Archive for July 2012

Home Archive for July 2012

The Green Roof Industry is Growing Fast

July 31, 2012 Add Comment Edit

A rapidly growing initiative is seeing homeowners and businesses planting vegetation on rooftops around the world. Green roofs are growing in popularity because they offer both economic and environmental benefits. These roofs reflect far more light than black tar roofs in summer and thus act as heat shields. In winter they offer excellent insulation and throughout the year they absorb precipitation rather than letting it flow down a storm drain. They also support biodiversity, improve air quality and act as a carbon sink.

Green roofs have long been popular in Europe for more than 30 years, cities like Stuttgart Germany have millions of square feet of green roofs comprising 20 to 25 percent of the city’s flat roofs. Overall approximately 10 percent of the roofs in Germany are green. Cities such as Stuttgart and Copenhagen have mandated green roofs on most new construction. Now Toronto Canada has also introduced such mandates.

A 2005 study calculated that if 75 percent of the flat roofs in Toronto were green, it would save the city $37 million a year on storm water management, energy bills, and costs related to urban heat island effects.

Green roofs are also seeing tremendous growth in cities like Chicago, Portland, Manhattan and Washington DC, which has set a goal of 20 percent green roof coverage by 2020.

According to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, an industry association, roughly 10 million square feet of green roofs were built in 2009, compared to a million in 2004.

As reported in Planet Save, in 2010, despite a very weak economy, the U.S. green roof market grew 30%. Approximately 8-9 million square feet of green roofs were reportedly added last year, largely in large cities like Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. that have implemented good green roofing policies.

According to the results of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) 2012 Annual Industry Survey of Corporate Members the green roof industry grew by 115 percent over the course of 2011, up significantly from 28.5 per cent growth recorded in 2010,” said Steven W. Peck, GRP, President of GRHC. Although green roofs have expanded exponentially in the US, there are still “huge opportunities for expansion,” said Steven Peck, Founder and President of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.

The major obstacle to the spread of green roofs is the initial cost, which can be anywhere from $15 to $35 per square foot. Although green roofs are two to three times the cost of a non-green roof, they last two to three times as long as conventional roofs.

The growth of green roofs makes sense from an environmental and an economic perspective. Although Chicago is a city that has built up its green roof infrastructure without government incentives, tax abatements, and regulations, such government support will help green roofs to expand even further.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Green Roofs and Storm Water Runoff

July 31, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Green roofs contribute to urban sustainability planning by reducing heating and cooling costs for buildings but they also help to reduce the amount of untreated water that flows into local waterways. They reduce runoff by approximately 90 percent. In addition to a host of other financial benefits green roofs offers a storm water mitigation benefit of $4.26 per square foot.”

As reviewed in a 2011 Triple Pundit article, a study on green roof conducted by ConEdison in partnership with the Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research, reveals that green roofs help cities find cost effective ways to deal with excess storm water.

Storm water runoff from urban areas is is significant source of pollution in nearby waterways. Although some of this water is treated by municipalities, during periods of high precipitation or snow melt, the excess flow often goes directly into nearby waterways.

One study indicated that if 1 billion square feet of New York City’s roofs were greened, the city could reduce its annual storm water flow by one third or 10 billion gallons.

Green roofs trap excess storm water and the Con Edison green roof study reveals that this is a cost effective way of storm water management. The researchers determined that the roof was trapping about 22 times more storm water on an annual basis than was previously thought possible, making it the most cost-effective solution available.

The researchers point out that green roofs have a distinct advantage over holding tanks and other infrastructure. Holding tanks simply capture excess flow, which is eventually sent to a treatment plant. In contrast, the excess flow captured by green roofs eventually evaporates or is absorbed by vegetation avoiding the sewer system all together. This not only provides an environmental benefit to local waterways, it helps to reduce energy consumption and other costs related to treatment systems.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Benefits of Green Roofs

July 30, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Green roofs provide a wide range of benefits, perhaps the most widely known is the fact that they significantly reduce energy demand and the cost of interior cooling. However, green roofs offer a wide range of benefits that extend beyond sustainability and cost savings. In addition to contributing to the comfort of those who reside inside such buildings, green roofs provide immense quality of life benefits outdoors.

