Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

Green roofs are important to the urban environment because of their ability to absorb precipitation that falls on roofs, counteract the ""heat island"" effect in cities, and provide insulation to buildings. Given the power of the green movement in the conscience of consumers, industry has now a pressing need to improve their ""green"" image, and discovered that their need can be addressed by establishing green roofs. In collaboration with industry, NAIT is supporting a Green Roof Research program and staff is assisting industry in testing growth media and depth, and the establishment and survival of native plant species on green roofs. This work is done in cooperation with companies and institutions such as Williams Engineering Canada Inc., the Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence, and the City of Edmonton. The equipment we are requesting from NSERC will be used to assist industry to address a pressing question related to the long term cost benefits of green roofs. This information is of prime importance because industry needs to be able to offset the increased cost of green roof installation. Roofing Evaluation Modules (REMs) have been designed by the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) to document in detail green roof performance in terms of energy savings and storm water retention. These savings and retention values can be used to calculate long term return on investment. Collaboration with roofing and landscape companies will continue, and will expand to other companies in the construction, landscape and architecture fields. Considering the interest of industry in green roofs, student involvement will also continue and insure training of highly qualified personnel in the area to meet future needs. We are requesting funding to purchase four REMs, to allow for experimental replication, and associated hardware.