Simulation-Based Study on the Effect of Green Roofs on Summer Energy Performance in Melbourne

Green roofs are increasingly recognised as a crucial urban solution, addressing climate change, enhancing energy efficiency, and promoting sustainable architecture in densely populated areas. In this manuscript, the research study delves into the influence of green roofs on energy consumption, focusing on the Treasury Place building in Melbourne, Australia. The utilisation of DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus simulations was explored. Various green roof parameters such as the Leaf Area Index (LAI), plant height, soil moisture, and tree coverage were optimised and compared against base case scenarios. The key findings indicate an optimal LAI of 1.08 for maximum energy savings, with diminishing returns beyond an LAI of 2.5. The soil moisture content was most effective, around 50%, while a plant height of approximately 0.33 m optimised energy reduction. The introduction of 50% canopy tree coverage provided temperature regulation, but increased soil moisture due to trees and their influence on wind flow had an adverse energy impact. These results emphasise the necessity for precise green roof representation and parameter optimisation for maximum energy efficiency. This research offers essential insights for those in urban planning and building design, endorsing green roofs as a pivotal solution for sustainable urban environments.

[1]  Majed Abuseif.  Exploring Influencing Factors and Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Water Management on Green Roofs: A Systematic Quantitative Review , 2023, Architecture.

[2]  M. Gheibi,et al.  A Novel Smart Framework for Optimal Design of Green Roofs in Buildings Conforming with Energy Conservation and Thermal Comfort , 2023, Energy and Buildings.

[3]  E. Jamei,et al.  Simulation-based study on the role of green roof settings on energy demand reduction in seven Australian climate zones , 2023, Energy and Buildings.

[4]  R. Michael,et al.  Trees on buildings: A design framework , 2023, Nature-Based Solutions.

[5]  R. Michael,et al.  Trees on buildings: Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations , 2022, Building and Environment.

[6]  R. Michael,et al.  The effect of green roof configurations including trees in a subtropical climate: A co-simulation parametric study , 2021 .

[7]  I. Agranovski,et al.  Removal of particulate air pollutants by Australian vegetation potentially used for green barriers , 2021, Atmospheric Pollution Research.

[8]  C. Calheiros,et al.  Green Roofs Towards Circular and Resilient Cities , 2021, Circular Economy and Sustainability.

[9]  Hang Yu,et al.  Thermal and energy performance of green roof and cool roof: A comparison study in Shanghai area , 2020 .

[10]  Yuanfan Zheng,et al.  Modeling the Effect of Green Roof Systems and Photovoltaic Panels for Building Energy Savings to Mitigate Climate Change , 2020, Remote. Sens..

[11]  Kecheng Zhang,et al.  Whether the carbon emission from green roofs can be effectively mitigated by recycling waste building material as green roof substrate during five-year operation? , 2020, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[12]  P. Jones,et al.  In-situ monitoring of energetic and hydrological performance of a semi-intensive green roof and a white roof during a heatwave event in the UK , 2019, Indoor and Built Environment.

[13]  C. Silva,et al.  Impact of Vegetation, Substrate, and Irrigation on the Energy Performance of Green Roofs in a Mediterranean Climate , 2019, Water.

[14]  T. Susca.  Green roofs to reduce building energy use? A review on key structural factors of green roofs and their effects on urban climate , 2019, Building and Environment.

[15]  Zhonghua Gou,et al.  A Review of Roofing Methods: Construction Features, Heat Reduction, Payback Period and Climatic Responsiveness , 2018, Energies.

[16]  L. Sargent,et al.  Conceptualising creativity benefits of nature experience: Attention restoration and mind wandering as complementary processes , 2018, Journal of Environmental Psychology.

[17]  S. Muthukumaran,et al.  Effectiveness of green and cool roofs in mitigating urban heat island effects during a heatwave event in the city of Melbourne in southeast Australia , 2018, Journal of Cleaner Production.

[18]  Rui Wang,et al.  Green roof simulation with a seasonally variable leaf area index , 2018, Energy and Buildings.

[19]  B. Scharf,et al.  Case study investigation of the building physical properties of seven different green roof systems , 2017 .

[20]  Kalani C. Dahanayake,et al.  Temperature and cooling demand reduction by green-roof types in different climates and urban densities: A co-simulation parametric study , 2017 .

[21]  Libor Matějka,et al.  Life-cycle study on semi intensive green roofs , 2017 .

[22]  E. Ng,et al.  A study on the impact of shadow-cast and tree species on in-canyon and neighborhood's thermal comfort , 2017 .

[23]  F. Boafo,et al.  Evaluating the impact of green roof evapotranspiration on annual building energy performance , 2017 .

[24]  Phillip John Jones,et al.  Vegetation and soil – related parameters for computing solar radiation exchanges within green roofs: Are the available values adequate for an easy modeling of their thermal behavior? , 2016 .

