An exploration of green roofs for indoor and exterior temperature regulation in the South African interior

Anne Fitchett (), Privashen Govender and Priya Vallabh
Additional contact information
Anne Fitchett: University of the Witwatersrand, WITS
Privashen Govender: University of the Witwatersrand, WITS
Priya Vallabh: University of the Witwatersrand, WITS

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2020, vol. 22, issue 6, No 5, 5025-5044

Abstract: Abstract Green roofs have been shown to improve comfort levels of rooms directly below them, since they act as insulators; however, global research suggests that the performance of green roofs in attenuating temperature extremes is dependent on local climatic conditions. This study is located in Johannesburg in the South African interior, in a climate that has not previously been researched. Using heat sensors on the exterior and interior, it explores the thermal performance of a scale model of a vegetated roof in comparison with a soil roof devoid of planting and a tile roof during the dry winter season. Four different methods of enclosure were used to simulate various walling conditions. The maximum, minimum and mean temperatures for the upper and under sides of each roof were compared with the ambient temperature. Exterior temperatures for the green roof closely matched ambient temperatures, suggesting that this roof type would help in minimising the urban heat island effect. The soil roof returned the highest minimum temperatures, thereby achieving the best thermal comfort levels at night; however, this roofing solution is not recommended since the exterior maximum temperatures were considerably higher than the ambient temperature. However, the interior under the green roof has a minimal improvement on ambient temperatures and well below the recommended minimum interior temperature of 19 °C promoted by SANS10400-XA. This study forms part of a broader research initiative into energy-efficient low-cost housing solutions.

Keywords: Vegetated roof; Thermal regulation; Johannesburg; Indoor climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-019-00413-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:endesu:v:22:y:2020:i:6:d:10.1007_s10668-019-00413-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/10668

DOI: 10.1007/s10668-019-00413-5

Access Statistics for this article

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development is currently edited by Luc Hens

More articles in Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().