Analysis of thermal effects of vegetated envelopes: Integration of a validated model in a building energy simulation program

In this paper, a newly developed heat and moisture transfer model for green envelopes is integrated in a transient building simulation program (TRNSYS) in order to investigate its dynamic performances coupled with a multizone building code. On the one hand we focus on the understanding of the coupled heat and mass transfers between green envelopes and the building; and on the other hand we study the model accuracy to assess the vegetation impacts together with building design. At first, the model reliability is verified through experimental comparisons during a summer period. Then, the developed simulation tool is used to assess the impacts of green walls on building energy performance. Since this model involves different hygrothermal transfer phenomena, the detailed numerical model results are analyzed to determine the weight of each phenomenon: evapotranspiration, shading effect and additional thermal resistance of green roof or wall. The results highlight the thermal benefits in summer and winter, especially for the west walls. The analysis of the different transfer mechanisms show that the foliage shading reduces the surface temperature variation whereas the evapotranspiration ensures the passive cooling when the water availability is sufficient.