Should You Fit A Blue-Green Flat Roof?

Daniel Bracewell • 10 May 2024

There are a lot of reasons to opt for a flat roof construction for your building project, from increased usable space, the potential for roof storage and the relative inexpensive of repairs, as well as flat roofs simply being in architectural vogue.

However, one of the most fascinating developments over the past decade is the potential for the green roof, where a roof is used as a bed for plants, grass and shrubbery.

It does not necessarily have to be flat, but flat roofs are far better suited for housing plants, and a specialist can help with ensuring that the roof is structurally secure enough.

However, a new concept known as a blue-green roof is becoming increasingly popular in Amsterdam through projects such as the Resilience Network of Smart Innovative Climate-adaptive Rooftops (RESILIO).

This combines the beauty and sustainability found in a green roof with the water retention and storage of a blue roof, something that has been seen since the “sponge city” concept of the 2000s where green infrastructure is used to reduce the risk of flood damage and the strain of urban drainage.

It takes the concept of a green roof further; whilst greenery will naturally absorb water as part of their living processes, a blue-green roof uses a layered system of water retention and recovery.

The RESILIO system uses a layered roof system that has the plants and soil on the top layer, a filter layer to keep soil and plant roots from reaching the roof and a crate system that absorbs, stores and filters the water into water storage systems.

There are even experiments into having a layer of solar panels, allowing a green roof to be used for power generation at the same time.

The problem, and a reason why a blue-green roof is not an adaptation everyone can use is weight; whilst the greenery and even the soil are not too heavy, the water being stored is, and this needs to be accommodated into retrofits.

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Can You Install Solar Panels On A Flat Roof?

by Daniel Bracewell • 10 December 2025

If you’re exploring how to lower your energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint, you may be looking at the likes of solar panels for your home. But what if your property has a flat roof rather than a pitched roof? Can you still install solar panels on a flat roof? The short answer is yes, you can! In fact, it is often easier to install solar panels on a flat roof than it is to fit them to a sloped roof, which might make this an even more appealing avenue to explore when you’re looking at flat roof ideas . In many cases, you also don’t need planning permission to install solar panels on your flat roof. Of course, there are exceptions if you have a listed building or live in a conservation area, but if you own your house (different rules apply for flats too), you should be free to add solar panels to your home as you choose. There are different kinds of mounting systems for flat roof solar panels and which is most appropriate for your home will depend on the direction it faces. It is worth noting that the cost of installing solar panels is often higher on flat roofs because of the mounting system, but some of this can be offset by the lower labour costs because the installation process is usually more straightforward. One of the main reasons homeowners install solar panels is to reduce their energy bills. Many report savings of hundreds of pounds each year, which means these panels often pay for themselves relatively quickly. What’s more, under the Smart Export Guarantee , you can sell any energy you don’t use back to the National Grid, which can increase the rate at which your investment in solar panels pays for itself. So, if you are exploring ways to make the most of your flat roof, consider solar panels as an option to reduce your energy bills and do good for the environment.