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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 75
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 Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:05 am Post subject: another green roof in the city |
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Not a new idea but more and more buildings in the city are doing this, great idea for reducing cooling costs and water runoff. Good to see a major utility lending a hand to further consumer education.....
News
Con Edison Media Relations
For Immediate Release: August 28, 2008
9.00 a.m.
CON EDISON INSTALLS ITS FIRST GREEN ROOF
A Collaborative Effort with Columbia University brings an Energy–Saving Rooftop Garden to Queens
NEW YORK – Con Edison’s first “green roof,” a new energy-saving plant system, is growing on the company’s three-story Learning Center training and conference facility in Long Island City. Con Edison expects the green roof to improve air quality and to conserve energy by reducing the amount of heat absorbed by conventional roofs.
More than 21,000 plants occupy over a quarter acre of the Learning Center’s roof top. The plants absorb heat, keeping the building cooler and reducing the need for air conditioning. The roof is projected to save up to 30 percent of the Learning Center’s peak-cooling costs.
The green roof demonstration, a collaborative effort with Columbia University’s Center for Climate Systems Research, will evaluate the benefits of the green roof and measure energy savings, roof surface temperatures, and air quality improvements. Columbia University scientists will analyze the results.
The green roof also benefits the environment by absorbing and retaining rainwater from heavy rains, known as storm water runoff. Storm water runoff can overwhelm the City’s sewer system, and potentially cause untreated sewage to overflow into local waterways. The company anticipates the green roof will retain 30 percent to 70 percent of storm water runoff, releasing water slowly into the drainage system.
Though it is the first of its kind at a Con Edison facility, this is not the company’s first experience with green roofs. In 2004, a company research and development team helped create a green roof at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City and helped raise funds for its installation. Con Edison also backed an educational project comparing green and cool roofs on the American Banknote Building in the South Bronx for Sustainable South Bronx.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $30 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison’s Web site at www.conEd.com. |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1128
Location: UK
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:35 pm Post subject: |
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Nice to hear of another large high-profile green roof experiment. The New York Times article adds a lot more flesh to the story
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/nyregion/28roof.html
It is interesting to note that the city authorities are offering financial incentives for building owners to install green roofs. Great idea! But looking at the photos there seem to be substantial areas of the roof that are under concrete. And Con Edison are open about the fact that the sedum is not indigenous to the area "making it unlikely to attract potential pests" (meaning unlikely to attract insects and biodiversity). Maybe a bit of greenwashing going on, but let's hope not too much! |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 75
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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I am continually amazed at the difference a canopy of trees
can make in cooling a block or a neighborhood. Where I am
currently living (suburbia), there is a 7 degree temperature
differential between the main road and my home 1/2 mile
away in a wooded area. Much is to be gained by providing
a little "green" and hopefully more and more of the big
companies will sign on to this type of program. |
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 1958
Location: USA
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Gags Bezley
Joined: 07 Oct 2008
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Green roofs can be great, they're just friggin' expensive. I'd pick a cool roof just on cost. |
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