Building and Environment 97 (2016) 34e39

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Building and Environment

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/buildenv

Investigating the potential of applying vertical green walls to high-rise

residential buildings for energy-saving in sub-tropical region
Irene Wong a, *, Andrew N. Baldwin b
a
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
b
National Centre for International Research of Low-carbon and Green Building, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In metropolitan cities like Hong Kong, residential buildings are mostly high-rise developments. These
Received 15 September 2015 buildings do not have external insulation. In sub-tropical regions with mild winter heat loss from
Received in revised form buildings in winter is insignificant and hence heat transfer from the interior of the building is low.
25 November 2015
Heating systems are rarely installed. However, heat transfer through the external façade into the interior
Accepted 26 November 2015
Available online 12 December 2015
is high in summer necessitating air-conditioning for thermal comfort and consuming large amounts of
electrical energy. Vertical greenery, installed to the external walls of buildings, has been proved to be a
good insulation system. This research studied the feasibility of applying a double-skin green façade, to
Keywords:
High-rise residential buildings
high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong in order to reduce energy consumption for cooling in hot
External insulation and humid summer. The study concluded that substantial energy saving is possible. Further research on
Air-conditioning the application of vertical green wall systems to high-rise residential buildings is recommended.
Energy for cooling © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Vertical green wall

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2. Green facades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.1. Shadowing effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.2. Thermal insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.3. Evaporative cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.4. Blockage of wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3. Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.1. Climate of Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2. High-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.3. Energy consumption in high-rise residential buildings for space conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.4. Energy saving in cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.5. Environmental benefits offered by VGW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

