Con Ed installs ‘green roof’ in LIC

The descent into New York is a familiar sight for many a New York air traveler: an airplane’s approach over black rooftops provides unparalleled views of a skyline matched by no other. Across the river in Long Island City, however, one building truly stands out for its distinctive ‘green roof.’
Con Edison’s three-story Learning Center on Vernon Boulevard has a roof crowned with 21,000 heat- and water-absorbing plants. The energy-saving plant system, the result of a collaborative effort between Con Ed and Columbia University’s Center for Climate Systems Research, is projected to save up to 30 percent of the Learning Center’s peak-cooling costs. And if Con Ed has its way, other New York buildings will follow suit.
The system of sedum plants, which occupies a quarter acre of the north side of the Center’s roof, took about two weeks and $200,000 to install. Upon installation in July, however, maintenance became minimal and ultimately, after a year or two, aside from periodic weeding, the plants will require no care.
Dave Westman, Con Ed’s Resource Conservation Coordinator, said the sedum plants prefer dry, sandy, soils, which are mimicked by the trays the plants live in. Aside from absorbing heat and keeping the building cooler, the plants, which can sit for weeks without any water, act as a sponge when it rains, soaking up 30 to 70 percent of storm run-off that might otherwise put strain on sewers.
“With a black roof, the sun hits the roof and just causes the roof to heat up,” Westman explained, adding that the trial period of at least a year for Con Ed’s ‘green roof’ “is going to yield a data set that is one of a kind, a very good measurement of energy efficiency and insulating property.”
Westman said that Con Ed initially began thinking about the cost and environmental benefits of a ‘green roof’ on one of its facilities about a year ago - the company helped create a ‘green roof’ atop Silvercup Studios in 2004 - and ordered the plants in January 2008. While he lauded the efficiency of the Learning Center’s sedum rooftop, Westman allowed that “there can be a big debate among scientists and plant ecologists” regarding the effectiveness of other species of plants.
Passersby on Vernon Boulevard will not catch a glimpse of any greenery peaking up over the Learning Center rooftop, but Westman said new Con Ed employees and visiting students will not be able to miss the “nice visual display” of the company’s “commitment to environmental excellence.”