Assessing the Effectiveness of Using Vertical Gardening to Mitigate the Effects of Heat Waves

Abstract

The paper is devoted to justifying the use of vertical gardening of buildings as a measure to mitigate the effects of “heat waves” without incurring additional energy costs. Climate change is accompanied by a raising in the frequency of “heat waves”. This causes increased energy consumption of air-cooling systems used to create favorable indoor conditions. Increased energy consumption, in turn, is often associated with an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, which are a significant factor in climate change and the occurrence of “heat waves”. The proposed approach makes it possible to reduce the effects of “heat waves” on the indoor microclimate through the use of eco-technologies that do not require additional energy costs. The described technology provides for vertical gardening of the walls of buildings with liana-type plants. The article assesses the use of wild grapevines as a basis for vertical gardening in the climatic conditions of Kharkiv (Ukraine). A specific example of using the technology demonstrates that its application leads to a 2.5-fold reduction in excessive heat inside the premises, which reduces energy consumption for the most common cooling systems by 0.45 kWh per 1 m² of a south-facing wall during the investigated 7-day “heat wave” period.