Energy simulation of vertical greenery systems

The objective of this research is to simulate the effects of vertical greenery systems on the temperature and energy consumption of buildings. Firstly, it involves performing TAS simulations to determine their effects on thermal comfort and energy consumption. It is found that 100% greenery coverage from vertical greenery systems is effective in lowering the mean radiant temperature of a glass facade building. Furthermore, to lower the energy cooling load significantly, the shading coefficient of plant species has to be low. Secondly, a thermal calculation of the envelope thermal transfer value (ETTV) to obtain their effects on the thermal performance of building envelope is performed. Results show a linear correlation between shading coefficient and leaf area index where a lower shading coefficient leads to a greater thermal insulation. 50% greenery coverage from vertical greenery systems and a shading coefficient of 0.041 reduce the ETTV of a glass facade building by 40.68%. Lastly, vertical greenery systems in mitigating the UHI effect within an estate is simulated using STEVE model. The increase of greenery coverage from vertical greenery systems is most significantly felt with a drop in the minimum estate air temperature throughout a large region of the estate.