Climatological uses of plants for solar control and the effects on the thermal environment of a building

Abstract The following climatological uses of plants were chosen to study how they control solar radiation, reduce the cooling load and improve the indoor and outdoor thermal environment: (a) a pergola composed of a horizontal wisteria sunscreen; (b) a vine sunscreen designed for a south-west veranda; (c) an ivy sunscreen covering a west wall; (d) a row of evergreens placed next to a west wall; (e) rooftop turf planted on layers of loam and perlite. An outline of each experiment and the remarkable results for solar control are presented.