Energy-saving, economic and environmental benefits analysis of cool roofs and green roofs for retail buildings in America

Abstract

Green roofs and cool roofs are considered to improve energy efficiency, and provide economic benefits, energy-saving benefits, environmental benefits for the traditional grey roofs. Some national and local standards have analysed and recommended these technologies in existing building renovations, but their research subjects were mostly office or residential buildings, which didnt include the evaluation and analysis of specific roof renovations in different thermal zones in the United States. This paper conducted a 40-year life cycle cost analysis of retail buildings roofs in 16 cities across 8 different thermal zones in the United States. LCCA found that cool roofs showed a positive life cycle NPV in all cities, while green roofs showed a negative NPV. This article also analysed and compared the environmental benefits of retail buildings roofs in 16 cities, and calculated the emission reductions that they can bring to power plants. This paper also selected retail buildings roofs from 8 representative cities in 8 different thermal zones for energy savings and cost savings analysis. The results show that decision-makers can transform ordinary roofs into green roofs or cool roofs according to the characteristics of each thermal zone, combined with energy-saving benefits, economic benefits, environmental benefits and other factors, which is conducive to the implementation of new specifications.