Get A Green Roof With Solar Panels For Less
Some tax breaks benefit your pocket and it brings a smile to your face. Green-roof tax abatement not only makes you happy it makes the environment better. There is now even more incentive to install a green roof as New York City is offering homeowners an even bigger reason to do so.
Increased Benefits
This is not a new scheme but as very few people have created a green space the tax rebate has been tripled. It has been tripled in areas where green spaces are lacking as well as areas that suffer from sewage overflow during the rainy season.
The rebate increase means a green roof will give you from $5 to $15 per square foot rebate. The initial outlay may be intimidating but the increased tax rebate defrays the cost over time. A green roof has the benefit of insulating your property thereby reducing heating and cooling bills. Increased energy efficiency also helps reduce carbon emissions. Along with the tremendous cost saving rebates for solar panels that are available in NYC, a green roof with solar panels becomes the one two punch many of us have been waiting for.
Returns Explained
The returns are not just financial. With a green roof, you are able to reduce carbon emissions as your property will become more energy efficient. With an improvement in the air that we breathe it is easier to understand that a green roof can help reduce the urban heat island effect. The rise in city temperatures, compared to rural and suburban areas is attributed to more human activity and fewer green spaces.
With some 40,000 acres of available rooftop space, we should be feeling the benefits quickly. Extreme heat is the cause of more illnesses than you realize. The vulnerable members of our community are at increased risk of dehydration and heatstroke.
It is not just the problems caused by excess heat that green roofs combat, they also reduce flooding. When it rains a green roof will absorb water and alleviate some of the problems caused by heavy rainfall. It seems to me that installing a green roof can help reduce some of the negative impacts of climate change.
It also had the hidden benefits of being able to provide additional food sources for the ever-increasing population. If channeled correctly new wildlife habitats can be created and the general space improved. Green roof installations protect the roofing materials from direct exposure, reduce environmental wear and tear and increase the systems life span.
Other environmentally beneficial roof developments include solar-panel installations or reflective coatings, and having a green roof doesn’t rule out other options. You can combine a green roof with energy from solar panels. You will gain the benefits of a green roof; and the solar panel. Your houses will run more efficiently because of the insulating properties of the green roof.
There are so many advantages to having a green roof as your property will only increase in value if you install one. The next step will be for the city to decide which neighborhoods will be eligible for the new, higher green-roof tax abatements. Careful planning will be needed here to ensure that areas that need them the most will be targeted first. It is an exciting time to live in New York.
