Abstract
Problem statement: The phenomenon of global warming or climate change has led to many environmental issues including higher atmospheric temperatures, intensive precipitation, increase greenhouse gaseous emission and of course increase indoor discomfort condition. Researchers worldwide collectively agreed that one way of reducing the impact of global warming is by implementing green roof technology which integrates vegetation, growing medium and water proofing membrane on top of the roof surface. However, none of them have ever studied on how much the potted plants on the roof top could contribute to lessen the environmental problems. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of potted plants on flat roof on the indoor temperature inside building in Malaysian climate. Approach: This study emphasized on experimental approach of the room with flat roof. Measurements were conducted in two phases i.e., room with potted plant on the roof and room with bare roof. The measurements were conducted on the same room. Results: The experiment showed a promising result whereby the average indoor temperature dropped between 0.21 and 1.73°C had been observed during the measurements, while average indoor surface temperatures difference between roof with potted plants and bare roof of 7.86°C had been recorded during daytime hour. Conclusion: Potted plants on flat roof had a great potential in reducing the indoor temperature of the room underneath and could contributed to the reduction of energy consumption in building.
Highlights
Climate change which manifested in global warming has become critical worldwide
Carbon dioxide (CO2) which is the leading greenhouse gas is said to be the reason for this global warming
This study is focuses on how potted plants on flat roof could contribute to the thermal reduction of building indoor environment
Summary
Climate change which manifested in global warming has become critical worldwide. Abundant precipitation and rise of sea level are the indicators of global warming. Since the late 19th century, the mean global temperature has increased by about 0.3-0.6°C (Maslin, 2004). Global warming results from the increase of greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide (CO2) which is the leading greenhouse gas is said to be the reason for this global warming. According to Smith (2005), climatologist worldwide agreed that carbon dioxide increase in atmospheric concentration was because of human activities. As the CO2 in atmosphere increases, the ability of earth surface to reradiate heat to the atmosphere is lessen. CO2 acts like a blanket over the surface and keep the earth warmer than it would otherwise be (Houghton, 2004).
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