Economic benefits for green roofs: a case study of the skaggs pharmacy building, university of utah

Abstract

This paper reports a return on investment (ROI) feasibility study of applying a green roof on a future pharmacy building at the University of Utah. A 40-year life cycle costs versus benefi ts comparative analysis has been performed for green roof, black roof, and refl ective roof alternatives to quantify the economic benefi ts from green roofs. A green roof has a larger initial capital investment when compared with black or a refl ective roof; however, the life cycle accumulative values of benefi ts from a green roof have been calculated at 27 years, positive net present value, and 100% ROI. This conclusion makes the green roof alternative a better advisable investment than the other two roof alternatives.

Comparative Life Cycle Costing Analysis of Green Roofs: The Regional Aspect

“…In other words, types of benefits should not be perceived as totally independent factors, but as integrated and engaged advantages. [31] X X Clark et al [4] X X X Carter and Keeler [5] X X X X X X Blackhurst et al [9] X X X X Niu et al [18] X X X Lee et al [29] X Tsang and Jim [26] X X X Wu and Smith [19] X X X X Bianchini and Hewage [20] X X X X X X X X X X Claus and Rousseau [12] X X X X X X X X X X X Liu and Hong [31] X X X Angelakoglou et al [25] X Chan and Chow [27] X Mullen et al [21] X X X Joksimovic and Alam [23] X Sproul et al [22] X X X X X Langston [34] X X X X X X X X Liu et al [33] X X Peng and Jim [28] X X X Shin and Kim [30] X X X X X Zhang et al [16] X X Chui et al [17] X X X…”

“…The amount of energy savings is expected to be between 40-110% in Hong Kong, compared to other roofs [27], 1.5% in Belgium [12], and 3.3% in the USA [5]. In this regard, electricity prices per kWh are $0.185 in Hong Kong [27], $0.140 in Belgium [12], and $0.069 in the USA [19]. As a result, both saving amount and its monetary value seem not to change regionally.…”

“…All these findings reveal the significance of storm water management practices and policies that can be applied and adjusted according to regional precipitation amounts. Green roofs are also expected to have positive effects on air quality improvement [4,19]. The corresponding monetary value is calculated considering mitigation or prevention of air pollutants and thereby reduction of taxes and other legal payments.…”

“…In terms of SO2 and CO2, the monetary value of their prevention was taken $0.013/m2 and 5.7 kg/m2, respectively. From a general perspective, the mitigation of all air pollutants will provide a $60 benefit per year [19]. Since the amount of these polluting compounds can take totally different values in different regions and environmental policies (i.e., sanctions and incentives) can change with region, more regional researches seem to be necessary for a better life cycle analysis.…”

A Case Study of Green Energy Roofs in Taiwan Using Financial Analyses

“…The solar photovoltaic operators also have a low incentive to participate in this Project because of low profit margin. Wu and Smith (2011) conduct a case study on the economic benefits (in terms of return on investment, ROI) of applying a green roof on a future pharmacy building at the University of Utah. The authors find that although green roofs have larger initial capital investment than alternatives such as black roofs and reflective roofs, the green roofs have positive net present value and 100% ROI, and are better investment than the other roof alternatives.…”