external wood heating stoves installed for thousands of dollars. But he buys firewood and keeps the flames going during the winter and he's saving thousands now, with a little effort on his own.
" My friend in Vermont had one of those external wood heating stoves installed for thousands of dollars "
I have a couple of friends that have those. They are pricy to put in, around 13 to 15 thousand I believe. But they do a good job heating. They both cut their own wood. They both say they would do it again.
I still think I would do an underground. I had a friend that built one. He could heat it with a match. No cold air infiltration, and no heat escape. Plus very low maintenance, no fear of storm damage, etc. Very quiet.
