ENGR-103 Freshman Final Report

Section 063, Group 04

ENGR 103 - Spring 2013 Freshman Engineering Design Lab Green Roof Renovation (storm water management) Final Report
Date Submitted: June 4, 2013

Submitted to: Group Members:

Dr. Robert Brehm, PE Mary Nelson, mkn35@drexel.edu Kalyn Siebecker, kns48@drexel.edu Caitlin Bubel, clb382@drexel.edu Natasha Brodoski, nib24@drexel.edu Emma Ostrowski, ejo34@drexel.edu

Abstract: The addition of a green roof to Drexel Universitys campus would contribute to the goal of the reduction of its carbon footprint. This Freshman Design project aims at researching effective green roof ideas, writing an analysis of the results and providing a sufficient model to demonstrate how Drexel could benefit from this type of conservation. The final goal is to have a design that could be applicable to the Hagerty Library. Challenges include limited knowledge of infrastructure as well as limited knowledge on the factors of carbon footprint. The final deliverable will include a written report, a presentation and a virtual model of the roof.

ENGR-103 Freshman Final Report 1. Introduction 1.1 Problem Overview

Section 063, Group 04

Drexel University currently does not have a green roof installed on its campus. This is a concern, as the carbon footprint of this university will continue to increase with the expansion of Drexel. The addition of a green roof on campus will add to already existing eco-conscious solutions at Drexel University. 1.2 Existing Solutions The university already features several environmentally friendly aspects. One of these aspects is the biowall located in the Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building. The biowall helps to purify the air for those in the building. Also, the Drexel Green website states that Drexel University purchases energy from wind farms linked to the PJM Interconnection to help fuel its total annual electric energy use [1]. There are already many green roof options on the market. For instance, in many cities there are green roofs on top of buildings that help to reduce their carbon footprint. The addition of a green roof reduces a buildings carbon footprint by reducing the energy needed to heat and cool the building. It also reduces the amount of rainwater runoff into the cities. This is done through the absorption of water into the soil and the plants use of this water. 1.3 Project Objectives The objective of this project is to create a green roof for the roof of Drexels Hagerty library. The goal of creating this green roof is to help reduce the carbon footprint of Hagerty. This can be quantified through the use of eQuest, an energy audit that calculates the amount of electric energy and gas currently used by the Hagerty Library. This shows the usage of the building and costs before the addition of a green roof. From this, the effect of adding a green roof can be calculated. The proposed green roof will be similar to existing green roofs, with a few specifications. The design of the green roof will be virtually modeled using Creo Parametric, and a PowerPoint will be created to present the final roof design.

ENGR-103 Freshman Final Report 2. Technical Activities 2.1 Project Timeline 1 Plant Research and Selection Drainage Research and Materials x 2 x 3 x x x x x x x Footprint x Table 1.1: Weekly Project Timeline 2.2 Plant Research x x x x 4 5 6 7

Section 063, Group 04

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Green Roof Design Plan Creo Model Carbon Calculations

x x x x x

Final Report (PowerPoint)

Low maintenance, native Philadelphian plants were researched using an online plant finder made by the National Gardening Association. Plants were chosen based off their size, shape and color. Blue Fescue, Mondo Grass Liriope, Variegated Liriope, Blood Grass, and Coreopsis Langeolata, were selected because of their ability to live easily in the Philadelphia environment and do not need a lot of water to survive. Figure 1.1 displays the plants that will be used on the roof. All of the plants are small and do not exceed two feet; smaller plants are ideal because they will be more wind resistant. Different types of plants and colors were chosen in order to be more visually appealing. The type of plant chosen for the green screen was English Ivy which meets the criteria for plants mentioned above.

