ENHANCING THERMAL COMFORT USING VERTICAL GREENERY SYSTEMS (VGS) IN THE DESIGN OF A SUSTAINABLE MID- RISE ESTATE IN THE HOT DRY CLIMATE OF KANO

(A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA)

By

Author

Presented To

Department of Environmental Design

ABSTRACT
In battling some of the most alarming situations the world is facing right now which are the climate change and global warming, architects are saddled with the responsibility of designing buildings that are energy efficient as buildings account for about 40% of the total energy use. About 40-60% is utilized in cooling the institutional building while in residential buildings, cooling accounts for 30% of the total energy use. In order to reduce carbon emissions and decrease urban heat islands, ecofriendly methods must be employed when designing buildings. This research therefore seeks to enhance thermal comfort using Vertical Greenery Systems (VGS) as an architectural strategy in residential buildings in the hot dry climate of Kano that is known to have very high temperatures. The study entails the use of visual survey and computer simulation. Case studies on VGS application were carried out in Kaduna and Kano and simulation was carried out using Design Builder® and EnergyPlus® as the simulation engine as this is one of the most common, free and validated simulation software. At the end of the simulation analysis to determine the effect of VGS on thermal comfort, it is found that living walls have the highest impact on temperature reduction attaining a maximum of 7°C using 100% coverage ratio on all orientations. A reduction of 5.35°C was attained using indirect green facades. All the temperatures obtained after the VGS was applied fell in the range of ASHRAE standard 55 (22.2°C-26.7°C) which is the benchmark for thermal comfort in hot dry climates A residential estate was then proposed using the findings from the research. The results of the research implied that living walls are suitable for west and east orientations and green facades for the north and south orientations. The research recommends that simulation softwares should integrate green wall modules to enhance research process and further studies should be carried out on other plants and types of VGS such as the direct green facades.