Thermal performance in green roof retrofit

Green areas has diminished in big cities. Increasing temperatures and deterioration of air quality is a common result. Consequently, there is a rise in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, costs with air conditioning, and mortality and heat-related illness. Due to lack of space in urban areas, green roof retrofit a feasible alternative to face this problem. Green roofs improve the insulating qualities of the building attenuating the heat exchanges through inadequately insulated and poorly sealed roof structures. This research reports on an experiment on two small-scale metal roofs in Sydney (Australia) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to assess the thermal performance of portable green roof modules. In each site, two identical roofs, one covered with modular lightweight trays planted with succulents and the other not, had their internal temperature recorded simultaneously and compared. Green roofs showed to attenuate housing temperatures, indicating that green roof retrofitting could lower the cooling energy demand considerably