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Using garden roof systems to improve performance
Liu, K. K. Y.
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N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l C a n a d a
U sing ga rde n roof syst e m s t o
im prove pe rfor m a nc e
N R C C - 4 8 3 7 6
L i u , K . Y .
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Using Garden Roof Systems to Improve Performance
by K.Y. LiuIn an age marked by increasing emphasis on sustainability, durability and energy efficiency, garden roofs are gaining in popularity in North America. These specialized roof systems provide a touch of greenery in our urban environments and at the same time achieve better thermal performance than traditional roofs. They also retard and reduce water run-off, contributing to storm water management in the urban area. Also known as green roofs and rooftop gardens, these systems can be installed on both conventional and protected-membrane roofs (Figures 1 and 2). They require additional components including a root-resistant layer, a drainage layer, a filter membrane and a growing medium for the vegetation. Garden roofs can be categorized as "intensive" or "extensive," based on the system weight. Intensive systems utilize deep growing mediums capable of supporting a wide variety of small trees and shrubs. They require a high level of maintenance and because of the types of plants they support, intensive garden roofs normally must be incorporated into the original building design due to the structural load
requirement.
Extensive garden roof systems have shallow, lightweight growing mediums, which can support only small plants such as herbs, grasses and wild flowers. They are intended to be low maintenance, and therefore require plants that are hardy, draught tolerant and preferably self-generating. Because the structural loading is lower, many existing buildings can be retrofitted to accommodate extensive systems.
Figure 1. Conventional roofing system with and without a garden roof system.
Figure 2. Protected membrane roofing system with and without a garden roof system.
NRC researchers have been assessing the performance of a garden roof they constructed as part of a low-slope industrial roof test facility in Ottawa. The roof is divided into two equal sections. One section was
a garden roof with grass growing in 150 mm of lightweight growing medium and the other section, the reference roof, was a conventional modified bituminous roof.
Some results from the NRC project are highlighted as follows.
Roof membrane protection: It is common knowledge that exposure to heat and ultraviolet radiation reduces the service life of roof membrane. It appears the opposite can be achieved with garden roofs. During the NRC testing, the membrane on the reference roof experienced significantly higher
temperatures than the one on the garden roof, especially in the warmer months. On a typical summer afternoon (outdoor temperature above 30°C), the exposed conventional membrane reached 60°C while the garden roof membrane reached only about 25°C. In the winter, the temperature profiles for the two roofs were similar because of the insulating effects of the snow coverage.
Heat flow and energy efficiency: Heat flow between a building and its environment creates energy demand for space conditioning. During the NRC testing period, the garden roof reduced heat gain through the roof by 95% and heat loss by 26% in a year. This amounted to an overall reduction in heat flow of 47% compared to the conventional roof (based on the Ottawa test facility location). Although results will vary by region across the country, the Ottawa tests suggest that garden roofs can save energy by reducing the cooling and heating requirements for a building.
Retention of storm water runoff: In urban areas, storm water runoff from impervious surfaces such as rooftops and pavements during a heavy rainstorm can overload storm sewer systems, causing flash floods and sometimes combine sewage overflow. The garden roof in Ottawa was shown to be able to delay runoff, and reduce the peak runoff rate and volume. The retention efficiency depended on the type and amount of growing medium, the vegetation, as well as the rain pattern. Over the course of a year, the garden roof in Ottawa reduced the runoff by 54%. It is likely that garden roof systems designed with deeper and more absorbent soil, as well as more vegetation, would retain even more storm water than the system tested by NRC.
While garden roofs provide benefits, there are also some cautions. The initial cost is higher than a regular roof because of the extra components involved. Also, they are not maintenance-free. Building owners need to be aware of this and committed to the maintenance of the roof and the garden. Another important point is that these specialized roof systems must be carefully designed. It is recommended that a leak detection test be performed on the membrane both before and after the installation of the growing medium and vegetation to ensure that the roof membrane is watertight.
Although garden roofs are most often installed on flat industrial roofs, they can also be installed on sloped residential roofs. The key is to plan for this innovation in advance due to the extra loading capacity required.
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Dr. Karen Liu is a researcher in the Building Envelope program at the NRC Institute for Research in
