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A ventilated vertical greenery system for energy-efficient fresh air cooling: model development and implementation

Author

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  • Feng, Zhuangbo
  • Yang, Zhiyan
  • Zhou, Yu
  • Ren, Chen

Abstract

As a typical natural cooling source, building-integrated vertical greenery systems (VGS) have attracted increasing attention for enhancing energy efficiency. Numerous studies demonstrated that the VGS can effectively reduce cooling load on building envelopes. In addition, VGS can also be employed to cool outdoor fresh air, with a maximum temperature reduction of up to 25 °C reported by existing experimental study. Quantitative tool is necessary for optimal design of the ventilated vertical greenery systems. The present study develops a numerical model by coupling computational fluid dynamics, porous medium model, and leaf energy balance equation. Air convection, solar radiation, and transpiration/evaporation are included in the leaf model. Experimental temperature and humidity data from literature are used for model validation. The effects of meteorological and design parameters on cooling performance are numerically investigated. The inlet temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation significantly influence cooling effect: temperature reductions range in 1.53–4.07 K, and the maximum increase of relative humidity is 15 %. When inlet velocity ranges in 0.5–3.0 m/s, the temperature reductions change by about 20 %. Compared with conventional air conditioners, the ventilated VGS can save 99.79–99.89 % of electricity consumption. The newly proposed ventilated VGS has great energy-saving potential for building fresh air systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Feng, Zhuangbo & Yang, Zhiyan & Zhou, Yu & Ren, Chen, 2026. "A ventilated vertical greenery system for energy-efficient fresh air cooling: model development and implementation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:260:y:2026:i:c:s0960148126000364
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2026.125211
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