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An investigation into new SUB rooftop garden irrigations systems

University of British Columbia. Sustainability Office

In this report, the researchers investigated three different solutions for the rooftop garden irrigation system in the new SUB at UBC. They included drip tape, soaker hose and sprinkler irrigation. The soaker hose was recommended. There are a few requirements that are to be met with the solutions. The goal of the new SUB is to have the LEED Platinum Plus Certification so in order to do that, 90% water efficiency should be achieved. The area of irrigation is 1866 m2 or 20085 sqft. Some constraints include After performing a triple bottom line analysis, the sprinklers were found to be the least expensive in the initial and maintenance costs. The costs of soaker hose and drip tape were close in long term period and since the SUB is designed to last 100 years, that will be the comparison that is focused on. Sprinkler irrigation was found to have the highest impact to the environment in the sense that its maximum water efficiency was 51.56%. This eliminated the choice of using sprinklers because it would not come close to the LEED Certification. Carbon footprint was then examined and the soaker hose was found to have the least footprint. In terms of the social impact, there was very little difference between the three solutions. After careful consideration, the soaker hose was selected because of its low carbon footprint. In terms of its economical impact, it was similar to that of drip tape in long periods of time. The sprinkler was very inexpensive; however, its water efficiency was too low to be considered. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

University of British Columbia. APSC 262; UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0108360

Applied Science, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/