1. Introduction consumption of materials, energy and water [1]. The construction

of city buildings and infrastructure has been accused of causing
The metabolism of the city is responsible for the greatest environmental problems from excessive consumption of global
resources in terms of construction and building operation, which
pollutes the surrounding environment [2]. Energy is consumed to
* Corresponding author. regulate the indoor microclimate. Greenhouse gases like carbon
E-mail address: 06901650r@connect.polyu.hk (I. Wong).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.11.028
0360-1323/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 I. Wong, A.N. Baldwin / Building and Environment 97 (2016) 34e39
dioxide are released from mechanical cooling/heating systems. In
sub-tropical regions, temperature rarely falls below 10
C and
central heating is not common in high-rise residential buildings.
The external walls of these buildings are commonly constructed of
125e250 mm thick concrete without thermal insulation [3].
However, the temperature in summer can rise to over 30
C and
heat gain through external walls is significant. Air-conditioning,
which is operated by electrical energy, is the major cooling mech-
anism used in high-rise residential buildings. An important goal for
the building sector is to produce buildings with minimum envi-
ronmental impact [4]. This means that the building envelope in
sub-tropical regions should be designed to reduce cooling load.
A green roof can provide a cooler interior environment [5] [6]
[7]. In high-rise buildings the effectiveness of roof garden is
limited as a large area of the roof is occupied by building services.
However, the high wall to roof ratio can offer larger areas for
planting [8]. The use of vertical green walls (VGW) as passive en-
ergy saving systems should therefore be explored [9].
Hong Kong has a sub-tropical climate and is characterized by
high-rise developments [10]. The majority of the residential
buildings are developed into high-rise blocks over 20 storeys [10]
[11] offering large façade surface for installing VGW. This paper
investigates the potential of applying VGW to high-rise residential
buildings in Hong Kong to reduce cooling load and examines the
feasibility of the implementing VGW solutions.
2. Green facades
The original concept of vertical vegetation can be traced back to
the hanging gardens of Babylon [12], which were used to shade
external façades from the hot sun. A VGW is facade system in which
evergreen or deciduous climbing plants directly grow on walls or
are potted in hanging containers in special supporting structures in
a controlled fashion with regularly maintenance to cover the fa-
cades [9] [13] [14]. The design of VGW can offer multiple benefits
depending on many factors, such as local climate, building orien-
tation, plant species and system components [14]. A green façade
can improve building energy efficiency and indoor air quality,
reduce noise penetration, sequestrate carbon dioxide and protect
building envelope [14] [15] [16]. It can also provide biodiversity and
create natural animal habitat [14]. The aesthetic appearance can
stimulate psychological positive effect as well as increase property
value [14] [15]. Careful selection of plants suitable to the peculiar
conditions of the particular types of vertical greenery system is vital
to successful performance [17]. In this regard, local plant species,
which have already adapted to the local climate and environment,
are usually selected. Plants have the ability to dissipate the
Fig. 1. Three main types of green façade [13].(For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
35
absorbed solar radiation into sensible and latent heat [15]. Foliage
can improve thermal [18] and sound insulation [19] filtering dust
and chemicals from air [14], produce oxygen and reduce carbon
dioxide by photosynthesis. VGW can be considered as an external
cladding [20] and insulation layer.
Green facades can be classified into 3 main categories (Fig. 1)
according to the supporting structures as listed below [20]:
(A) Traditional Green Facades of which climber plants use the
façade materials as a support
(B) Double-skin Green Facade (DSGF) of climbing plants, which
are supported by a double-skin framework separated from
the wall by an air space
(C) Perimeter Flower Pots where shrubs are grown and planted
around the building
Type (B) DSGF is suitable for high-rise buildings as the double-
skin framework can be constructed in modular panels which can
easily integrate into the façade design (Fig. 2). The created air space
between the vegetation skin wall and the façade acts as an insu-
lation layer [13]. This study focused on exploring the potential of
applying DSGF to reduce cooling load in high-rise residential
buildings in Hong Kong.
VGW saves energy by four fundamental mechanisms: (a) the
interception of solar radiation, (b) thermal insulation provided by
vegetation and substrate, (c) evaporative cooling by evapotranspi-
ration, and (d) acting as wind screen [9].
2.1. Shadowing effect
Vegetation can play an important role in regulating microcli-
mate of buildings. By shading with plants a reduction in tempera-
ture between the external wall and the interior is created [21].
Many species of climbing plants raise their leaves in response to the
high-angled sun creating a ventilation blind effect; in which the
warm air is vented out at top and replaced by cool air from outside
[22]. Solar transmittance of single and five layers of creeping plants,
such as Virginia Creeper (a native plant in UK and North America),
range from 0.43 to 0.14 [23] and can reduce solar radiation by about
40%e80% [17] [23] [24]. 5e30% of the remaining solar radiation
passes through the leaves and affects the internal climate of the
building [13].
Virginia Creeper is a deciduous climber which belongs to the
grapevine family. The dense foliage blocks the high-angled sun in
summer reducing glare. Leaves are shed in winter allowing the low
angle solar radiation to enter the building [23]. Foliage protects the
external finishes, such as the cladding, painting or tiles, from
36 I. Wong, A.N. Baldwin / Building and Environment 97 (2016) 34e39
Fig. 2. Integrated green wall system [13].(For interpretation of the references to colour
in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
damage by filtering ultra violet and infra-red light which causes
deterioration and thermal stress, respectively [20]. The mainte-
nance cost for the building may therefore be subsequently reduced.
2.2. Thermal insulation
Insulation that is applied to the exterior is much more effective
than interior insulation, especially during summer months [17].
Heat transfer through a concrete wall is significantly reduced if
covered by a layer of vegetation. In DSGF, a stagnant air layer is
created between the façade and the vertical green layer, which
serves as an extra insulation [25]. This can reduce energy transfer
by 0.24 kWh/m2 [26] [27]. 60% of the absorbed solar radiation is
turned into latent heat [15]. A DSGF can provide insulation to
reduce energy consumption by air-conditioning up to 20% [15] [28]
amounting to 8% saving in annual energy consumed by cooling [30].
Every decrease in the internal temperature of 0.5
C can reduce
electricity consumed by air-conditioning to about 8% depending on
the type of vegetation [30]. Vertical greenery can reduce 5e8
C at
façade wall surface in Tokyo [31] and achieve a maximum tem-
perature decrease of 8.4
C in hot and humid summer of Hong Kong
[32]. Alexandri and Jones' studies on the thermal effect of vertical
greenery of nine cities by a two-dimensional, prognostic micro-
scale model demonstrated that VGW can reduce the cooling load
by 66% in hot and humid summer of Hong Kong [32].
2.3. Evaporative cooling
Evapotranspiration describes the water loss by a plant during
the processes of evaporation and respiration of plants over a period
of time [33]. Water is absorbed by plant through its roots and
transported to the foliage where it is vaporized through the sto-
mata [34]. Heat energy is absorbed during the evaporation of water
from plants and generates “evaporative cooling” to cool down the
façade temperature [23] [35]. The air around the plant layers is
cooled and humidified [21]. The evapotranspiration process of
plants consumes energy of 680 kWh for evaporating every cubic
metre of water [16]. VGW can act as a passive air-conditioning
system [9].
Different species of climbing plants will come up with different
results. The smaller and denser leaves may provide better thermal
effect by increasing surface for evapotranspiration [36]. The rate of
evapotranspiration is affected by four critical factors, which are (a)
soil moisture, (b) plant type, (c) stage of plant development and (d)
local climate which includes solar radiation, wind speed, humidity
and temperature [34]. These factors are complicated and interact
with each other. The effects of these factors require simulations and
experimental studies at different development stages and under
varying conditions for detail analysis of the selected plant species.
Further research will be carried out after the potential of applying
VGW to reduce cooling load is established.
2.4. Blockage of wind
Vertical greenery can reduce wind speed along the façade by
acting as wind barrier to prevent cooling of the walls [9] [20]. The
air spaces within the vegetation lower air movement near the
façade [21]. Vertical greenery can reduce the heating demand by
25% [37]. However, consideration of this mechanism is not neces-
sary for Hong Kong because the winters are mild.
3. Case study
Hong Kong has a sub-tropical climate. The summer season is
long. Space cooling for residential buildings is required for seven
months in a year, and has become the dominant energy end-use in
buildings since mid-1990s [38]. A typical design of high-rise resi-
dential buildings in Hong Kong has been used as a case study in this
research. This is shown in Fig. 3.
3.1. Climate of Hong Kong
Winter spans from December to February and the temperature
seldom falls below 10
C. Central heating in high-rise residential
buildings is unusual. The hottest months span from June to August
when the average summer temperature ranges from 26 to 31
C
and the mean humidity is 75%. Summer breezes blow from the
south-west at an average wind speed of 650 kWh/m2 [39]. The
mean temperatures of the summer season in 2012 are shown in
Table 1.
3.2. High-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has three main types of high-rise residential build-
ings. These are public rental housing (PRH), residences provided
under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and Private Housing
(PH) occupying 30.4%, 15.9% and 52.5% of the total residential
housing stock, respectively [40].
The majority of high-rise residential buildings adopt the “central
core design” in which the lift lobbies and common areas are
grouped in the centre to free up periphery facades for maximizing
the valuable exterior views for the domestic units [11]. Fig. 3 shows
a typical floor plan of high-rise residential buildings. External walls
are typically constructed of 125e250 mm thick concrete with no
external insulation [3]. The lack of external insulation is considered
acceptable as Hong Kong has a mild winter. However, heat gain
through external walls is significant in summer. Most of the
householders install air-conditioning for cooling in summer. This
air conditioning typically comprises separate units for each room of
the apartment.
3.3. Energy consumption in high-rise residential buildings for space
conditioning
A preliminary study of the energy saving capacity based on
literature review was conducted to investigate the potential of
DSGF design in reducing the consumption of electric energy by air-
 I. Wong, A.N. Baldwin / Building and Environment 97 (2016) 34e39 37

