Reflective or green roofs? Microclimate influences in cities of arid zones. mendoza, argentina

Abstract

Urban growth causes the intensive sealing of the surfaces of the city. This fact modifies the thermal balance of urban spaces and consequently the temperature of the surrounding air and the surfaces of the urban / building envelope, among other factors. In order to analyze the environmental benefits of reflective and green technologies applied to roof surfaces, the mitigation potential of reflective (R) and green (V) roofs in 32 scenarios was contrasted. The scenarios modify their morphological and material configuration with respect to a base case. The incorporation of reflective and green roof technologies improves the habitability of outdoor spaces. The scenarios with reflective roof decrease the urban air temperature to 1,6 K and the scenarios with green roof up to 2,1 K.