Carbon, indoor air, energy and financial benefits of coupled ventilation upgrade and enhanced rooftop garden installation: An interdisciplinary climate mitigation approach
Sarabeth Buckley, Catherine L. Connolly, Jonathan I. Levy, Pamela H. Templer, Jacqueline Ashmore, Luís Carvalho, Nathan Phillips, M. Patricia Fabian
Sustainable Cities and Society
Urban Farm DB summary
This study quantified changes in CO2 emissions, energy use, and financial cost when ventilation upgrades and rooftop garden installations are done simultaneously, with the potential to enhance plant growth from exhausted CO2. Researchers measured indoor CO2 concentrations (maximum 2210 ppm, median 840 ppm, 33% of daytime above 1000 ppm) and estimated ventilation rates (4 L/s). Model calculations showed that while increasing ventilation to recommended levels (7 L/s) would increase CO2 emissions, energy, and cost by 1-4%, rooftop garden installation benefits could counterbalance this, leading to a net decrease of 23-46% in CO2 emissions, 12-13% in energy use, and 12-16% in cost.