Data Centers Need Green Roofs!

In a recent article in Business Week, titled "Going Green is Good for Your Wallet," the author wrote about two studies that indicate that buildings built to LEED specifications are commanding higher prices as well as higher resale.

While this is good news, particularly for flat green roofs, the article also relates that there are gaps. In particular:

Surprisingly, the actual EUI performance for LEED-certified, high-energy-use buildings, such as laboratories and data centers, was nearly two-and-a-half times higher than what was predicted during their design. ...Projects that were supposed to see energy savings of up to 40 percent actually “underperformed code by 60 percent.” “The NBI study provides a much-needed comparison of energy models to reality,” he says (Andrew McNamara, director of new construction services at Bright Power, a New York-based energy consultancy).

Relative to data centers, the leader in the "greening" of data centers is Aiso.net (Affordable Internet Services Online, Inc.). According to their site and what others have written about them, AISO is building a flat green roof for their data center.

The new green roof can reduce our cooling requirements by up to 50%. When finished, AISO will be the first and only public data center in North America with a green roof.

It would be quite a site to see all of the flat roof data centers, become flat green roofs! I bet the owners would also be happy with the reduced utility costs. Considering the competitive nature of data centers and hosting, this is a great opportunity to create a competitive advantage.

Here's to AISO.net for the commitment to flat green roofs and green building!

India Uses Green Roof at New Chennai Airport

India, with its ever growing population and expanding economy is no stranger to air pollution.

In its many great cities, the air is heavy with fine particulate matter and the storm water runoff is polluted. However, flat green roof technology is being used to help remedy these issues!

For its new airport in Chennai, their will be several green features, including a very large indoor garden.

Additionally, according to Architectural Record,

"A parking garage with a green roof will create what the designers describe as a “green gate” to the terminal. “The folding geometry of the green roof captures and directs rain water during the rain season to the elliptical openings in the roof, creating shimmering ‘rain curtains’ as the water falls through the garage to cisterns below. This stored water is later used during the dry season to irrigate the green roof and maximize the site’s sustainable resources.”

This is certainly a good thing for the city of Chennai, as well as the air around the airport. Flat green roofs will improve the aesthetic of the city, as well as the quality of the air.

Air Pollution Detector

Wouldn't it be nice to measure the effects of a flat green roof other than the cost savings? Sure, it is nice to see the monthly utility bill lower than without a flat green roof. Additionally, the storm-water runoff tax is less also, but what about actually lowering air pollution?

Through the use of small, radio-controlled planes, air pollution can be tested and measured.

Here is a short story about the up and coming technology.

California Academy of Science's 2.5 Acre Green Roof

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities awarded the California Academy of Science its 2008 Award of Excellence, in the category of Extensive Institutional, for its 2.5 acre green roof. The award narrative can be found here.

From the citation:

"In the heart of San Francisco’s beloved Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences’ new LEED® Platinum-rated museum now hosts the largest green roof of any natural history museum in the world. ... For San Francisco, the green roof creates the most concentrated area of native wildflowers within the city."

The design was done by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, who is noted for achievement in the field of green roofs.

To drum up positive press for this effort, San Francisco put green roofs on bus shelters! Click here to read about it!

Germans Love Green Roofs!

According to Michigan State University, Germany has the highest density of flat green roofs. As the picture demonstrates, flat green roofs can be simple in design, and can easily fit into both the man-made and natural landscape.

If one googles "green roof Germany," one will find article upon article about the rise of flat green roofs in the 1970s in Germany to combat storm water runoff. Having had friends in Germany, they told me how expensive water was and how the government was trying ways to capture water from roadways and other sources.

Hat's off to Germany and their flat green roofs! Notice there were no David Hasselhoff jokes?

2009 World Green Roof Congress Set for Toronto

For anybody that loves flat green roofs and is in the business of building or promoting them, the 2009 World Green Roof Congress is going to be held in Toronto.

According to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, "The Congress will bring more than 1,000 delegates to Toronto from around the world to discuss the latest research, policy and technical advances in the rapidly growing green roof industry."

Toronto was chosen, in part, to its 2006 "Making Green Roofs Happen" report that "...will advance the use of green roof technology among City buildings and in the private sector." This commitment to green roofs ranks Toronto with Chicago, Washington, and New York as cities that are committed to green roofs and cleaner air.

More details can be found in a press release found here.

Singapore's Coolest Green Roof

Without exception, this has to be one of the most elegant, simple, and beautiful green roofs I have ever. It is the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and is on 5 acres. I found this at Inhabitat (http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/23/amazing-green-roof-art-school-in-singapore/) and was blown away.

The design not only makes the building part of the landscape, but creates the landscape itself. In addition to the green roof, the building also uses simple interior construction with concrete walls and large spaces for artwork.

My hat is off to CPG Consultants and the Nanyang Technical University.