Evaluating the cooling potential of vertical greenery systems in urban residential areas to mitigate urban heat island, reduce energy loads, and improve thermal comfort conditions in a hot humid climate

This master's thesis aims at studying the summer cooling effects of green walls to reduce urban heat island effects, improve thermal comfort, increase the potential of natural ventilation, and reduce buildings’ cooling loads. Using ENVI-met model simulations, this study investigated the influence of green facades on the ambient air temperature and its role on the air fluctuations in the hot humid climate of Austin at a neighborhood and a building scale, with a primary focus on residential buildings. The results show adding green facades mostly impact the surface temperature during the hottest hours of the day, registering a maximum surface temperature reduction of 5.21°C. The simulation results also indicate small air temperature reductions in the afternoons reaching a maximum reduction of 0.23°C, and slight air temperature increases during the night showing a maximum value of 0.20°C. These findings can provide architects, designers, planners, and policymakers with a better understanding of the many benefits greenery and particularly green facades have, and provide them with the necessary tools to implement new solutions across sectors and scales to reduce the impacts urban areas have on the environment, and provide a better living for all.