Green roofs reduce energy and costs by insulating the buildings interior from the heating effects of the sun, the deeper the soil the greater the protective effect. On the hottest days, the temperature difference inside buildings with a green roof can be as great as 5 or 6 degrees.

There is also a profound psychological benefits for those who enjoy the roofs verdant surface. Biodiverse green spaces are increasingly being recognized as a vital part of a healthy urban landscapes. As reported in Scientific American, research suggest that green spaces make us feel good, they are also places for reflection, and as such, restorative environments.

Additional benefits extend out into our communities and our economy. As covered by Planet Save, Steven Peck from the organization "Green Roofs for Healthy Cities", cites ten benefits of green roofs:

1. Job Creation: Adding green roofs to 1 percent of US buildings would cost $9 billion and create 190,000 jobs.”
2. Reduce Crime: Increased urban greenery reduces crime.
3. Increased Property Values: Even nearby buildings by 11 percent.
4. Protect Roofs: Longevity can be increased by 25-60 years (double normal roofs life span).
5. Reduce Noise Pollution: Green roofs insulate against sound.

6.. Make Rooftop Solar More Efficient: Rooftop solar efficiency is increased by 5-25 percent. 7.. Make Rain Cleaner: Reduce acidity in rain.
8. Increase Biodiversity: Birds, bees, butterflies, wasps, and beetles, if they include native plants.” 8.
9. Save Energy: “reduce solar gain by 84 percent, and reduce energy use by 6 percent in the summer and around 1 percent in the winter.”
10. Health and Productivity Benefits.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Types of Green Roofs

July 30, 2012 1 Comment Edit

A green roof allows vegetation to grow in a growing medium and usually includes the following elements: waterproof membrane, a root repellent system, a drainage system, a filtering layer, a growing medium and of course plants. Here are three main types of green roof systems as explained by the city of Toronto: These roof types can be divided into seven categories: intensive, extensive, new, retrofit, complete, modular, or pre-cultivated.

Intensive

Intensive or active green roofs have a deep growing medium that supports a variety of landscape design and growth. They are accessible and used as recreational space. Intensive green roofs are essentially parks in the sky. They provide a peaceful retreat, full of trees, walkways, and seating areas. In dense urban environments, intensive green roofs can create a garden and yard for an entire apartment building.

Extensive

An extensive green roof has a shallow growing medium and the landscaping is designed to be more self-sustaining, requiring little maintenance. Extensive green roofs are less expensive than intensive systems, since they are lighter and require less structural support and need less frequent maintenance. Extensive green roofs were previously used solely for environmental benefits. Increasingly people are planting crops and vegetables so that these extensive roofs can serve a second sustainable purpose.

New or Retrofit

Green roofs can be designed to be an integral part of a new building, or can be installed later on an existing building. When a building is designed with a green roof system, there can be several benefits. For example, the building is designed to provide the necessary structural support, and won't require reinforcement later. Also, the building can be designed to take advantage of the aesthetic value that a green roof can offer by providing viewing areas.

Complete systems

Complete systems imply that all the components including roof membrane are an integral part of the whole system. In a complete green roof system, all parts of the roof are designed to support vegetation growth. These systems provide the most flexibility in terms of the type and nature of growing medium, drainage and protection layers and type of vegetation. Complete systems vary in thickness and weight from as low as 50mm to 75mm (2 to 3 inches) in depth and 60 to 90 kg per sq. m, (12 to 18 lbs per sq. ft.) in weight. They can be installed with a variety of waterproofing membrane types.

Modular systems

Modular systems that are positioned above the existing roofing system. Modular systems are essentially trays of vegetation in a growing medium that are grown off-site and simply placed on the roof to achieve complete coverage. They are available in different depths of growing medium typically ranging from 75mm to 300mm (3 to 12 inches). The variety of vegetation is typically more limited.

Pre-cultivated vegetation blanket

Pre-cultivated vegetation blankets consist of a growing medium and plants that are rolled onto the existing roofing system with drainage mats and root barriers. A pre-cultivated vegetation blanket is a pre-grown interlocking green roof tile. The blanket shown below is available in a thickness of about 45mm (1.75 inches). Blanket systems are available in a variety of system designs. The most versatile system contains 25 mm (1 inch) of planting substrate. The result is a lightweight system ranging in weight from 40 to 60 kg per sq. meter. The majority of the vegetation is made up of several varieties of Sedum, a succulent plant (8.0 to 13.0lbs per sq. ft.) tolerant to extremes in temperature that survives with little or no irrigation while requiring very little maintenance. They are cultivated at ground level, then rolled and transported as a complete system on pallets or by crane.