ENGR-103 Freshman Final Report

Section 063, Group 04

Figure 1.1: Plants Designated to be Installed on the Green Roof [4-8]

2.3 Drainage and Materials Research At the beginning of the project, a greywater filtration system for watering the plants was proposed. After some deliberations and looking at the drawings of the Hagerty library roof, the decision was made to utilize the established drainage systems on the roof. Also, since the plants that were selected to be installed on the roof are ones that can withstand droughts, no irrigation system was established for them. In order to prevent over-watering and to keep the soil and plants in place, landscaping fabric in conjunction with a layer of lightweight wire mesh are to be installed underneath the plants and the soil. The soil to be used for the roof is compost. Through the Drexel Green website, it was found that Drexel makes between 20-30 tons of compost each year [1]. Drexel is the ideal place to obtain the compost necessary for the green roof because it will not require transportation of materials. 2.4 Green Roof Design Plan Using the plans of Hagerty Library, it was determined that the soil based green roof would be 50 by 60 feet. The green screen will be located next to the soil with dimensions of 10 by 50 feet. There are two of these green screens located side by side. The green roof features a variety of plants as mentioned above as well as a mesh system, which prevents clogging caused by leaves and other debris. The design also features a lightweight green screen that has English Ivy growing horizontally. 4

ENGR-103 Freshman Final Report 2.5 Carbon Footprint Calculations

Section 063, Group 04

Using eQuest, it was estimated that the Hagerty Library uses approximately 2173.9 kWh of electric energy and 3454.0 Btu of gas per year. These estimations along with the average cost of electric energy and gas, it can be predicted that the average cost per year to heat and cool the building would be approximately $11,158 [2]. Another cost concerning roofs includes the cost of repair, which, for the Hagerty Library, would cost an estimated $27,000 every 50 years. Using the website Green to Earn Green [3], it was calculated that the addition of a green roof to the library will save approximately $3,789 per year. Along with saving money, the green roof will also prevent approximately 68,049 gallons of storm water runoff from polluting the Schuylkill river (annually) [3]. The addition of a green roof the Hagerty Library provides many benefits in terms of reducing heating and cooling cost for the building as well as reducing storm water runoff that pollutes local rivers. 2.6 Creo Model The Creo Parametric 1.0 program was used to create a model that displays the Hagerty Library and the plans for the green roof. The green roof is drawn to scale, complete with all materials such as soil, plants, filtering material, and the green roof structure.

Figure 1.2: Creo Models of Hagerty library and Plants Designated to be Installed on the Green Roof

ENGR-103 Freshman Final Report

Section 063, Group 04

Figure 1.3:Creo Model of Layers of Materials to be Used in the Soiled Portion of the Green Roof

3. Results The final deliverable is a model of the green roof, made in Creo Parametric as a threedimensional model. Although the green roof was not actually installed, the objectives of this roof design were accomplished. The roof reduces the carbon footprint of Drexel by preventing 68,049 gallons of storm water runoff from polluting the Schuylkill river (annually) [3].

Figure 1.4: Creo Model of the Hagerty Library Roof with Installed Green Roof 6

ENGR-103 Freshman Final Report 4. Future Work

Section 063, Group 04

The future of this green roof would involve installing the Creo model of the actual green roof on top of the Hagerty Library. This would require looking at the model and also the PowerPoint presentation to show exactly what materials would need to be used. The cost of materials and funding for the proposed materials and their installation would need to be obtained. Specifically, the soil would have to be obtained from Drexels compost department with proper permissions. After the green roof was installed, the exact numbers of the eco-friendly impact of the green roof on Drexel University could be calculated.

5. References [1] Drexel Green 2012. Drexel Resources [Online]. Available FTP: Directory: http://drexel.edu/green/resources_drexel.html [2] Peco: An Exelon Company 2012. Rates and Prices [Online]. Available FTP: Directory: https://www.peco.com/CustomerService/RatesandPricing/RateInformation/Pages/CurrentElectric .aspx [3] Green to Earn Green 2012. Get More Green [Online]. Available FTP: Directory: http://green.americanrivers.org/ [4] Floridata 2012. Blue Fescue [Online]. Available FTP: Directory:

http://www.floridata.com/ref/f/fest_gla.cfm [5]Plant Ant 2009. Mondo Grass Liriope [Online]. Available FTP: Directory:

https://www.plantant.com/nursery-availability/1005590 [6] Evergreen Plant Nursery 2004. Variegated Liriope [Online]. Available FTP: Directory: http://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/Variegated-Liriope-Grass-p/lirvar1.htm [7] Green Walk 2010. Japanese Blood Grass [Online]. Available FTP: Directory: http://greenwalks.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/japanese-blood-grass/ [8] Missouri Botanical Garden 2012. Coreopsis Lanceolata [Online]. Available FTP: Directory: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plantdetails/kc/j880/coreopsis-lanceolata.aspx