Creating sustainable roofing solutions

The race is on to find the construction solutions to support the nation’s decarbonisation ambitions. With the Climate Change Committee stating that the UK’s 28 million homes contribute around 14% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions; building better, more sustainable and energy efficient homes must be a key priority.

The uplift changes to Part L of the Building Regulations now in effect in England marks an important milestone, setting the standard for thermal performance and energy efficiency for new builds. Part L is a welcome foundation towards achieving the energy performance requirements set out in the forthcoming Future Homes Standard.

When it comes to the built environment, eco-friendly roofscapes have a positive role to make towards overall sustainability objectives. A combination of material selection for roofs, together with innovative advancements in areas such as solar PV, means there is greater ability for specifiers to create roofing answers that chime with the sustainability agenda.

With targets set out in Part L to reduce carbon emissions in new homes by 31%, it is widely acknowledged there are several ways that this can be met. Currently one of the most cost-effective is to combine an efficient gas boiler or renewable heat pump alongside a solar PV system that can harness the energy creating prowess of the sun on the roof.

Aside from the obvious sustainability advantages brought by harnessing the power generation of the sun to create a clean energy source, investing in the installation of solar PV can provide financial benefits also. Ahead of further price increases this winter, it is estimated that a 4kW solar PV system could generate electricity up to the value of £1,575 (based on a cost of 45p p/unit)*, offering homeowners significant savings on energy bills.

Solar PV technology is tried and tested, readily available and has become much more affordable in recent times. Indeed, such is the momentum behind the adoption of the technology, Solar Energy UK predicts the changes to Part L could lead to a five-fold increase in the number of new homes specified with solar technology.
The ideal solution for both new and refurbishment projects, Marley SolarTile® enables integrated solar PV on a roof, offering a more visually appealing, cost effective and easier to install option. Replacing a section of roof tiles, integrated solar PV provides a sleek appearance and acts as a seamless part of the overall roof aesthetic.

From an installation perspective, solutions such as Marley SolarTile® can be effortlessly integrated with any of the existing tiles on a roofscape including all formats of concrete and clay roof tiles, as well as natural and fibre cement slates, making it an attractive and simple specification choice that supports the aims and ambitions of the Part L changes.
Finally, Marley SolarTile® is available as a key component of a complete roof system and offers the reassurance of a 15-year guarantee, as part of one. This means specification decisions needed to create sustainable roofs for the future can be made with total confidence in the knowledge they will continue to perform to a high level for years to come.