The Tainan Environmental Protection Bureau’s green roof cooling project can help lower roof temperatures by about 7°C, thus reducing air-conditioner electricity consumption.
A presentation of the project was held at Wunyuan Elementary School in the city’s North District (北區), where herbs and vegetables had been planted on classroom rooftops.
Environmental Protection Bureau Director Lin Yuan-chung (林淵淙), Tainan City North District Office Chief Secretary Tsai Chia-fu (蔡佳甫), Wunyuan Elementary School principal Lee Chen-i (李貞儀), volunteers, and the school’s students and teachers attended the presentation.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
The green roof project was implemented at five facilities, covering a total area of 734m2 this year, the bureau said.
Including the eight facilities that were planted up in 2017, covering a total area of 533m2, the combined green roof area has reached 1,267m2, which is expected to save about 93,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, it said.
Lin said the demonstration at the elementary school showed the energy-saving benefits of the project by reducing the amount of electricity air-conditioners consume by about 40 percent.
It also reduces stormwater runoff by 60 to 80 percent, putting less pressure on the city’s sewer system, and can be be incorporated into environmental education, allowing students to get closer to nature, he said.
Lee said the green roof installed at the school was the “thin-layer” type recommended by the bureau.
Its total area is about 91m2, and the water retention boards at the bottom can store up to 13.5 tonnes of water, she said.
The herbs and the New Zealand spinach planted on the roof are grown organically, Lee said, adding that it would be used to teach students about agriculture, saving energy, the environment and sustainability.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS