First Advisor

Olyssa Starry

Date of Award

Fall 2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Civil Engineering and University Honors

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Language

English

Subjects

Green roofs (Gardening) -- Oregon, Soil moisture, Photovoltaic cells, Heat flux, Microclimatology

DOI

10.15760/honors.971

Abstract

This paper investigates a combined PV eco roof system and analyzes the soil moisture levels in front of the panels and directly underneath the PV Cells on an experimental ecoroof platform in Portland, Oregon. The purpose of the study was to examine how PV Cells create differences in the moisture level of the soil on the ecoroof. Four moisture sensors were set in different quadrants in four experimental testbeds, and the moisture level data was recorded from October 18th, 2018 to September 10th, 2019. The study found that in with heavy rainfall, the front of the testbed displayed more moisture, possibly because of the rain shading effect of the panels. In the dry periods, the moisture level behind the panels was higher, possibly because of the shading of the PV cells allowed for the retention of water through slowed evaporation. Combined system green roofs and PV cells deserve more research. Future work should be repeated in multiple locations with different irrigation systems and plants to determine if these findings are applicable on a larger scale.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/34460

Download

Share

COinS