Window Gardening Research Articles

Experimental study on the thermal performance of building external window greenery in a subtropical climate

Previous research has found that building greenery systems can cool both buildings and their surrounding environments during the summer. However, the window greenery system, which is a widely adopted form of building greenery, has received limited attention. This study analyzed the thermal performance of window greenery systems in general and the building-integrated window gardens in specific, based on in-situ measurements in a subtropical city. The results show that the cooling effects of the window garden on the envelope were significant near the bottom region. During the air-conditioning period, the heat flux through the bottom wall and windowpane interior surfaces was decreased by 29.0 % and 25.8 %, respectively. A regression model for heat flux through the bottom windowpane was proposed, which estimated that the reduction in radiative heat transfer by plants was 88.0 %. The equivalent heat transfer coefficient for the walls adjacent to the window garden was calculated. Window gardens also improved the outdoor microclimate, reduced the average air temperature over planting troughs by 1.0 °C, and increased the average relative air humidity by around 10.0 % throughout the day. Given that window gardens’ cooling effects strongly depend on water evaporation, a win–win strategy for energy and water saving by harvesting the air conditioning condensate for irrigation is proposed. Based on an estimation, the condensate could fully meet the daily requirements of window greenery, confirming the feasibility of the win–win strategy.

The passive cooling effect of window gardens on buildings: A case study in the subtropical climate

Previous studies have shown that building greenery systems could provide passive cooling for buildings. However, window gardens, a type of building greenery system that extends along the width of the building façade, have received little attention. In this study, a field experiment of building-integrated window gardens was conducted in Xiamen, a subtropical city in China. The passive cooling effect of window gardens during a daytime in summer was analyzed based on the measured data. The results showed that the local time-averaged surface temperature at the windowpane shaded by plant canopy was 1.1 °C lower than that was not shaded. This local temperature at the bottom wall can be 2.6 °C lower than the time-averaged indoor air temperature. The heat was transferred from the interior space to the window-garden-adjacent envelope with a time-averaged heat flux of 6.9 W·m−2. The variation in the passive cooling effect of the window garden along the vertical direction was quantified. The cooling performance of the window garden was found to be significantly affected by the irrigation system. A strategy to maximize the cooling effect by implementing a soil temperature sensor to control the smart drip irrigation system was proposed, which can be further investigated in the future. Given that window gardens can provide aesthetical and thermal benefits, there is a great potential for the practical use of window gardens for buildings in subtropical climate regions.

Morals and mignonette; or, the use of flowers in the moral regulation of the working classes in high Victorian London

This paper explores the deployment of flower missions, flower shows and window gardening in Victorian efforts to elevate the moral and material condition of London's working poor. It identifies three forms of botanical engagement – the moral, pedagogic and civic – that were key to understanding the use of flowers in this period. The construction of a ‘moral botany’ in the early nineteenth century popularised the notion that flowers could carry meaning beyond their ornamental value. This attribute was widely used by social reformers who employed flower shows as biopolitical and pedagogical instruments to discipline the desires, habits and behaviours of the working poor and their children; projects that were heavily gendered, placing responsibility for the moral defence of the family upon women. Floral reform movements at the civic level also worked within a racialised framing of ‘civilisation’ amidst late century fears of racial degeneration. This paper therefore argues for the political nature of plant life, drawing attention to the role of plants in the co-constitution of human worlds.

Study on the Cooling Effect of Window Gardens

Window gardens are known to provide a window view with psychological and physiological benefits, whether they can be used for passive cooling of buildings remains to be investigated. This paper aims to supplement the impact of window gardens on the thermal performance of windows, walls, and even indoor air temperatures, which previous research has ignored. A field experiment was conducted for two classrooms with integrated planting troughs outside the windows, with and without living plants. The indoor air temperature and the interior surface temperature of the two classrooms were measured on a typical hot summer day, with windows closed and air conditioners switched off. The results show that: Window garden with living plants can not only reduce the average temperature of the indoor air by 1.1 ℃, but also reduce the average temperature of the interior surface of the building envelope by 2.8 ℃, the reduction of interior surface temperature is more obvious, which is due to the formation of a cold bridge. Therefore, Window garden can improve the summer indoor thermal environment in hot summer and warm winter area in China.

Window Gardening and the Regulation of the Home in Victorian Periodicals

Window Gardening and the Regulation of the Home in Victorian Periodicals

Propriedades Físicas da Madeira de Pinus elliottii var. elliottii Termorretificada Sob Diferentes Atmosferas

This research aimed at evaluate the physical and colorimetrical changes of the Pinus elliottii var. elliottii thermally treated wood in different atmospheres (oxygen and vegetable oil). Therefore, 30 samples with 25 x 25 x 100 mm (radial x tangential x longitudinal) dimensions were heat treated in the oil bath and the kiln with air circulation. The treatments were defined with: treated with vegetal oil (PEoleo) and in laboratorial kiln (PO2), besides the Control treatment (PE). The standard temperature used for thermal processing was 180°C, for a three hours in both atmospheres. The parameters evaluated were: mass variation, equilibrium moisture contet, hygroscopicity, and colorimetry of wood. In general, it was observed that thermal treatment modified positively the physical properties of the wood. Regarding the different atmospheres, it was identified that oil thermal treatment presented reduction in higroscopicity on wood. A darkening in the wood color was present after thermal treatement. Neverthless, there were not observed significant color alterations after wood treatment in the major colorimetric parameters when compared both atmospheres. Therefore, it is recommended the use of thermally modified wood (mainly in oil) in places that routinely are submitted to oscillating humidity, such as door and window frames and garden furniture.