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 Stormwater Mitigation

The ability to monitor the stormwater capacity of green roofs is probably the most important environmental application of sensor networks for green roofs.

Green roofs are designed to capture at least a 1-inch rainfall event, but this capacity is site-specific and should be monitored to ensure the long-term effectiveness of green roofs for this purpose.

Having the capacity to remotely monitor and control irrigations is probably the most important management requirement for most roof top environments, since they are remote and plants experience high wind and evaporative losses.

We need to ensure the survival and the ability of green roof plants to reduce the amount of water in between rain events.   However, during periods of drought, an automated irrigation system that irrigates based on daily plant water requirements is required in many regions around the US, to ensure plant survival.  A relatively small investment in this capability could potentially save large plant maintenance and replacement costs during the life of a green roof.