Author: Florinde Vessies
MSc Thesis - Green facades for cooling urban hot spots
The cooling effectivity of green facades on spaces adjacent to and inside dwellings in Amsterdam
To limit heat problems in cities, green areas are being implemented in the urban context. Since space is often scarce in cities, an opportunity lies in the use of green facades. This research has investigated the cooling effect of natural green facades in the form of Hedera helix. Both the effect on thermal comfort inside and outside buildings was investigated during a five-day heatwave using a model approach in ENVI-met. For this purpose, energy labels and the urban heat island effect were used as heat exposure indicators to determine urban hot spots in Amsterdam.
The results demonstrated that green facades could account for small decreases in air temperature and outdoor thermal comfort. This cooling effect was more pronounced for indoor temperatures.
References can be found inside the document.
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