Modeling the effect of green roof systems and photovoltaic panels for building energy savings to mitigate climate change

Abstract

Green roofs and rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are two popular mitigation strategies to reduce the net building energy demand and ease urban heat island (UHI) effect. This research tested the potential mitigation effects of green roofs and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on increased buildings energy demand caused by climate change in Los Angeles County, California, USA. The mitigation effects were assessed based on selected buildings that were predicted to be more vulnerable to climate change. EnergyPlus software was used to simulate hourly building energy consumption with the proper settings of PV-green roofs. All buildings with green roofs showed positive energy savings with regard to total energy and electricity. The savings caused by green roofs were positively correlated with three key parameters: Leaf Area Index (LAI), soil depth, and irrigation saturation percentage. Moreover, the majority of the electricity-saving benefits from green roofs were found in the Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling (HVAC) systems. In addition, this study found that green roofs have different energy-saving abilities on different types of buildings with different technologies, which has received little attention in previous studies.