How Living Walls Act As Natural Insulators
Living walls are one of many green infrastructure technologies for improving building energy performance. Net Zero energy design is becoming commonplace in the built environment. With almost 40 percent of energy consumption coming from heating and cooling, it's crucial to understand sustainable solutions to reduce building energy consumption. Living Walls can offer energy conservation by improving buildings' thermal performance.
Exterior Living Walls Offer Building Protection
External living walls protect the building envelope, extending the facade's life and saving the owner costs on repairs down the road. The planted vegetation prevents dramatic temperature changes, preventing building corrosion from expansion and contraction occurring in extreme temperatures. The combination of plants and soil effectively protects against rain and wind. Foliage absorbs 50% of solar energy, and 30% of solar energy gets reflected. Compared to cladding, paints and other building coatings deteriorate over time. Green walls can be an effective solution for the long-term sustainability of a structure.
Exterior Living Walls Offer Climate Control
Vegetation can and will regulate the ambient temperature outside and inside the building. The growing medium and plants serve as a natural insulator, keeping the air inside the buildings cooler in the warmer months and warmer during the colder months. Compared to conventional building materials like concrete, brick, and metals, which store latent heat and can heat surfaces well over 130 Fahrenheit during the day. Studies of vertical living walls have resulted in “a reduced cooling load by 30%, equivalent to 3.6–4.8 kWh per day, and reduced peak load by 0.6–0.8 kW.” Living Walls are especially effective in dense urban centers by reducing heat island effect.
Interior Living Walls And Energy Conservation
Plants help cool the air around them through evapotranspiration, the movement of water from the soil through the plant and into the atmosphere. Large plants also cool the air temperature through solar shading. One study showed, “if plants are used instead of blinds of double-layer curtain walls, a 20% reduction of the air conditioning load can be achieved.”