For a more comprehensive description of each roof type see the consultant's report, Environmental Benefits and Costs of Green Roof Technology for the City of Toronto.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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2012 CitiesAlive Green Roof and Wall Conference (Event)

July 29, 2012 Add Comment Edit

The 10th annual green roof and wall conference will take place in Chicago on October 17th to 20th at the historic Congress Plaza hotel. Chicago was the site of the first CitiesAlive conference in 2003 and has been North America’s green roof leader for the past decade. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) invites you to the place where it all began, to celebrate our shared legacy and to continue build a higher quality of life in the built environment. Join GRHC and the City of Chicago as they celebrate a decade of living architecture at the 10th Anniversary of CitiesAlive. A living example of legacy urban planning.

CitiesAlive is North America’s only conference dedicated to the green roof and wall industry. For this milestone 10th Anniversary occasion, CitiesAlive 2012 will look back to celebrate the spectacular growth experienced by the green roof and wall industry over the last ten years, and look forward to showcase the most leading-edge design, policy, and research work in the green roof and wall industry.

Catch the excitement in Chicago where together we’ll build a legacy of performance with leaders from across the industry spectrum. Programming will feature dozens of expert speaker sessions, a trade show featuring the leaders of the green roof and wall industry, the 2012 Awards of Excellence, interesting and informative tours, numerous networking opportunities, and more! There are many exciting sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities.

For more information or to register click here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Green Roof Gatherings: New Green Roof Technology (Event)

July 29, 2012 Add Comment Edit

On Thursday August 9th an event will be held on green roofs in Toronto Ontario. The event will be held by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC). This event will be held at the site of one of Toronto's most exciting green roof projects - the Carrot Common. It is a great chance for you to network with professionals in the green roof and wall industry, and those looking to get involved.

Speakers will include Joris Voeten is a Concept Manager at SHFT, a sustainable design firm in Tilburg, Holland. With over 10 years experience in Urban Forestry, Mr. Voeten works on the development of functional and innovative green systems for buildings and cities, such as the Green Energy Roof, Urban Tree Tops, Eco[W]all and the Constructed Wetroof.

Jelle Vonk is the Business Manager at ZinCo Canada Inc. Mr. Vonk will be speaking about the integration of photovoltaic systems and green roofs.

The cost for the event is $20 for GRHC members, and $30 for non-members. (Drink and appetizers included).

For more information contact Name Paul Erlichman, Membership Coordinator, GRHC at (416) 971-4494 ex. 223or go to the website by clicking here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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GEA National Geothermal Summit (Event)

July 29, 2012 Add Comment Edit

On August 7 - 8, a geothermal summit will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento, California. This event brings together companies and individuals in the geothermal industry with experts, government officials and other key decision makers. This is the second annual National Geothermal Summit, the event brings together companies and individuals in the geothermal industry with experts, government officials and other key decision makers.

Topics covered will include: Reducing the Risks of Geothermal Exploration and Drilling Utility Experience with Geothermal Power Streamlining NEPA and Project Planning and Permitting Improving Incentives for Geothermal Power

On Tuesday, August 7th GEA will hold its second annual GEA Honors Awards Dinner, which will kick off the Summit. The purpose of GEA Honors is to recognize individuals and companies that have made significant contributions to the development of the geothermal industry.

On Wednesday, August 8th the National Geothermal Summit will start with a plenary session followed by afternoon break-out sessions, closing session and networking reception. The opening program will feature policy leaders invited to speak and engage in discussion about the future of renewable and geothermal power. For more information or to register click here. http://www.geo-energy.org/nationalgeothermalsummit/main.aspx © 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Energy Storage & The Grid (Course)

July 29, 2012 Add Comment Edit

On Augtust 4th in London UK, Green Power Academy is offering a one day introductory course on the economic rationale for large-scale energy storage and the technology solutions. The highly accessible, informal and extremely interactive course will address future energy strategies, particularly as it concerns renewable power like solar and wind. The course will specifically deal with the critical importance of large scale energy storage. It will also deal with the financial balances affecting market growth and technological solutions.

