heygrün gmbH is brand new on the market with a configurator for green roofs. Private individuals can also easily enter all dimensions online, and the system provides support with pricing and subsidies. Private individuals can then install the product themselves as do-it-yourselfers. Heygrün includes installation instructions when the product is shipped.
The company was founded in Cologne in 2023 with the aim of entering the commercial sector. Partnerships have already been established for the B2B sector. Publishers and planners are already available to upload data to the company website. The founders use the data to create a plan and submit a finished offer to the publisher, who saves all the process costs involved in preparing an offer. There is no initial inspection, no quotation phase and no invoicing, which saves the publisher 3 - 4 hours. The sole point of contact is heygrün.
The grassland boxes used come in different versions. The light version has a structure of 50 mm, which has already been pre-cultivated in the tray. The 95% green tub is delivered to the customer in exactly these dimensions. The weight per unit area is 42 kg per square meter in the fully saturated area. From a structural point of view, the box fits on almost any roof. It is easy to handle for private use and also easy to install in terms of weight. The boxes can be supplied in heights of up to 80mm. In the B2B sector, a conventional structure with substrate, drainage and various sedum mats is also possible. From biodiversity to wildflower meadows for the well-being of wildlife, everything is possible.
There are various options for offering the products via the configurator. The makers of heygrün have noticed that a great deal is put out to tender in the municipalities and included in the development plan. This is good for the company, but unfortunately not always compatible. A lot of consultation is necessary. Customers often have very specific ideas, such as a lush flower meadow, which are not compatible with the statics due to the high substrate weight required. In such cases, the customer has to switch to conventional sedum planting. All options are included in the heygrün configurator.
The company is seeking to cooperate with Over Easy Solar. This is a young, dynamic start-up from Norway that is also on the move digitally with smart ideas. The approaches are identical to those of heygrün, both want to bring digitalization to the trade for the benefit of greater efficiency. On the other hand, there is a shortage of skilled workers, which could be alleviated. There are many concerns about greening on the market. Questions about whether it absolutely has to be a green roof with solar panels or "what about shading?" or "does the whole thing make sense, as everything is growing upwards?" etc. are common uncertainties. heygrün would like to dispel these prejudices, because the synergies with a green roof are perfect: cooling from below through the always damp roof influences the yield of the solar modules, because they work better when cool. If they overheat, they switch off and shut down - the output drops.
There are different variants of solar modules. Heygrün decided to try something new with a solar system that stands on end and is therefore less exposed to snow loads and wind. These systems were already on the market years ago and suffered from the fear that too much shading could occur. This has not proved to be the case so far. Module construction has improved dramatically since then, and even with little sun a modern module generates an extremely high yield. Of course, the orientation of the building must be taken into account when installing the modules. By aligning the modules on edge, they can be optimally distributed on the roof to achieve the best yield.