Urban Energy and Environmental Modelling: The case of green roofs

Abstract

The objective of this doctoral research is to explore green roofs, as a nature-based solution, for improving the sustainability in urban areas of various climatic characteristics and different geometrical formations, with a focus on residential and office buildings. The appropriateness of these options has been assessed with the aid of energy, environmental and economic modelling. The results of this study indicatively demonstrate energy savings in individual buildings than can reach up to 35%, emission reductions of 3-10 tons of CO2, 2-6 kg of NOx and 7-18 kg of SO2 per building per year, good economic prospects for individual users, with only modest reductions (varying from 6% to 35%) in green roofs’ installation cost and, finally, reduction of urban air temperature reaching up to 0.35 K. Especially when it comes to city-level upgrades, green roofs can be either an immediate or a long-term measure for sustainable urban development. This potential should be an additional incentive for the responsible statutory and administrative bodies to adopt policies that economically promote the design and implementation of urban green roof retrofitting projects.