This course is designed for those with commercial, financial and business interests in the energy industry, and assumes no prior knowledge. All aspects, both economic and technological, are presented in clear language, making the course of value to a range of job functions including senior managers from power utilities; power producers; grid operators; policymakers; investors; technology vendors and other stakeholders.

To download the brochure click here. To register click here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The Cool Roof Project (Video)

July 28, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Cool Roof Research from the University of Melbourne (Video)

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The Effectiveness of Cool Roofs in Hot and Cold Climates

July 27, 2012 Add Comment Edit

A relatively simple idea like light reflective roofing material can help reduce global warming. Research shows that cool roofs can provide significant benefits in hot climates, but there is some controversy as to whether cool roofs make sense in colder climates. In places where there are more hot days than cold days, cool roofs may not provide a net benefit in terms of cash savings or emissions. In northern countries like Canada this may seem intuitively obvious, but in the US the situation is not so straightforward. According to the US Energy Information Administration's, 2003 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, heating accounts for 36% of commercial buildings' annual energy consumption, while air conditioning only accounts for only 8%. However, according to the Cool Roofs Rating Council (CRRC), "The roof is an insignificant source for heat gain in winter. While cool roof owners may pay slightly more to heat their homes, this amount is usually insignificant compared to the cooling energy savings during the summer".

Energy calculators often show a yearly net savings for dark-colored roof systems in cool climates. Additionally, higher R values for insulating materials in the roof assembly and snow covering on roofs can lessen the impact of roof surface color.

In a 2001 federal study, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) measured and calculated the reduction in peak energy demand associated with a cool roof’s surface reflectance. LBNL found that, compared to the original black rubber roofing membrane on the Texas retail building studied, a retrofitted vinyl membrane delivered an average decrease of 24 °C (43 °F) in surface temperature, an 11% decrease in aggregate air conditioning energy consumption, and a corresponding 14% drop in peak hour demand.

The average daily summertime temperature of the black roof surface was 75 °C (167 °F), but once retrofitted with a white reflective surface, it measured 52 °C (126 °F). Without considering any tax benefits or other utility charges, annual energy expenditures were reduced by $7,200 or $0.07/square feet.

Concordia Univeristy's Hashem Akbari is an engineering professor whose research indicates that in addition to driving down cooling costs, cool roofs can potentially delay the effects of global warming. Before joining Concordia, Akbari spent 26 years at the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) at the University of California, Berkeley. Akbari is also a founding member of the board of the Oakland-based Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC).

Akbari reports that dark roofs absorb 80 to 90% of sunlight trapping heat in the city. Those same surfaces covered with his reflective materials (white for roofs, lighter colours for pavements) will absorb only 30 to 65%. By decreasing absorption of roofs by 25% and pavements by 15%, the overall temperature of a city can be reduced by two to three degrees Celsius.

Together, pavements and roofs comprise over 60% of urban surfaces. Akbari states 10 sq m of white roof replacing a dark roof can offset one tonne of CO2. In other words, the temperature reduction due to radiation not being absorbed by the earth is equal to the increase in temperature caused by one tonne of CO2 in the atmosphere, effectively balancing any change.

Akbari's research indicates that if a city like Montreal resurfaced 60 percent of the 500 sq km of pavements and roofs with reflective materials, the city alone could offset over 12 million tonnes of CO2.

However, Akbari admits cool roofs may be more useful in hot regions, but he insists that even the coldest climates could positively contribute to the overall effect. “If major cities around the world adopt the technology, we’d be well on our way to making a very significant dent in rising temperatures,” he says.

Akbari estimates that permanently retrofitting urban roofs and pavements in the tropical and temperate regions of the world would create a one-time offset of 44 billion tonnes of emitted CO2.

US Secretary of Energy and former LBNL director Steven Chu, strongly supports cool roof technology.

