A numerical and experimental investigation of the effectiveness of green roofs in tropical environments: The case study of Mauritius in mid and late winter

The present work is a preliminary assessment of the performance of green roof at Reduit in Mauritius, located at latitude 20.23 degrees S and longitude 57.49 degrees E (Indian Ocean), which is influenced by a tropical humid climate. The efficiency of the green roof is gauged by evaluating its effect on indoor temperature fluctuations, conductive heat fluxes and the daily peak indoor temperature. On site measurements of weather data and indoor temperature are collected round the clock from July 11, 2017 to October 08, 2017. It is found that green roof increases the thermal mass of the experimental cells thereby reducing the fluctuations in indoor temperature. The conductive heat flux variation is significantly low in the case of the green roof. The green roof reduces the daily peak indoor temperature, which is attenuated significantly as compared to a conventional roof. A one dimensional mathematical model is also proposed in order to simulate the evolution of the heat and moisture transfer in a porous multilayer material. The model is validated using the measured data. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.