A STUDY OF INTEGRATED GREEN ROOF AND PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM

Abstract

As the urban population continues to grow, more residential developments must be built to accommodate the future population. With land scarcity in Singapore, densely compacted high-rise buildings are commonly seen but this urban architecture design has contributed to higher thermal temperatures, and thus inducing this undesirable UHI effect. This phenomenon faced by many urban cities causing increased in temperature among the surroundings has resulted in thermal discomfort of urban dwellers and higher air-conditioning needs leading to increased energy consumption and environmental problems. Singapore’s vision towards sustainable architecture explores green technologies such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and green roof and the adoption of these two technologies has been observed to be on a rising trend. Several pilot projects were embarked by Housing and Development Board (HDB) on residential rooftops and multi-storey carparks (MCPs) have been successful. However, issues relating to roof space constraint, PV efficiency, maintenance and investment cost have been identified during the implementation process. Overseas research conducted on Greenroof-PV integration has demonstrated positive yields through improving PV efficiency using green roof. However, there is a lack of research of such integration in the tropics which deters the application of the integrated system in the tropic as there is little knowledge and quantifiable results to substantiate the benefits that can be reaped. Quantitative findings have shown correlation between PV efficiency and green roof where the evaporative cooling from vegetation can reduce the PV cell temperature in which improves PV efficiency, generating better power output. This study also assesses the feasibility of incorporating Greenroof-PV integration on rooftops of residential and MSCPs by addressing the potential challenges that should be carefully considered prior to such implementation. Overseas experiments were discussed in relevance to the potential yields that can be achieved when applying the integrated system in temperate climates. Henceforth, Greenroof-PV integration can be a viable solution to create enhanced improvements and more sustainable innovation to Singapore’s architecture.