Container gardens on roofs where plants are maintained in pots are not generally considered to be true green roofs although.
Green roof irrigation costs.
Installation can be quite expensive.
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.
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 costs to install a green 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 following rates for green roof components can be used as a guide.
Costs of a green roof tray system range from 10 to 30 per square foot.
In larger green roof projects irrigation is best undertaken by a specialist consultant to guide system design component selection installation and maintenance.
Table 11 provides an outline of different options for irrigation of green roofs.
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.
Example costs of individual components of green roofs.
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.
However these costs may also vary according to the issues outlined above under cost considerations.