What Happened
San Angelo, Texas, recently renovated its city hall; by updating its heating, plumbing, and roofing systems, the city should see savings of $50,000 in the first year.
LEED
While not exactly a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building, the structure now incorporates many elements of green design, including:
- Energy efficient wrapping that envelopes the building
- Low E-glass windows
- Cool roofing
- Water chillers for AC
- Rewiring of electrical systems for power, lights and data
- Energy efficient lighting including LED
- Added natural lighting
- Low water urinals and automated toilets
- Marmoleum flooring
What is Cool Roofing?
According to the Cool Roof Rating Council, a cool roof is one that reflects the sun’s heat and emits absorbed radiation back into the atmosphere. Cool roof products are rated based on solar reflectance and thermal emittance. The U.S. Department of Environmental Protection offers a calculator to give an idea of potential savings from a cool roof.
Other Cities
- In Toronto, a green roof adorns the city hall—the outcome of a bylaw requiring all new buildings and retrofits to include green roofs.
- Rochester, New York, used a grant to add a grass roof to its city hall. The result will be a reduction in stormwater runoff, as well as lower cooling costs. Using sedium, which only grows to a height of 6-8 inches, the roof will not require significant regular maintenance. The $246,000 grant came from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Water Quality Improvement Program. This grant supports water quality improvements, including reductions in polluted runoff and the restoration of habitats in New York state waterbodies. For more information about various grants from the NYS DEC, visit their grant application site.
- Charlottesville, Virginia, recently added green roofing to its city hall and police station. One of the key elements of this effort is a reduction in the Urban Heat Island effect, which Gov1 recently covered in details. The city estimates the break-even cost of the green roof is about 20 years, using energy savings as the calculus. A typical facility roof will have no breakeven event, as traditional materials do not mitigate the sun’s effects.