The thermal performance of green roofs in arid cities

Authors

  • Juan Emiliano Flores-Asin Instituto de Ambiente, Hábitat y EnergíaINAHE - CCT CONICET Mendoza
  • Claudia Fernanda Martinez Instituto de Ambiente, Hábitat y Energía INAHE - CCT CONICET Mendoza
  • Maria Alicia Cantón Instituto de Ambiente, Hábitat y Energía INAHE - CCT CONICET Mendoza
  • Erica Norma Correa Instituto de Ambiente, Hábitat y Energía INAHE - CCT CONICET Mendoza

Keywords:

green roofs, thermal behavior, water demand, plant varieties

Abstract

Green roofs are an urban greening strategy that mitigates the effects of global warming by reducing urban temperatures and energy consumption derived from indoor thermal conditioning used to achieve comfort conditions in summer. However, its implementation in arid cities is dependent upon the use of plant species with low water consumption. This paper assesses the thermal performance of green roofs employing two species with different growth habits and water demand: Aptenia cordifolia and Sedum spectabile. To this end, meteorological variables were measured in experimental cells by data loggers during the 2015 summer season. The results show that green roofs reduce average interior temperature by 2 °C, thermal amplitude by 8 °C, and maximum temperature by 6 °C, while Differences between the species tested were insignificant (0.5 °C). These values reflect the thermal efficiency of green roofs and the need to increase the number of species studied in order to determine the different benefits from species with low water consumption and high local availability. 

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References

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Published

2016-12-30

How to Cite

Flores-Asin, J. E., Martinez, C. F., Cantón, M. A., & Correa, E. N. (2016). The thermal performance of green roofs in arid cities. Sustainable Habitat, 6(2), 6–15. Retrieved from https://revistas.ubiobio.cl/index.php/RHS/article/view/2169

Issue

V.6, N.2 (2016): December 2016

Section

Artículos

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