25 Sep 08 Garden Roof ®

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Why not transform your roof into an eco-friendly, pedestrian accessible, landscaped environment? With a Garden Roof ®, those who own multi-story housing or office buildings can do just that. The McGraw-Hill Company recently published an article that highlights the benefits and features of having a Garden Roof ®.

Energy efficiency. The Garden Roof’s vegetation and soil acts as an insulator to protect against heat and cold from penetrating through the roof, while preventing energy lost from air-conditioning and heating the building. In addition, the vegetation will increase the solar reflectivity of the roof, reducing the amount of heat stored and released back into the atmosphere.

Water conservation. The Garden Roof assembly can hold between 50 and 90% of rainwater that falls on it. This decreases the stress on storm sewers, city drainage systems and treatment plants.

Perhaps the most appealing feature of the Garden Roof is its inviting therapeutic environment. The walkways and plant-life create a peaceful atmosphere for residents / office workers to take a break and to unwind.

Tags: building insulation, eco-friendly building, energy efficiency, garden roof, green building, heat reduction, landscaped roof, mcgraw-hill construction, multi-story housing, multi-story office building, stored rainwater, water conservation

04 Aug 08 Green Building and Materials

Green building is the process of creating houses, offices, and other structures with the least amount of negative impact on the environment. For example, a green home is often built of renewable materials, using the least amount of natural resources, and designed to conserve water and energy when occupied.

What comprises Green materials?

(i) Are typically low in toxicity – materials with reduced toxin levels or nontoxic products that avoid using carcinogenic compounds and ingredients.

(ii) Give off minimal emissions – low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

(iii) The use of recycled materials and materials that can be recycled at the end of their useful life, or reused (salvaged).

(iv) To be resource efficient – products designed to conserve energy, minimize waste, and reduce green house gas emissions.

Did you know?

(i) Every day we use an average of 140 – 170 gallons of water per person.

(ii) 27 percent of our domestic water use is from bathing/showering.

(iii) If every American home had a leaky faucet, that dripped once every second, a total of 928 million gallons of water would be wasted every day.

(iv) Every toilet flush uses 6.5 gallons of water – close to 900 gallons per week by the average household.

(v) Allowing the water to run while brushing your teeth wastes about 5 gallons of water.

For more water conservation and usage facts, visit Sunnyslope County Water District Water Conservation Facts and Tips.

Tags: carcinogenic compounds, cfcs, chlorofluorocarbons, efficiency, energy reduction, green building, green homes, green materials, recycled materials, salvaged materials, sunnyslope county water district, vocs, volatile organic compounds, water conservation