More green. More watts. One roof.
Gray concrete surfaces, dark asphalt, and reflective glass facades—city centers across Germany are heating up faster and faster, transforming urban living spaces into veritable heat islands. It's not just urban planners who are looking for ways to cool down our city centers; politicians are now also alarmed. The solution? Re-greening open spaces in the city, starting with our roofs. And if you automatically think of photovoltaics when you think of roofs, you're absolutely right. What politicians and climate protection advocates will soon be demanding, novotegra can already deliver today – with our PV mounting system for green roofs.
Specifications. Conditions. Subsidies.
The political direction is clear: in many regions, PV is already mandatory for new buildings and renovations, and with Solar Package I, the German government is specifically promoting the expansion of renewable energies. In addition, there are municipal subsidy programmes that increasingly offer grants for green roofs. In some cities, greening roof areas is already mandatory for new buildings.
The market is also growing rapidly internationally: in Austria, the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG) is providing massive support for the expansion of PV, while in Switzerland, the Energy Strategy 2050 stipulates that one third of all roofs should contribute to basic solar power supply.
Green below, sunshine above – climate protection on two levels!
These roof surfaces in particular offer enormous potential: when greened, they create cooling oases in the middle of the city that can noticeably lower the ambient temperature – in other words, natural air conditioning.
But that's not all the potential of roof surfaces has to offer. Photovoltaic systems are the ideal complement to green roofs, because they offer a double benefit. The evaporative cooling effect of the vegetation increases the performance of the PV modules and thus the amount of electricity generated. At the same time, the solar modules provide shade and protect the vegetation from drying out or extreme weather conditions. This creates new habitats for plants and insects in urban areas. They contribute to the natural cooling and purification of the ambient air and allow large amounts of rainwater to seep away.
The increased biodiversity and retention effects significantly improve the urban climate. In addition, green roofs act as natural insulation: they protect buildings from heat loss in winter and from overheating, UV radiation and extreme temperature fluctuations in summer. And as green oases, roof gardens also improve the quality of life in densely built-up cities.
Did you know?
A solar module on an unplanted roof can lose power due to heat on hot days. A green roof can cool the roof surface to 30-35°C, as the plants lower the ambient temperature through evaporative cooling. The natural cooling effect of the green roof regulates the temperature of PV modules, which in turn can generate up to 15 % more power.
Quick and easy installation thanks to novotegra multifit.
This is where our photovoltaic mounting system comes into play: thanks to its ease of use and straightforward installation, it can be installed quickly and easily. Under good roof conditions, around 20 kWp per person per day can be installed. The system consists solely of substrate mats, supports, C-rails and clamps. The components can be connected to each other easily and with virtually no tools.
The substrate mats are laid in a chequerboard pattern and the supports are positioned and mounted on them accordingly. The substrate for the vegetation also serves as ballast for the PV system. No cutting or measuring is necessary for the design. After the supports come our proven clamping system: C-rails and module clamps are used to connect the modules.
The module supports are also impressive: thanks to practical handles and low weight, they are light to transport. In addition, they are made of recycled plastic and manufactured in Germany. The other components are also proven novotegra products.
The best thing is that the C-rails and module clamps are cross-system components and thus fit in with the novotegra multifit principle.
Now even better: our second-generation green roof system
We don't conduct market research in the office, but directly on the roof. That's why we reacted quickly when it became clear that our green roof system could be further optimised.
As part of this process, we have fundamentally redesigned our green roof support and given it a new, innovative shape. The component is now not only light and more ergonomic to handle, but also compatible with our C-rail and our centre and end clamps. This means that the redesigned novotegra green roof system is now part of our multifit-compatible systems.
But it's not just the supports that have been optimised: with our Solar-Planit planning tool, a wider maintenance aisle can now be planned if required. This makes future maintenance work on both the PV system and the green roof itself much easier and ensures even greater practicality.
Ready to power up your green roof?
Start your project with novotegra
Planning a green roof? Don't forget to add a photovoltaic plant!
Discover all components in the BayWa r.e. webshop now.
Are you planning your first novotegra system? Then learn from our experts during a free initial mounting support session.