Abstract
Several factors contribute to the pressing need for energy conservation in the Indian building sector. The majority of buildings still rely on conventional energy sources, leading to primarily carbon emissions. There is an increasing emphasis on promoting energy-efficient building practices and adopting green building initiatives. Green roofs, recognized as a passive energy-saving technology, exert a profound influence on the internal and external environments of buildings and cities. These ecological rooftops are the integration of vegetation, with a particular focus on identifying plant species that optimize energy and financial efficiency in the warm and humid climate of Tamil Nadu, a southern part of India. This research emphasizes the critical role of plant selection, considering parameters such as leaf area index, reflectivity, emissivity, stomatal resistance, plant height, and volumetric moisture content, encompassing initial, minimum, and maximum values. Employing advanced Design builder software, the study models the green roof of a typical 3-storey building with a 150 m2 ground surface area, examining its impact on energy consumption. The chosen plant species, Ixora coccinea, Bougainvillea, and Tabernaemontana divaricate, undergo rigorous analysis to gauge their suitability. Among these, Bougainvillea emerges as the most energy-efficient, reducing the green roof’s cooling energy consumption to 16,730 kWh/year—significantly lower than the selected alternatives. This research contributes to the understanding of plant-related variables in green roof design and underscores the practical implications of selecting appropriate vegetation for enhanced sustainability in warm, humid climates, offering insights valuable for architects, urban planners, and policymakers.
Keywords: Green roof, Energy consumption, Design builder, Plants, Energy building simulation