A sustainable renovation is coming to Clemons Library due to a roof leak on the fourth floor. Set to start in the summer, the renovation will include a photovoltaic array to offset some of the electricity consumed by the building’s daily operations.
After the leak began in September 2013, University officials evaluated the damage.
Facilities Management Director of Work Management Mark Webb said the roof of the building is an “upside down roof” and is made to last a long time because the water resistant component of the roof is buried under other materials.
Although the upside down structure has lasted since Clemons opened in 1982, it is difficult to repair, Webb said.
The redesign process began immediately after the discovery of the leak, and the designs initially included plans for a vegetated roof, he said.
“You have to have both the structural capacity and right kind of deck; there’s a lot of things that have to come together to convert from a traditional style to a vegetated style,” Webb said.
“It turns out this roof can do that.”
However, the team went back to the drawing board when the construction bids came in higher than the budget for the entire renovation. After much analysis, they discovered they could preserve their sustainable initiative by incorporating a photovoltaic array into the new design, Webb said.
A photovoltaic array — or a solar PV power system — is a group of solar panels and modules which convert solar energy into direct current electricity by way of photoelectric and electrochemical processes.
The electricity generated from the system will offset some of the electricity used by Clemons library.
University Library Communications Officer Charlotte Morford said no books or students should be affected by the short-term continuation of the leak.
“We always want to hear from students, and we understand that the leaks are unsightly. We really appreciate the students understanding,” Morford said in an email statement.
The end results will be something the University community will end up seeing positively, Webb said.
“It’s taken a lot of initiative on the library’s part and the teams that have been involved with the extra analysis,” Webb said. “The easy path would be to say, let’s just replace the roof. But they said, ‘We can do better.’”
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