Energy efficiency of green roofs and green facades in mediterranean continental climate

There are now many studies concerning the benefits of green roofs and green facades as passive systems in the energy efficiency of buildings. These benefits depend largely on the ability of plants to intercept solar radiation, and therefore their growth. On the other hand, the standard design of these systems makes difficult their implementation in these extreme conditions, and it is imperative to obtain data of their behaviour under local conditions. Moreover, some authors consider the use of green roofs and green facades as a thermal storage technology for buildings. These are the reasons why the research group GREA has initiated an investigation near the city of Lleida (Spain), to evaluate experimentally the energy impact of using green roof systems and/or green facades in Mediterranean-continental conditions. This paper presents a state of the art of the energy impact of these systems over the world and the first experimental results.