Rafael Fernández-Cañero

Assessment of the Cooling Potential of an Indoor Living Wall using Different Substrates in a Warm Climate

The use of vertical greenery systems in buildings is becoming very popular as they provide several benefits. In this work, the influence of an indoor living wall on the temperature and humidity in a hall inside the School of Agricultural Engineering (University of Seville) was studied. Four different substrates, Geotextile, Epiweb, Xaxim and coconut fibre, were used to grow the plants in order to assess their performance. Several parameters such as temperature, humidity, plant growth or water consumption were monitored and analyzed during a 4-month period. The cooling effect of the living wall was proven, with an average reduction of 4°C over the room temperature though maximum decrements of 6°C have been observed in warmer conditions. Higher air humidity levels were experienced near the living wall, increasing the overall humidity in the room. All the substrates tested were suitable for plant growing and their behaviour was similar. Geotextile showed the best cooling capacity but higher water consumption, coconut fibre presented degradation problems and Epiweb performance was the poorest. Therefore, these systems have been proven to be very useful and interesting for warm indoor environments due to the cooling effect observed in addition to their bio-filtration capacity and the aesthetic component.

Vertical Greening Systems and Sustainable Cities

Abstract Urban development is causing environmental and social concerns that are compromising human welfare and the sustainability of cities. New urban greening concepts are being developed to mitigate these problems in a sustainable and natural way. Vertical greening systems can be defined as structures that allow vegetation to spread over a building facade or interior wall. These systems are becoming popular though they are still evolving and more knowledge on some of their particular impacts is required. In the last five years, the number of studies published in the scientific literature on this topic, especially involving living walls, has significantly increased. This scientific interest has corresponded with an increased and parallel attention by the general public. This work offers a broad description of the different systems and a comprehensive review of the particular benefits of these green infrastructures. Knowledge gaps and shortcomings have also been identified and discussed.

Irrigation Systems Evaluation for Living Walls

AbstractLiving walls are becoming popular solutions to alleviate negative effects of urban development. They are vertical greening systems that allow vegetation to spread across a wall surface to cover a building facade or an interior wall. Because of their characteristics, irrigation becomes essential, but the infrastructure and management required differ from a regular irrigation system. This study aims to evaluate the influence of variables such as the type of substrate used, emitter flow rates, and drip line and emitter spacing on the system performance in terms of water losses and irrigation uniformity. The results show that the main differences are marked by the type of substrate used and the emitter flow rate. Higher flows are recommended when using recirculation systems, as more uniformity is achieved in spite of the higher runoff losses. In “run-to-waste” systems, the use of lower flows and short irrigation lengths (increasing the frequency) is advised. Some management recommendations such as irr...

Vertical Greening Systems

Abstract Different types of vertical greening systems (VGS) can be identified; these have different aesthetic and functional performances. Green facades, i.e., the extensive VGS, are based on climbing plants growing in the ground or in planter boxes. We can distinguish two large groups of living wall systems, i.e., the intensive VGS: cloth (or felt) and panels, made of galvanized steel, polyethylene, and recycled plastic. These systems are based on hydroponic culture or have substrates which allow planting shrubs, herbaceous, climbing plants, etc. This chapter also considers the correct selection of plant species, which, especially in the case of living walls, is very important for the design of successful installations.