The effect of using vegetated façades on CO2 emissions in multistory residential buildings, in cold semiarid and hot arid climate

Abstract

CO2 emissions are known as carbon emissions and they are increasing globally, so measures must be taken to reduce their emissions and find solutions that mitigate the effects of high rates of emissions. CO2 emissions are currently increasing, and the construction sector is the largest source of these emissions, accounting for 39% of total emissions; therefore, CO2 emissions must be reduced as much as possible. The research aim is to study the effect of applying vegetated façades, in multistory residential buildings on the CO2 emissions under two different climates, cold semiarid and hot arid. The tool which is used is a DesignBuilder to evaluate the CO2 emissions. Thermal insulation contributes to reducing the carbon footprint of the building and consider as an additional layer applied to the bare wall façade as the same as the vegetation layer therefore in this research the comparison will be between the use of insulation materials and green façade with a bare wall façade of residential buildings to determine the effectiveness of using vegetated facades in reducing CO2 emissions. The study found that vegetated facades reduce CO2 emissions from 36.2 to 51.4 in cold semiarid climates and from 18% to 37.6% in hot arid climates.