Green roof energy and water related performance in the Mediterranean climate

Performance of vegetated roofs are investigated in terms of their expected benefits for the building and the urban environment, due to their recognised energy and water management potential scores. A review of related worldwide experiences is reported for comparison purposes. The investigation is here performed within the specific climatic context of the Mediterranean region. Full-scale experimental results are provided from two case studies, located in north-west and central Italy, consisting in two fully monitored green roofs on top of public buildings. The attenuation of solar radiation through the vegetation layer is evaluated as well as the thermal insulation performance of the green roof structure. The daily heat flow through the roof surface is quantified showing that the green roof outperforms the reference roof, therefore reducing the daily energy demand. As for water management, it is confirmed that green roofs significantly mitigate storm water runoff generation - even in a Mediterranean climate - in terms of runoff volume reduction, peak attenuation and increase of concentration time, although reduced performance could be observed during high precipitation periods. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.