Fig. 3. Typical layout of high-rise residential building [11].

conditioning in summer. DSGF is a composite external façade residential buildings to provide additional thermal insulation.
comprising of a single deciduous foliage layer which is installed to This estimate was based on the following assumptions:
the external wall by a supporting frame with an air space in be-
tween. The study was based on the energy end-use data of 2012 a) Only direct irradiance is accounted for heating up the interior.
[41] published by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Depart- The effects of diffused irradiance are negligible.
ment (EMSD) of Hong Kong. According to Table 2, the electric en- b) The numbers of domestic units facing different orientations are
ergy used in space conditioning for PRH, HOS and PH in 2012 were the same.
841, 601 and 2046 KWh, respectively. c) The mean temperature in the summer months is 28
C.
d )The interior temperature is set to 24
C.
3.4. Energy saving in cooling
The schematic design of a DSGF system composed of one layer of
Estimation was carried out to assess the potential of reducing deciduous climbing plant with an air space of 0.03 m between the
cooling load by installing DSGF to the external walls of high-rise foliage layer and a 0.2 m concrete wall. For the purpose of the
feasibility study the plant type named Divided Creeper was
Table 1 selected. Divided Creeper is a native deciduous plant in Southeast
Mean temperatures from May to October, 2012 [39].
Asia and grows well in humid area with lots of sunshine like Hong
May June July Aug Sept Oct Average Kong. Both Virginia Creeper and Divided Creeper belong to the
Mean temperature (degree C) 27.0 28.1 28.8 29.5 28.0 25.6 27.8 same grapevine family of Parthenocissus and have similar behav-
Mean Maximum (degree C) 29.4 30.5 31.6 32.2 30.9 28.3 30.5 iours [42] [43]. The solar transmittance of the DSGF (UDSGF)
38 I. Wong, A.N. Baldwin / Building and Environment 97 (2016) 34e39
Table 2
Energy end-use by housing sectors in 2012 per annum [41].
Housing types Space conditioning (KWh x 106)a
PRH 841
HOS 601
PH 2046
Total 3488
a
“Space conditioning” includes air-conditioners and heaters. Annual energy consumption consumed by heating is negligible as compared to space cooling. The energy used
in space conditioning is assumed to be used by air-conditioners.
including foliage composed of one layer of Divided Creeper and air
space can be assumed to be 0.2 [44], same as Virginia Creeper [23].
The proposed DSGF can reduce solar radiation by 80%, which agrees
with the findings of [23] [24] [35]. Solar transmittance of 0.2 m
external concrete wall (Uwall) is 0.74 [45].
Solar resistance (R) is the reciprocal of solar transmittance. The
solar resistances of DSGF (RDSGF) and 0.2 m concrete wall (RWall) are
4.16 and 1.35, respectively. Solar resistance (Rtotal) of a composite
object is the combinations of the solar resistances of its compo-
nents, which can be calculated from Eq. (1) below:
Rtotal ¼ R1 þR2 þR3 þ …þRn
The solar resistance (RT) of the composite façade including the
DSGF and the concrete wall is 5.51. The solar transmittance of the
composite façade (UT) is the reciprocal of Rtotal. UT is calculated to
be 0.18 implying that only 18% of the solar radiation affects the
internal climate of the buildings. The estimation is within the range
of reduction in solar radiation as demonstrated by Perini et al. [13].
According to a research carried out by Alexandri and Jones [32]
the relationship of heat gain or loss (qE) from the building's fabric
with U-value (U), an indoor temperature (Tin) and an outdoor
temperature (Tout) for a simplified steady-state analysis can be
represented by the following equation:
qE ¼ UðTout  Tin Þ in W=m2
The energy consumption to maintain an interior temperature of
24
C in summer season of mean temperature of 28
C for the same
solar irradiance through concrete wall and composite façade are
calculated as below:
qE ðwallÞ ¼ 0:74  ð28  24Þ ¼ 2:96 W=m2
qEðtotalÞ ¼ 0:18  ð28  24Þ ¼ 0:76 W=m2
Application of DSGF can reduce energy consumption by 76%,
which is approaching the 80% as stated in Ref. [23] [24] [35].
Dunnet and Kingsbury [30] carried out a research and concluded
that the decrease of 4
C in internal air temperature was estimated
to reduce electricity consumption for air conditioning by 64%,
depending on the type of climbing plant used. The deviation from
Dunnet and Kingsbury's finding can be explained by using different
types of plants. Based on the estimated energy saving in cooling
during summer seasons, DSGF can reduce the overall electricity
consumption by air conditioning in high-rise residential buildings
by 3488 x 106  76%, which is 2651 kWh x 106 annually. This study
demonstrates the potential of applying VGW to high-rise residen-
tial buildings for energy saving.
3.5. Environmental benefits offered by VGW
The estimated saving of 2651 kWh x 106 per annum in cooling
