A stormwater demonstration project on the roof of the newly expanded Student Union 
building on the University of Central Florida (UCF) campus is giving FSEC 
researchers the opportunity to explore some new areas of building energy 
efficiency.

A 1600-square-foot "green roof" has been installed on the roof of a new section of 
the building as part of a multi-year research project to study low-impact best 
management practices.  UCF's Stormwater Management Academy is leading the effort 
to build and monitor the new roof that uses waterproofing and drainage systems 
that allow a layer of vegetation to grow there.  This building strategy can 
improve the building's energy performance, air quality and the urban ecology while 
requiring no additional land.

Green roof systems cut down on heat transfer through the roof, decrease stormwater 
pollutants and cut down on stormwater volume by naturally evaporating the runoff 
through the plant respiration process.

FSEC was brought in by the state's Department of Environmental Protection to team 
with the campus Stormwater Management Academy researchers to study the energy 
impacts of the green roof.  In spite of the fact that FSEC researchers have 
extensively studied building heat gain through roofs and ceilings, few studies 
have been done on green roofs.  Simulations of the technique have found that the 
energy savings can range from 1 to 25 percent, depending on the building and the 
plants and soil used on the roof.  FSEC's tasks will be to provide the energy 
related monitoring, analysis and reporting for this project.

Jeff Sonne, who is heading up the FSEC effort, noted that "now that the green roof 
planting is about done and we've been able to install our rooftop temperature 
sensors, were almost ready to start collecting data."  He planned to complete the 
installation of the remaining sensors and data-logging equipment by the end of 
May, thanks to the help of Matt Branch, a UCF mechanical engineering student 
intern.

Sonne pointed out that FSEC will be conducting side-by-side roof temperature and 
heat flux comparisons with an adjacent conventional roof, as well as an assessment 
of any air temperature reductions above the green roof.

FSEC is also working on a related building re-commissioning project on the UCF 
campus.  In addition to providing technical assistance to UCF's Physical Plant 
office in improving the efficiency of three identified campus buildings, it is 
hoped that the project will begin a comprehensive re-commissioning of all UCF 
campus buildings by using the energy savings from this initial project to fund 
monitoring and modifications to the rest of the campus. 

"One of the other outcomes of the related re-commissioning activity," according to 
Buildings Division chair Rob Vieira, "is that we will be providing building 
science training to five employees of the universitys physical plant staff, and 
well also be conducting a four-course training series on these building 
strategies that are ideally suited for the Florida climate."

The green roof at UCF is the second one sponsored by the Department of 
Environmental Protection.  They supported one a year ago at a golf course in 
Bonita Bay.  More information on the UCF project is available at 
www.stormwater.ucf.edu.

The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central 
Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported energy research center in 
the country.  Current research activities include solar water and pool heating, 
solar electric and distributed generation systems, energy-efficient buildings, 
alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel, fuel cells and other energy 
areas.  For more information about the center, visit www.fsec.ucf.edu or 
call the FSEC Public Information Office at (321) 638-1015.


 This green roof is installed on the new section of UCF's Student Union building.