- Home
What Is Metal Roofing?
Metal roofing is another popular roofing option and is growing in popularity in North American home construction. While these roofs are extremely long-lasting and durable, they have a high embodied energy rating. Aluminum, the primary roofing material, has a much higher embodied energy rating between 170 and 230 MJ/Kg. For comparison, cement has a rating of 6 MJ/Kg. (Editor's note: embodied energy estimates vary widely. These estimates are based on the sources cited here.) So, while your metal roof might help increase your home's thermal performance and make a steady place to mount your PV panels, there is a lot of hidden energy required to mine, manufacture, and transport this roofing material.
Five More Sustainable Roofing Options
Are you planning to build a new home or renovate an older, leaky roof? Take a look at the roofing options discussed below. They all offer unique, sustainable, and more environmentally friendly hats for your home.
Bottom line
While roofing is usually an afterthought in the design, planning, and construction of sustainable buildings, these five more sustainable roofing options will allow you to increase the durability and resiliency, as well as decrease the carbon footprint of your home.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