can reduce emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere at the
same time. According to the China Light and Power Group 2009
Total (KWh x106) energy use Percentage
17045 5%
9892 6%
29779 7%
56716 3488/56726 ¼ 6%
Sustainability Report [46] the estimated amount of carbon dioxide
emitted from generating electric power is 0.83 kg/kWh. This pre-
liminary estimation suggests DSGF has the potential to reduce
2200  106 kg of carbon dioxide emission in a year. A report pub-
lished by U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1999 [47] indicated one
medium size deciduous mature tree can sequestrate an average of
133.1 kg of carbon dioxide per annum. (A mature tree is defined as a
tree of age 30e40 years) The Bauhinia Blakeanna is a common type
of deciduous tree in Hong Kong. The installation of DSGF can
therefore save planting 17 x 106 trees in sequestrating the carbon
dioxide produced from air-conditioning of high-rise residential
(1) buildings in Hong Kong.
4. Discussion
The preliminary analysis was only to investigate the possibility
of installing DSGF to reduce energy consumption by air-
conditioning and explore the feasibility. Once the potential of
applying DSGF for energy-saving is established, a detail study on
evapotranspiration is necessary for further research. Simulation
studies on the energy performance of double-skin green facades of
different foliage thicknesses and varying widths of air spaces under
different climatic conditions will be conducted in order to identify
an optimal design. Experiments will be carried out to validate the
(2) simulation results. An investigation also needs to be initiated as to
the feasibility of the solution.
The feasibility study of VGW application must take into
consideration not only the opportunity to save energy but also a
number of other perspectives: horticultural, technical, economic,
social and governmental. The horticultural dimension includes
plant selection and suitability given seasonal variations and climate
extremes of the location. The orientation of the building façade and
the close proximity of neighbouring buildings affect plant selection
and planting patterns. These may not be the same for different
facades of the building. The next phase of the study will explore this
aspect in detail. It is recognized that the selection of the plants will
not be solely on the basis of their contribution to energy saving,
there will be the question of visual impact and residents' wishes to
be considered. The mix of plant types and their flowering seasons
will affect the final selection.
The selected support system should be technically viable. For
building heights greater than two storey, choosing supports and
their installation for climbing plants moves into engineering design
rather than the horticultural design [29]. Technical considerations
include the design of support system and ease of maintenance. The
design of the support system must account for the loading of fully
grown plants and the associated facilities like watering system.
Integrating vertical green walls into the facades should be consid-
ered. Clearly for high-rise residential buildings, care and consider-
ation must be given to the design and the maintenance of the
support system. The support system must provide initial support
for the plants immediately after planting and permanent support
when they are fully grown. A safe support system must take into
consideration various factors such as plant weight, the weight of
 I. Wong, A.N. Baldwin / Building and Environment 97 (2016) 34e39
the support system, the additional weight of the water after rain,
dew, and watering, and the wind loading on the structure. The vi-
sual impact of the support structure is also important and requires
specialist design. Watering systems must be reliable, effective and
require minimum maintenance. Whatever system is selected reg-
ular maintenance will be required to ensure both the effectiveness
of the cooling and warming provided by the vertical green walls
and the visual impact of the greenery.
5. Conclusion
Vertical green walls are not only visually appealing but also have
the benefits of creating comfortable indoor micro-climate, reducing
energy consumption by air-conditioning and reducing carbon di-
oxide emissions. This research demonstrates the potential of
double-skin green façade to reduce energy consumption in high-
rise residential buildings in sub-tropical regions like Hong Kong.
The vertical green wall system can reduce 2651 kWh x 106 kWh of
electric power and 2200  106 kg of carbon dioxide emission in a
year. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which causes global
warming. The application of green walls can help to conserve our
environment and also can promote the images of both government
and private developers showing them as responsible, environ-
mentally aware organizations.
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