Thermal modeling of living walls : a review

Zavrl, Eva (author), Žižak, Tej (author), Poredoš, Primož (author), Arkar, Ciril (author)

Green (vegetative) building envelopes are widely recognized for their environmental benefits. They have a positive effect on the energy efficiency of buildings and improve the urban microclimate, e.g. by mitigating urban heat island effects and increasing living comfort in cities. Living walls are considered an emerging technology and thus lack widely implemented and established models of thermal response. Experimentally oriented studies of living walls currently prevail, while research on modeling is scarce. This study presents a detailed review of the modeling of heat and mass transfer, considering the individual mechanisms separately. The review demonstrates that existing models primarily adopt heat and mass transfer mechanisms from green roof models. However, the adjustments may be inadequate for dense urban environments due to the vertical layout of living walls. Most studies also assume the uniformity of properties, such as growing media moisture content throughout columns and rows of living wall modular elements, although these properties can vary and significantly affect the thermal response. It is also highlighted that the influence of an open-air gap on living wall thermal response (and modeling) might be underestimated. Identified modeling gaps serve as recommendations for further development of mathematical models. This includes expanding considered boundary conditions, adjustments of oversimplified assumptions, and emphasizing the need for further validation, that will stimulate the development of living wall technology towards a sustainable, energy efficient and reliable technology.

• Language: English
• Keywords: living walls, mathematical model, heat transfer, evapotranspiration, green roofs, water balance, thermo-physical properties
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 16 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 208, art. 115009
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-164522
• UDC: 536.2
• ISSN on article: 1364-0321
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2024.115009
• COBISS.SI-ID: 213331971
• Publication date in RUL: 29.10.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews
• Shortened title: Renew. sustain. energy rev.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1364-0321
• COBISS.SI-ID: 44255233

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: zelene stene, matematični model, prenos toplote, evapotranspiracija, zelene strehe, vodna bilanca, termofizične lastnosti