ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF VEGETATED GREEN WALL IN HOT ARID CLIMATE OF AL-AIN, UAE

Recent studies investigate that the use of vegetated green walls has the ability to control heat gains, improve indoor thermal comfort and reduce energy demands. In reference to the experimental study carried out by the authors to reduced heat gain through green façades in the UAE hot climate, Living Wall system can reduce the peak time indoor air temperature by 5-7 ^◦C for the month of July, and reduce the peak air conditioning energy demand by up to 20%. Additionally, the use of plantation can reduce wind effect and helps to control the humidity within the building zone. To get a clear picture of the financial incentives of using greenery system, cost-benefit analysis was investigated, taking into consideration the cooling load reduction while the related environmental benefits were ignored at that stage. The result concluded that, from economic point of view, the installed vegetated living wall system might not be the best economic sustainable option as the installation and running costs are extremely high and the payback period reaches 18 years. More reduction in the payback period can be achieved once the environmental impacts are included to make the use of greening systems financially viable. Green wall techniques have a number of benefits being a component of urban green infrastructure and contribute to a range of ecosystem services including, habitat provision for urban biodiversity, intercepting precipitation, improving air quality, reducing noise pollution, securing points in green buildings certification systems. To get a clear picture of the real financial incentives of using vegetated green wall technique, this paper investigates energy saving and environmental benefits of vegetated living wall in hot arid climate of Al-Ain city.