Cooling Effects of a Modular Living Wall System in a Humid Subtropical Climate
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The Journal of Living Architecture is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, published by the Green Infrastructure Foundation and hosted by the Living Architecture Monitor Magazine. Learn more about the Journal, read all Journal articles, or find out how to submit to the Journal.
Cooling Effects of a Modular Living Wall System in a Humid Subtropical Climate
Volume 10 Number 2 Pages 16-34
Patricia Kio¹*, Ahmed K. Ali², Bruce Dvorak³
(1) Engineering Technology Department, School of Business and Technology, Fitchburg State University, USA
(2) Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
(3) Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, School of Architecture, Texas A&M University,
College Station, Texas, USA
*corresponding author: pkio1@fitchburgstate.edu
ABSTRACT
Living wall systems can generate multiple human health and environmental benefits. Living wall modules have typically been made from materials such as geotextiles, plastics, and metal. In this pilot study, sheet metal by-products from the automotive industry were transformed into three hundred modular living wall system (MLWS) planters. The cooling effects of four of the twenty-five plant species installed on the southeast facing MLWS were observed during the summer season for microclimate observations. Experimental data were observed at the MLWS and an adjacent concrete wall as a control measure at 8:00, 11:00, 13:00, and 15:00 respectively for 5 days in the month of July. One-way Analysis of Variance tests were conducted to investigate significant differences between experimental parameters of the MLWS and the concrete wall including ambient air temperature, surface temperature, relative humidity, and substrate temperature. Mean ambient air temperatures were 3.4 °C cooler at Coreopsis lanceolata ‘Sterntaler’ compared to the mean ambient air temperatures at the concrete wall. The maximum differential in ambient air temperature was 4.6 °C at 15:00 for C. lanceolata ‘Sterntaler’ and the nearby weather station. The greatest differential in surface temperature was 9.78 °C at the background brick wall which is shaded by the MLWS, compared to the adjacent concrete wall at 11:00 and 13:00 hours. These findings confirm the vegetation’s cooling effects on the MLWS compared to typical brick and concrete walls in humid subtropical climates.
Key words: microclimates; vegetation; field measurement; vertical greenery system; modular living wall
Read the full article at: https://doi.org/10.46534/jliv.2023.10.02.016
This peer-reviewed article is provided free and open-access.
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