We often focus on the financial burden of roof damage, but the environmental consequences are equally significant. Every leak, every collapse, leaves a hefty footprint on our planet. Domely, a leader in smart roof monitoring, is committed to quantifying this impact and demonstrating how its innovative solutions help mitigate these environmental costs.

Unveiling the Environmental Toll of Roof Losses:

Commercial buildings are essential to our economy but come with a significant environmental impact. A recent study by the French government ( E+C-, 2015 ) analyzed life cycle analyses of over 1,000 buildings, revealing that materials production and replacement account for a staggering 43% of a building's carbon footprint. When a roof fails, this impact is amplified, contributing to:

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Manufacturing and transporting new roofing materials release harmful greenhouse gases, accelerating climate change.

• Water Pollution: Manufacturing processes can pollute waterways with chemicals and waste, harming aquatic ecosystems.

• Resource Depletion: Roof replacements require vast quantities of raw materials, contributing to resource depletion and habitat destruction.

• Waste Generation: Disposing of old roofing materials adds to the growing burden on our landfills.

Distinguishing the Impacts: Collapses vs. Infiltrations

The environmental impact of roof damage varies depending on the severity of the issue.

• Roof Collapses: Catastrophic collapses necessitate complete roof replacements, generating a massive surge in emissions, pollution, and waste.

• Water Infiltrations: While seemingly less severe, chronic water infiltrations can lead to the premature degradation of roofing materials, requiring more frequent replacements and compounding the environmental burden over time.

A Deep Dive into Domely's Methodology:

To understand the true environmental cost of roof damage, We developed a robust three-step methodology:

Step 1: Assessing Building Construction Impacts:

• Data Source: We utilized data from the French government's E+C- experiment, a groundbreaking initiative launched in 2015 to assess the carbon footprint of construction projects. This experiment provided detailed life cycle analysis studies for 1,222 buildings, including 161 commercial buildings.

• Impact Categories: Domely focused on key environmental impact categories relevant to roof damage:
• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions: Measured in kilograms of CO2 equivalent per square meter of building area (KgCO2/m²).
• Air Pollution: Quantified in cubic meters of contaminated air per square meter of building area (m3/m²).
• Water Pollution: Measured in cubic meters of contaminated water per square meter of building area (m3/m²).
• Net Use of Clean Water: Measured in cubic meters of clean water per square meter of building area (m3/m²).
• Hazardous Waste Disposed: Measured in kilograms per square meter of building area (kg/m²).
• Non-Hazardous Waste Disposed: Measured in kilograms per square meter of building area (kg/m²).

• Establishing a Baseline: By analyzing the E+C- data, we calculated the average environmental impact of constructing commercial and institutional buildings across these categories. For instance, the construction of such buildings generates an average of 1,102 KgCO2/m² of GHG emissions.

Step 2: Environmental Impact per Dollar Spent:

• Intensity Indicators: To translate construction impacts into a cost-based metric, we created intensity indicators representing the environmental impact per dollar spent on repairs.

• Calculating Intensity: Using the average construction cost of a commercial building ($2690/m²), we divided the environmental impact per square meter by this cost to obtain the impact per dollar.
• Example: For GHG emissions, the intensity indicator is calculated as 1,102 KgCO2/m² / $2690/m² = 0.40967 KgCO2/$. This means that every dollar spent on repairing a commercial building results in the release of 0.41 kilograms of CO2.

• National Scale Extrapolation: We then applied these intensity indicators to the total annual roof losses in North America (21 Billion dollars) to estimate the overall environmental burden:
• Example: For GHG emissions, the impact is calculated as 0.40967 KgCO2/$ * $21 Billion = 8.6 Million tons of CO2.

Step 3: Environmental Benefits of Domely Solutions:

• Claims Data Analysis: We analyzed historical claims data to determine the frequency and average cost of different types of roof damage.

• Benefit Estimation: By multiplying the average claim amount by the intensity indicators, we estimated the environmental impact of each claim type. Then, by comparing the expected claim frequency with and without Domely solutions, the environmental benefits could be quantified.

This table demonstrates the potential environmental savings achieved by preventing even a small percentage of claims.

Results: A Clear Path to Sustainability:

• Domely DeepSnow™: Saves an estimated 148 kg of CO2, 139 cubic meters of water, and 377 kg of waste per building monitored each year.

• Domely Connect™: Saves an estimated 578 kg of CO2, 543 cubic meters of water, and 1,477 kg of waste per building monitored each year.

Collective Impact:

With thousands of buildings already equipped with Domely solutions, the positive environmental impact is substantial and growing:

• 7.2 Million dollars in annual claims avoided: Demonstrating the effectiveness of Domely's preventative approach.

• 2.9 Million kilograms of CO2 emissions prevented: A significant contribution to mitigating climate change.

• 7.5 Million tons of waste diverted from landfills: Reducing the strain on our waste management systems.

• 2.7 Million liters of clean water saved: Conserving a precious resource.

Domely: A Partner in Sustainability:

Domely's data-driven approach to roof monitoring provides building owners with the insights they need to make informed decisions that protect their investments and the environment. By deploying Domely's smart solutions, you're choosing a path towards a more sustainable future.