BMI UK and Ireland release Active Roof Systems

BMI UK & Ireland has enhanced its portfolio of market-leading pitched and flat roofing technology solutions with new Green and Blue ‘Active Roof Systems’. Active Roof Systems is how BMI UK & Ireland describes roof coverings that perform a greater function beyond shelter and protection. While weather-tightness is the primary purpose of a roof, with the right technologies, roofs can be transformed into power stations, rainwater recycling systems or an opportunity to reduce energy costs.

An evolution of BMI’s existing offer, the BMI Canopia Green Roof offers the chance to create natural spaces in the sky, improving air quality, biodiversity and well-being for building users.  BMI Canopia also improves the thermal efficiency of buildings by providing an additional insulation layer, while also reducing solar gain and the effect of ‘urban heat islands’ which can be damaging to both health and the environment.

BMI Canopia is a range of four standard systems – Sedum, Wildflower, Biodiverse and Intensive Green – and the product and planting options available combine to deliver a huge number of roof permutations.

Sedum roofs lend themselves to rainwater attenuation, owing to the succulent nature of the planting; Wildflower and Biodiverse roofs deliver meadow habitats to support a greater breadth of flora and fauna than Sedum types; while Intensive Green Roofs are designed to be trafficked, creating gardens and recreational spaces for sport and leisure.

BMI UK & Ireland is also launching its new Blue Roof system. Blue Roof systems control water flow from rooftops and limit flooding during heavy rainfall. A water attenuation board, which stores water temporarily, is covered with a permeable top layer, which itself can be a Green Roof to further increase roof attenuation capabilities, while  outlets work to restrict the flow rate of water from the roof to greenfield levels.

Blue Roofs can be deployed in inverted roof structures, podium decks, warm roofs and ballasted roofs. The build-up of an inverted Blue Roof, for instance, would comprise a waterproofing layer, insulation, water attenuation void former, filter layer and the top, permeable, layer.

Blue Roofs tend to require fewer outlets than a traditional design, which means that construction times can be shorter and there are fewer penetrations which reduce the risks of faults or leaks. The number of flow restrictor outlets, the openings within that outlet and their position must be carefully designed and installed accordingly. An important step in the installation process is a post-installation inspection to ensure that the roof has been built to the intended design.

Blue Roofs are gaining popularity in the UK as an alternative form of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). Other methods such as below-ground water attenuation tanks are almost always more expensive to construct and may simply not be possible in built-up areas.

For more details of BMI UK & Ireland’s roofing technologies, visit www.bmigroup.com/uk