Future Homes to Have Greener Roofs

Eco-friendly homes are all the rage, as concerns over global warming happily collide with self interest over energy costs. Solar panels, "Low-E" windows and LED lights are all great places to start, but consider for a moment the impact of solar radiation on the rooftop. The sun's energy can overheat a house in the summer but also can lower energy use during the colder winter months.

Dow's solar-gathering roof shingles certainly are a big step forward, but a recent Fast Company article highlights the wide variety of innovative, eco-friendly roofing designs that are poised to become more mainstream materials atop the houses of tomorrow.

One of the more impressive roofing materials comes from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a roof tile (pictured) that changes from black to white depending on the temperature. So during the heat of the summer -- or even on a freakishly warm autumn afternoon -- the tiles automatically turn white and deflect the extra heat. When it's cold, the tiles change to black, thus absorbing solar energy and passively heating the house.

The students and researchers who developed the prototype roofing material, named "Thermeleon" (think "thermal" and "chameleon"), won first place in a materials engineering contest at the esteemed school.

Penn State researchers have created cylindrical solar panels, which collect more power than their flat counterparts because they allow more surface area to collect the energy. Similar technology has been used for larger institutional and commercial buildings, but this is the first residential-ready application. Directly beneath the cylindrical panels are live plants to help maintain a steady temperature below.

Last but not least -- and perhaps the most imaginative -- is the concept of the living roof, wherein the entire rooftop is covered with soil and a cohesive variety of plant life to help regulate a home's temperature without burning heating oil or firing up the AC. One of the better living roof designs was created by Seattle-based LMN Architects and is featured on the Vancouver Convention Centre. About 400,000 indigenous plants live on top of the six-acre roof garden.

With so many green rooftop innovations coming down the pike, I would expect tar and tile shingles to eventually become passe. But how about some better state and federal tax incentives for those of us who for now can't afford to do the right thing?

Photo courtesy of MIT News