GREEN ROOFS: ENHANCING ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS

<p>The increase of peak and energy demand during the cooling and warming seasons is becoming a critical<br>issue, as well as air pollution and the intensification of the urban heat island effect. Green roof has been<br>identified as a solution to mitigate the above-mentioned issues and implement principles of sustainable development in building features. There are many operational and environmental benefits of green roofs such as enhancement of buildings’ energy efficiency, improvement of storm water management, decrease of urban heat island effects, decline of air and noise pollutions, and increase of urban wild life habitats. This paper discusses the current literature and evidence for the benefits of green roofs while highlighting the influences of green roofs on buildings’ energy efficiency. Researches conducted on the potential benefits of green roofs have proved that they can enhance energy performance of buildings in summer and winter as well as improving indoor air temperature.</p> <p>