Measurement of Innovative Green Façades in the Central European Climate

Abstract

Green structures, such as green roofs or green façades, are great examples of climate change mitigation. Their impact is mainly focused on roofs in the area of overheating reduction. In this paper, initial measurement results of a green façade experimental test setup are provided. The green façade uses an innovative board from recycled materials with vegetation rooted directly on the board. The tested green façade is divided into three segments. These segments differ from each other in their watering regimes, which are crucial for cooling effectiveness. Watering operates with the assistance of gravity; water flows from the top gutter through the boards. In this paper, these three segments are compared to each other with respect to temperatures on the surface of a regular external thermal insulation composite system façade (ETICS) during two summer days. The green façade showed an impact on the temperature in the ventilated air gap, where the temperature is almost the same as the outdoor air temperature in the morning with direct solar radiation on the façade and lower than the outdoor air temperature in the afternoon. At the peaks, the surface temperatures within the air cavity surface are up to 8 °C lower than those on a new white ETICS coating. This demonstrates a cooling potential, although the surface temperatures are always higher than the outdoor air temperatures during daylight hours.