The Greenhouse Cap feature central to Bright Idea Homes can co-exist with a green roof, but not on the same part of the roof - see the Foursquare Cabin album or just the first two photos below. Only part of a home may require more light. Places such as garages, closets, and storerooms can be grouped together under a green roof, making the rest of the roof available for a Greenhouse Cap.

Different climates are amenable to green roofs and Greenhouse Caps to different degrees. Greenhouse Caps can provide extra storage space, a winter solarium, and interior light with the ability to toggle between direct sun/sky and translucence. They also provide space for solar panels for electricity production as well as the ability to pump winter solar heat gain into the house thereby decreasing oil dependance. These features are very desirable in temperate climates. The Greenhouse Cap can be retro-fit onto any sloping roof or built onto an existing flat roof.

Green roofs, on the other hand, provide thermal insulation against summer heat gain, a major factor in hot climates. They also, of course, have a "greening" effect on the environment - lowering urban summer temperatures, attracting wildlife, mitigating water run-off, and providing pleasant places for humans to visit. They do require a flat roof.

Both features, the green roof and the Greenhouse Cap, like any roofs, can leak. Care must be taken in their construction. The Greenhouse Cap, being essentially a double roof system, has a "back-up roof." If the Cap leaks a bit, the skylights in the flat Cap floor and the tiled and/or tarred floor itself willl not be harmed and will not allow leaks to penetrate to the interior of the house. Today's materials allow for light transmission and insulating properties at the same time.

A green roof, on the other hand, must be strong enough to hold moisture-laden soil and totally impermeable to moisture. New materials now make this possible, although any mistakes in construction may make quite a costly problem to fix.

To read the description and comments for each photo click on "Slideshow" at the bottom or click on individual photos. If you don't, you might miss the interesting info on the two Norway photos at the end.