For more information on Akbari's research click here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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20 Cool Roof Resources from the CRRC and Other Sources

July 27, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Here is a compilation of resources for anyone interested in installing a cool roof. As reviewed in previous posts, cool roofs provide many benefits and cost savings can be measured with a couple of excellent tools. Below you will find a list of resources from the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) and several other sources. The CRRC is an independent, non-profit organization that maintains a third-party rating system for radiative properties of roof surfacing materials. The resources listed below offer everything you need to know about cool roofs including guidelines and information related to materials. For more detailed information on other aspects of green building and construction see the "Related Posts' section at the bottom of this post. It contains a wealth of information spanning the gamut from natural lighting to ventilation.

Benefits of Cool Roofs
Cool Roof Savings Calculators
CRRC Products Directory:
Cool Roofing Materials Database
Guidelines for Selecting Cool Roofs
To see the DOE's announcements on Cool Roofs click here.
Video glossary entry: Cool Roof
How Cool Roofs Decrease Emissions
Title 24 Blueprint Newsletter Issue # 83 on Cool Roofs
Energy Videos on the subject of Cool Roof
Learn about the ES-CRRC® Program.
Learn how to use ES-CRRC® to certify your ENERY STAR products.
AIA Cool Roof Course: The CRRC has revised its AIA Continuing Education Course. Check it out here: Cool Roofs for Hot Projects
Additional cool Roof Resources
Read the 2010 paper by Surabi Menon, Hashem Akbari, Sarith Mahanama, Igor Sednev and Ronnen Levinson, “Radiative forcing and temperature response to changes in urban albedos and associated CO₂ offsets”
Read the 2008 paper by Hashem Akbari, Surabi Menon and Art Rosenfeld, “Global cooling: increasing world-wide urban albedos to offset CO₂” here.
CRRC Website,
CRRC Twitter @Cool_Roofs,
CRRC on Facebook,
CRRC LinkedIn

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Northern Ice is Melting at a Dramatic Rate

July 26, 2012 Add Comment Edit

The combination of declining Arctic ice and Greenland's melting ice sheet are part of a troubling trend that cannot be ignored. As of June 2012, Arctic sea ice declined by 1.10 million square miles and as of July a total of 97 percent of Greenland's ice sheet had melted.

According to satellite images from NASA (see above left), Greenland's ice sheet is melting at an alarming rate. Before July 2012, the most extensive melting seen by satellites in the past three decades was about 55 percent. Ice core records reveal that we have not seen such pronounced melting of Greenland's ice sheet since 1889. To make matters worse a 70 square miles (181 square km) iceberg broke off Greenland’s Petermann Glacier.

The speed at which Greenland's ice sheet is melting is a source of concern as NASA images show that between July 8 and July 12 more than 57 percent of the surface ice had thawed. This event is very rare occurring every on average every 150 years. This would not be so troubling if it were a rare event, however, only four years ago (2007) Arctic ice shrank to similar levels, the smallest size in hundreds of years.

Most of the preceding ice melts of this magnitude occurred 7000 years ago and were attributable to the sun’s tilt on its axis which sent more sunshine to extreme northern latitudes. There is no such solar tilt going on now. Scientists attribute the melting of the Greenland ice sheet to unusually warm weather across the Arctic.

Warmer weather is also melting sea across much of the Arctic but it is most evident in the Bering, Kara, and Beaufort Seas, as well as Hudson and Baffin Bay. National Snow and Ice Data Center said warming has hastened the melting of ice over much of the sea route from Western Europe to the Pacific. The passage eastward from the North Atlantic to the Pacific shows open water which is highly unusual for July. This is all part of an ongoing pattern of rapid spring snow melt over the past six years.

Average Arctic sea ice extent for June was 456,000 square miles below the 1970-2000 average. Total ice loss for June was 1.10 million square miles, the largest June ice loss in the satellite record, continuing the particularly rapid ice loss in May. June, 2010, 2011, and 2012 have had the lowest amount of ice coverage in the satellite record. There appears to be a consistent pattern of declining sea ice coverage.

As predicted by models of global warming, the melting of Greenland's ice will cause sea levels to rise while the melting of sea ice in the arctic can heat things up in the Northern Hemisphere and cause more extreme weather.

Scientists will not attribute any individual extreme event to global warming, however, if this melting persists, it will become increasingly hard to attribute it to anything but a warming planet.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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