Summer period analysis of the performance of a planted roof as a passive cooling technique

Planted roofs or green roofs are one of the few techniques for passive cooling of buildings that are still rare in bioclimatic studies. A major reason for this is the difficulty of thermal simulation that follows such constructions. During the last few years several simulation models have been proposed for the calculation of their thermal behaviour, but the use of such models in existing planted roof constructions is limited. In this study, a technique for the inclusion of such a model in building energy simulation is presented. The results are validated by the use of real data taken from an existing construction in the Mediterranean area and a parametric study is performed in order to evaluate the main planted roof characteristics that affect the performance of a planted roof as a passive cooling technique. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.