Retrofitting housing with lightweight green roof technology in Sydney, Australia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wilkinson, S; Feitosa, RC

Retrofitting housing with lightweight green roof technology in Sydney, Australia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wilkinson, S

Feitosa, RC

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Sustainability (Switzerland), 2015, 7 (1), pp. 1081 - 1098
Issue Date:: 2015-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Wilkinson, S https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9266-1858	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Feitosa, RC	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Sustainability (Switzerland), 2015, 7 (1), pp. 1081 - 1098	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	2071-1050	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/33193
dc.description.abstract	© 2015 by the authors. The built environment contributes around half of total greenhouse gas emissions and with 87% of residential buildings that we will have by 2050 already built, it is vital to adopt sustainable retrofitting practices. The question is: what are the viable solutions? One answer may be green roof retrofitting. The environmental benefits include reduced operational carbon emissions, reduced urban heat island effect, increased bio-diversity, housing temperature attenuation and reduced stormwater run-off. The economic benefits are the reduced maintenance costs and lower running costs. The social gain is the creation of spaces where people have access to green areas. However, the barriers to retrofitting include the perceptions of structural adequacy, the risk of water damage, high installation and maintenance costs, as well as access and security issues. Many Australian and Brazilian residential buildings have metal sheet roofs, a lightweight material with poor thermal performance. During the summer, temperatures in Sydney and Rio de Janeiro reach 45 degrees Celsius, and in both cities, rainfall patterns are changing, with more intense downpours. Furthermore, many residential buildings are leased, and currently, tenants are restricted by the modifications that they can perform to reduce running costs and carbon emissions. This research reports on an experiment on two small-scale metal roofs in Sydney and Rio de Janeiro to assess the thermal performance of portable small-scale modules. The findings are that considerable variation in temperature was found in both countries, indicating that green roof retrofitting could lower the cooling energy demand considerably.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Sustainability (Switzerland)	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/su7011081	en_US
dc.title	Retrofitting housing with lightweight green roof technology in Sydney, Australia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	7	en_US
utslib.for	1202 Building	en_US
utslib.for	1205 Urban and Regional Planning	en_US
utslib.for	12 Built Environment and Design	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/e-Press
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building/School of Built Environment
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CCDP - Contemporary Design Practice
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	7	en_US

Abstract:

© 2015 by the authors. The built environment contributes around half of total greenhouse gas emissions and with 87% of residential buildings that we will have by 2050 already built, it is vital to adopt sustainable retrofitting practices. The question is: what are the viable solutions? One answer may be green roof retrofitting. The environmental benefits include reduced operational carbon emissions, reduced urban heat island effect, increased bio-diversity, housing temperature attenuation and reduced stormwater run-off. The economic benefits are the reduced maintenance costs and lower running costs. The social gain is the creation of spaces where people have access to green areas. However, the barriers to retrofitting include the perceptions of structural adequacy, the risk of water damage, high installation and maintenance costs, as well as access and security issues. Many Australian and Brazilian residential buildings have metal sheet roofs, a lightweight material with poor thermal performance. During the summer, temperatures in Sydney and Rio de Janeiro reach 45 degrees Celsius, and in both cities, rainfall patterns are changing, with more intense downpours. Furthermore, many residential buildings are leased, and currently, tenants are restricted by the modifications that they can perform to reduce running costs and carbon emissions. This research reports on an experiment on two small-scale metal roofs in Sydney and Rio de Janeiro to assess the thermal performance of portable small-scale modules. The findings are that considerable variation in temperature was found in both countries, indicating that green roof retrofitting could lower the cooling energy demand considerably.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/33193