Green roofs and their benefits to decrease UHI and Increase energy efficiency in building

Abstract

Climate change is one of the major concerns for sustainable development. It`s became even more noticeable due to its impact on global temperature. Moreover, it has been proven that climate change is one of the main factors affecting the UHI, which in its turn, increase the energy demand in cities, where reducing power costs still a major challenge. In fact, greenroof is an old technique widely used in many countries especially hot countries, as a thermal regulator. It has been modernized in low-cost and efficient extensive system for sustainability. The main objective of this research is therefore to assess the passive cooling capacity of buildings and to assess the thermal comfort generated by the green roof and to reduce the attenuation of UHI under the semi-arid climate of Constantine. With this intention, a roof with extensive vegetation was simulated on a cultural center. It consists of substrate of 3cm depth, planted with various species. The results have been shown that green roofs are extremely effective for passive cooling and ensure protection of roof surfaces from damaging solar rays in summer in semi-arid climates.