Sustainable Roofs for Buffalo Schools

The Buffalo public school system, currently in the midst of a ten year, 1.1 billion dollar reconstruction project, has a unique opportunity to create sustainable, high performance schools. Instead, the Joint Schools Construction Board has apparently decided to take a more conservative approach to the renovation plan, incorporating commendable, but limited initiatives such as updates to windows, lighting systems, heating systems, and exterior weatherization improvements. This myopic agenda is a serious mistake. It bars the schools from reaching their full potential as centers of education for the children and the community. It fails to take advantage of readily-available techniques that reduce pollution and produce important, long-term savings on energy costs. There are many possible enhancements that would increase the sustainability of the schools. One promising area is the use of the schools’ roofs. Often forgotten wastelands, school roofs could be turned into valuable resources

Do looks matter? A case study on extensive green roofs using discrete choice experiments

Extensive green roofs are a promising type of urban green that can play an important role in climate proofing and ultimately in the sustainability of our cities. Despite their increasingly widespread application and the growing scientific interest in extensive green roofs, their aesthetics have received limited scientific attention. Furthermore, several functional issues occur, as weedy species can colonize the roof, and extreme roof conditions can lead to gaps in the vegetation. Apart from altering the function of a green roof, we also expect these issues to influence the perception of extensive green roofs, possibly affecting their acceptance and application. We therefore assessed the preferences of a self-selected convenience sample of 155 Flemish respondents for visual aspects using a discrete choice experiment. This approach, combined with current knowledge on the psychological aspects of green roof visuals, allowed us to quantify extensive green roof preferences. Our results indicate that vegetation gaps and weedy species, together with a diverse vegetation have a considerable impact on green roof perception. Gaps were the single most important attribute, indicated by a relative importance of ca. 53%, with cost coming in at a close second at ca. 46%. Overall, this study explores the applicability of a stated preference technique to assess an often overlooked aspect of extensive green roofs. It thereby provides a foundation for further research aimed at generating practical recommendations for green roof construction and maintenance

Ten Bee Species New to Green Roofs in the Chicago Area

Green roofs increasingly provide habitat for many insects in urban environments. Pollinators such as bees may utilize foraging and nesting resources provided by green roofs but few studies have documented which species occur in these novel habitats. This study identified bees from 26 species, 11 genera and 5 families collected from 7 green roofs using pan trapping methods over 2 years. Ten of these species have not previously been recorded on green roofs in the Chicago region. Although the majority of bee species collected were solitary, soil-nesting, and native to Illinois, the proportion of exotic species was high compared to previous collections from Chicago area green roofs and urban parks. Urban green roofs may enhance populations of both native and exotic bees, but their ability to support the same range of native diversity recorded from other urban habitats requires further investigation

Biodiversity Impact of Green Roofs and Constructed Wetlands as Progressive Eco-Technologies in Urban Areas

The total amount of sealed surfaces is increasing in many urban areas, which presents a challenge for sewerage systems and wastewater treatment plants when extreme rainfall events occur. One promising solution approach is the application of decentralized eco-technologies for water management such as green roofs and constructed wetlands, which also have the potential to improve urban biodiversity. We review the effects of these two eco-technologies on species richness, abundance and other facets of biodiversity (e.g., functional diversity). We find that while green roofs support fewer species than ground-level habitats and thus are not a substitute for the latter, the increase in green roof structural diversity supports species richness. Species abundance benefits from improved roof conditions (e.g., increased substrate depth). Few studies have investigated the functional diversity of green roofs so far, but the typical traits of green roof species have been identified. The biodiversity of animals in constructed wetlands can be improved by applying animal-aided design rather than by solely considering engineering requirements. For example, flat and barrier-free shore areas, diverse vegetation, and heterogeneous surroundings increase the attractiveness of constructed wetlands for a range of animals. We suggest that by combining and making increasing use of these two eco-technologies in urban areas, biodiversity will benefit

Investigation of Ceramic Roof, Metallic Roof and Concrete Roof Thermal Performance in Tropical Climate

. The objectives of this research are to investigate thermal performance of ceramic roof, metallic roof, and concrete roof. Experimental buildings were located in Universiti Teknology PETRONAS (UTP), Perak, Malaysia that had three different types of roof: ceramic roof, metallic roof, and concrete roof. This research measured temperature outdoor and indoor. The results of this research were the highest outdoor and indoor temperature compared between three types of roofs was on metallic roof. The highest heat flux compared between three types of roofs was on metallic roof. The highest value of cooling energy compared between three types of roofs was on metallic roof. The room in building with metallic roof needs more energy to reduce temperature than room in building with ceramic roof and concrete roof

Asphalt antidote : "living" roofs absorb runoff

Pollution ; Agriculture

In-situ U-value-measurements of wood frame roofs: analysis of deviations between measured and design performance

The hygrothermal performance of various lightweight sloped roof designs was monitored in the KULeuven VLIET testbuilding for 2 years (Janssens et al. 1998). One of the aims of the investigation was to evaluate whether the design U-value of 0.18 W/m²K was effectively met in practice. For this reason 3 heatflux transducers were installed at the inside surface of each component together with a number of thermocouples at the surfaces of the composing material layers. The U-value was derived from the measurements by averageing the collected data on a daily basis. The observed deviations between the measured and design U-values are analysed and explained by quantifying the inconsistencies between the assumptions for the calculation of the design thermal performance and the conditions of the in-situ measurement. The following causes of deviations are analysed in detail, and related to the position of the heat flux transducer on the test components: (1) heat transport affected by wind-washing in the roofs, (2) 2-dimensional heat flow through framing elements in the roof