Direct and Indirect Impacts of Vegetation on Building Comfort: A Comparative Study of Lawns, Green Walls and Green Roofs

Laurent Malys, Marjorie Musy and Christian Inard
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Laurent Malys: L'Université Nantes Angers Le Mans, ensa Nantes, UMR CNRS 1563, Centre de REcherche Nantais Architecture Urbanité, 6 quai F. Mitterrand, Nantes 44000, France
Marjorie Musy: L'Université Nantes Angers Le Mans, ensa Nantes, UMR CNRS 1563, Centre de REcherche Nantais Architecture Urbanité, 6 quai F. Mitterrand, Nantes 44000, France
Christian Inard: Institut de Recherche en Sciences et Techniques de la Ville, FR CNRS 2488, 1 rue de La Noé, Nantes 44000, France

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Following development and validation of the SOLENE-microclimat tool, the underlying model was used to compare the impacts of various “greening strategies” on buildings’ summer energy consumption and indoor comfort. This study distinguishes between direct and indirect impacts by successively implementing the test strategies on both the studied building and surrounding ones; it also considers insulated vs. non-insulated buildings. Findings indicate that green walls have a direct effect on indoor comfort throughout the entire building, whereas the effect of green roofs is apparently primarily confined to the upper floor. Moreover, the indirect effect of a green wall is greater, mainly due to the drop in infrared emissions resulting from a lower surface temperature. It has also been proven that the indirect effects of green walls and surrounding lawns can help reduce the loads acting on a non-insulated building.

Keywords: adaptive comfort; urban climate; lawn; building simulation; SOLENE-microclimat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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