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The roof of our new building is covered with sedum plants. Planting on a roof this way creates what is known as a green roof. The plants absorb rain water and heat, moderating runoff and temperature. A conventional gravel roof can reach temperatures above 150 degrees on a summer day, but a green roof stays at the temperature of the air around it.
The green roof cost us $20,000. We expect to recoup that cost in five years through energy efficiency; it costs less to cool a building when its roof is not 150 degrees.
We believe that green roofs conserve the world’s energy resources by using indigenous plant life instead of air conditioning to cool city buildings.
Here’s how you can encourage more green building in the United States.
Watch the grass grow -- live roofcam picture.
More about the building
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