Green Roof Irrigation Costs

In larger green roof projects irrigation is best undertaken by a specialist consultant to guide system design component selection installation and maintenance.

Green roof irrigation costs.

The following rates for green roof components can be used as a guide. Drainage and protection layers 20 30 m 2. Example costs of individual components of green roofs. Table 11 provides an outline of different options for irrigation of green roofs.

Labor costs to install a green roof. Installation can be quite expensive. 1 2 in addition green roofs can reduce building energy use by 0 7 compared to conventional roofs reducing peak electricity demand and leading to an annual savings of 0 23 per square foot of the roof. Labor makes up a significant portion of the cost of a green roof mostly because the process of creating one can be labor intensive.

Green roof temperatures can be 30 40 f lower than those of conventional roofs and can reduce city wide ambient temperatures by up to 5 f. The cost of purchasing the materials is separate from the cost of having the system installed. In addition lawn irrigation systems cost approximately 900 on average when purchased for a single home whereas systems for apartments or businesses cost approximately 1 500 and 1 300 respectively. A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium planted over a waterproofing membrane it may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems.

Baltimore maryland based green roof technology a company that specializes in the specification and design of green roofs notes that increases in costs can also depend on growing media depth desired water storage and plant material. Container gardens on roofs where plants are maintained in pots are not generally considered to be true green roofs although.