[25]  Ting Sun,et al.  How do green roofs mitigate urban thermal stress under heat waves? , 2016, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

[26]  Kuppusamy Vijayaraghavan,et al.  Green roofs: A critical review on the role of components, benefits, limitations and trends , 2016 .

[27]  C. Silva,et al.  Green roofs energy performance in Mediterranean climate , 2016 .

[28]  Frédéric Baret,et al.  Global Gap-Free MERIS LAI Time Series (2002-2012) , 2016, Remote. Sens..

[29]  Peter Newman,et al.  Biophilic architecture: a review of the rationale and outcomes , 2015 .

[30]  A. Refahi,et al.  Investigating the effective factors on the reduction of energy consumption in residential buildings with green roofs , 2015 .

[31]  A. Western,et al.  The influence of multiyear drought on the annual rainfall‐runoff relationship: An Australian perspective , 2015 .

[32]  Murray C. Peel,et al.  Leaf Area Index Variation for Crop, Pasture, and Tree in Response to Climatic Variation in the Goulburn–Broken Catchment, Australia , 2014 .

[33]  J. Wolch,et al.  Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough’ , 2014 .

[34]  G. Feyisa,et al.  Efficiency of parks in mitigating urban heat island effect: An example from Addis Ababa , 2014 .

[35]  Bruce Dvorak,et al.  Event size, substrate water content and vegetation affect storm water retention efficiency of an un-irrigated extensive green roof system in Central Texas , 2014 .

[36]  Marijn van der Velde,et al.  Reductions in soil surface albedo as a function of biochar application rate: implications for global radiative forcing , 2013 .

[37]  T. Chow,et al.  Energy and economic performance of green roof system under future climatic conditions in Hong Kong , 2013 .

[38]  Virginia Stovin,et al.  A generic hydrological model for a green roof drainage layer. , 2013, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[39]  Alessandro Anav,et al.  Global Data Sets of Vegetation Leaf Area Index (LAI)3g and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR)3g Derived from Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g) for the Period 1981 to 2011 , 2013, Remote. Sens..

[40]  M. Qureshi,et al.  Impact of water scarcity in Australia on global food security in an era of climate change , 2013 .

[41]  K. Seto,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Global Urban Land Expansion , 2011, PloS one.

[42]  D. Rowe,et al.  Green roofs as a means of pollution abatement. , 2011, Environmental pollution.

[43]  V. Masson,et al.  Evolution of the Parisian urban climate under a global changing climate , 2010, Climatic Change.

[44]  J. C. Berndtsson.  Green roof performance towards management of runoff water quantity and quality: A review , 2010 .

[45]  M. Simmons,et al.  Green roofs are not created equal: the hydrologic and thermal performance of six different extensive green roofs and reflective and non-reflective roofs in a sub-tropical climate , 2008, Urban Ecosystems.

[46]  T. McMahon,et al.  Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification , 2007 .

[47]  S. Grimmond.  Urbanization and global environmental change: local effects of urban warming , 2007 .

[48]  Maria Kolokotroni,et al.  THE EFFECT OF THE LONDON URBAN HEAT ISLAND ON BUILDING SUMMER COOLING DEMAND AND NIGHT VENTILATION STRATEGIES , 2006 .

[49]  C. Tucker,et al.  Climate-Driven Increases in Global Terrestrial Net Primary Production from 1982 to 1999 , 2003, Science.

[50]  M. Santamouris,et al.  Analysis of the green roof thermal properties and investigation of its energy performance , 2001 .

[51]  T. Carlson,et al.  On the relation between NDVI, fractional vegetation cover, and leaf area index , 1997 .

[52]  T. Carlson,et al.  Thermal remote sensing of surface soil water content with partial vegetation cover for incorporation into climate models , 1995 .

[53]  G. K. Walker,et al.  Global Fields of Soil Moisture and Land Surface Evapotranspiration Derived from Observed Precipitation and Surface Air Temperature. , 1993 .

[54]  Gordon B. Bonan,et al.  A computer model of the solar radiation, soil moisture, and soil thermal regimes in boreal forests , 1989 .

[55]  Minzhong Zou,et al.  Effects of green roofs’ variations on the regional thermal environment using measurements and simulations in Chongqing, China , 2018 .

[56]  Vinod Kumar.  MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF THE THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF A PASSIVE ROOF , 2017 .

[57]  H. Ernstson.  The social production of ecosystem services: A framework for studying environmental justice and ecological complexity in urbanized landscapes , 2013 .

[58]  Lee Xia Sheng,et al.  Integrated sustainable roof design , 2011 .

[59]  M. N. Assimakopoulos,et al.  On the green roof system. Selection, state of the art and energy potential investigation of a system installed in an office building in Athens, Greece , 2008 .

[60]  David J. Sailor,et al.  A green roof model for building energy simulation programs , 2008 .

[61]  B. Rekhi,et al.  World Journal of Surgical Oncology Open Access Fibromatosis-like Carcinoma-an Unusual Phenotype of a Metaplastic Breast Tumor Associated with a Micropapilloma , 2022 .