Investigation of the Thermal Performance of Green Roof on a Mild Warm Climate

Abstract

Global warming has become a threat of our time. It poses challenges to the existence of all biota on this earth and has made a clear impact on the level of energy and water consumption. No doubt, increase in the ambient temperature increases indoor and outdoor temperature level of the buildings which catalyzes the use of energy and cost intensive mechanical air-conditioning systems. Green roof tops belong to such an idea for cutting down the energy consumption and enhancing the comfort level of commercial and residential buildings. This paper investigated the impact of green roof on thermal performance and cooling potential in Indian climate.  It was observed experimentally that compared to the exposed roof, the room air and interior surface temperature of the green roof were reduced by a maximum of 17% and 22% respectively. Heat flux studies show that not only the peaks are lower but also the diurnal heat fluctuation through the green roof assembly is lower than that of the conventional roof in the case of heat in-leak. Further, a thermal lag of around 2 to 3 hours has been observed. The simulated model developed in this study has been closely replicated by the experimental data, thereby efficacy of the model is demonstrated unequivocally.