GREEN BUILDING � STUDY THE THERMAL EFFECTS OF PLANTS ON A BUILDING

Abstract

As Singapore continues to grow its population, the advancement of urbanization into the natural environment will not stop. The government has since taken steps to reduce carbon emissions and move towards a more sustainable environment with the introduction of the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) Green Mark. While much have been invested into the development of green innovations and features in buildings, the end result can be very costly to implement. Hence, this study hopes to offer a possible alternative or a complement to the modern technology through the use of natural resources such as plants and vegetation.

As there are many uses for plants in the built environment, this paper will focus on the use of green walls for the thermal envelope in buildings. An experiment will be carried out to test the hypothesis that plants are able to absorb solar radiation. With the absorption of solar radiation through natural insulation and shading, it can help to reduce the cooling load for a building, resulting in lower energy consumption and utility costs.

Although there are limitations to the experiment, the findings do suggest that plants are able to provide natural insulation through shading and absorption of solar radiation.