Green Roof Monitoring - Conservation Consultants, Inc.Project Overview
Conservation Consultants Inc. (CCI) has been a strong advocate on energy conservation education for nearly 30 years. Their downtown Pittsburgh office building, formerly an old vacant building, has become a green showcase with solar panels, state-of-the-art lighting, and energy usage. Each year, hundreds of school children tour the CCI Center to learn the benefits of smart energy. One of CCIs most recent green projects was the installation of a green roof at their Center.
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and soil, or a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. The popularity of green roofs continues to grow as organizations realize the benefits of implementation. Benefits come in the form of ecological (eco-friendly), economic (cost-saving), aesthetic (visual appeal), and psychological (enhanced quality of life).
The Green Roof was part of 28 innovative green projects throughout Pennsylvania funded by a state Department of Environmental Protection grant. Melanie Tuck, a green roof consultant, spent 15 months planning and designing the green roof project. Part of Tuck's system design was to include a highly accurate, low-maintenance green roof monitoring system. NexSens Technology was contacted to help provide this monitoring solution.
System Description
The CCI green roof consists of a four inch layer of fully vegetated green roof with a public walkway consisting of recycled pavers; solar panel between the skylights for a domestic hot water solar powered system; a rain barrel to capture storm water runoff from the third floor roof for irrigation use; and real-time monitoring equipment with computer kiosk for the public to view the benefits of green roof implementation.
The NexSens green roof monitoring system consists of a Vaisala WXT520 multi-parameter weather sensor, NexSens AccuStage water level sensor, and Stevens Hydra soil moisture, salinity & temperature sensors. The WXT520 weather sensor simultaneously measures wind speed & direction, liquid precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure.
Each sensor is strategically placed on the roof to help quantify the reduced amount of stormwater runoff from the green roof implementation. The weather sensor measures the amount of precipitation falling; soil moisture sensors provide an indication of the amount of rainfall being absorbed by the soil; and the water level sensor is used to quantify the amount of water running into the roof drain. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers have estimated that three to five inches of soil, as part of a green roof, will absorb up to 75% of rain events that are one-half inch or less.
Data from the green roof monitoring sensors is collected and processed by a NexSens iSIC data logger connected to the nearby computer kiosk. At the computer, both iChart Software and WQData are used to view current data and analyze historical data all on a graphical, user-friendly interface. | NexSens 1001 | iChart 6 software, licensed per computer | NexSens WQData-6 | Annual web datacenter & hosting package for up to 6 field sites | NexSens iSIC | iSIC data logger | NexSens MAST | 2" NPT threaded aluminum pipe assembly for mounting data logger, solar panel, and antenna, 24" length | NexSens A55 | Pole/wall mounting kit | NexSens A11 | MS2 to AC float charger kit for iSIC data loggers, 12' cable | NexSens A50 | Sensor junction box, includes 4 entrance holes | Vaisala WXT520AAA0AA00B0 | WXT520 multi-parameter weather sensor, SDI-12 | NexSens WXT510-M | Mounting kit for Vaisala WXT & WMT sensors, 2" female NPT | NexSens AS-SS-5-30 | AccuStage vented level sensor, stainless steel, 0-5m water column, 30m cable | Stevens 93640-025 | Hydra Probe II soil moisture, temperature, & salinity sensor, SDI-12 interface, 25' cable |
| |
