Energy Flow through the Onondaga County Convention Center Green Roof in Syracuse, NY

Buildings in the Northeast U.S. with large interior open spaces and high ceilings require substantial amounts of energy to heat and cool the spaces. The objectives of this experiment are to model the heat flux across different layers of a green roof and to estimate the thermal resistance of the layers. The project will examine conditions in winter and summer, considering air temperature and snow cover on the roof. The scope of this study includes measurements of the transfer of energy through the green roof on the Onondaga County Convention Center in Syracuse, NY. The methods include collection of data from Campbell Scientific temperature probes at six heights through the roof layers, ranging from the Convention Center ceiling to the ambient air above the roof. The temperature data are stored in CR-1000 data loggers. Under certain conditions, the green roof is expected to be an effective barrier to energy flow across the roof. The implications of this work are a better understanding of how green roofs function as a barrier to energy loss from the building in winter and a barrier to energy gain from direct sunlight in the summer. This, in turn, can assist designers of green roofs in a variety of climates