Abstract
The installation of a green roof on residential buildings affords the opportunity to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The cost of incorporating green roofs in the construction of a family home or modifying an existing home is significant and the private benefits are rather small. Carbon reduction does have a value recognized by all levels of government in Canada. In this paper we calculate the cost of installing a green roof on a two vehicle garage in the Province of Ontario using current building costs. Utilizing data on the private costs and private benefits, the estimated NPV of a green roof over a 35 year period is negative. Once the value of carbon sequestering is introduced in the model, the NPV is positive, suggesting that subsidizing green roof construction is an efficient method in any government’s question to encourage a reduction in GHG emission.
Highlights
Green roof technology is a term applied to growing vegetative matter on the roof of any free-standing structure
Once the value of carbon sequestering is introduced in the model, the net present value (NPV) is positive, suggesting that subsidizing green roof construction is an efficient method in any government‟s quiver to encourage a reduction in GHG emission
Employing the basic principles of benefit-cost analysis, this paper focuses on the application of green roof technology to residential vehicle garages in new home construction to accommodate efficient green roof technology in Ontario, Canada
Summary
Green roof technology is a term applied to growing vegetative matter on the roof of any free-standing structure. 2018, Vol 7, No 1 developed illustrating the economic and environmental benefits of green roof technology. (Bianchini and Hewage, 2012) Several studies have utilized mathematical models to calculate the net present value (NPV) of one or more forms of green roof technology. Employing the basic principles of benefit-cost analysis, this paper focuses on the application of green roof technology to residential vehicle garages in new home construction to accommodate efficient green roof technology in Ontario, Canada. Detailed costing is used to estimate the fixed capital cost of a green roof along with estimates of the annual maintenance cost to arrive at life-cycle cost of a two vehicle, garage-based green roof. The private and public benefits are calculated over the expected life of the roof to arrive at a NPV estimate. The dollar-value results are sensitive to estimates of the personal monetary value attributed to living in a home with a green roof garage and the monetary value attributed to the carbon sequestered by the green roof
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