VERTICAL GREENERY SYSTEMS (VGS) ARE A COMMON SIGHT IN SINGAPORE DUE TO A PUSH FOR GREENER BUILDINGS BY THE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY (BCA). THEY ARE BELIEVED TO DECREASE HEAT GAIN AT THE BUILDING ENVELOPE, REDUCING THE NEED FOR ACTIVE COOLING SYSTEMS LIKE AIR CONDITIONING WHICH MAY HELP MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF URBAN HEAT ISLAND (UHI). HOWEVER, THERE IS A LACK OF RESEARCH IN SUPPLEMENTING THE COOLING EFFECTS OF VGS WITH ADDITIONAL COOLING SUCH AS CONDENSATE FROM AIR HANDLING UNITS (AHUS) WHICH IS USUALLY TREATED AS WASTEWATER. FURTHERMORE, THERE ARE ALSO LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT VGSS WHICH MAY PROVIDE THE POTENTIAL OF SUPPLEMENTING THEM WITH MORE COOLING. CURRENTLY THERE HAS NOT BEEN MUCH RESEARCH IN THIS AREA.
THEREFORE, THIS DISSERTATION AIMS TO PROVIDE COOLING SOLUTIONS TO VGS BY EXPERIMENTING WITH PUMPING CONDENSATE ONTO THE VGS TO IMPROVE THERMAL PERFORMANCE. THIS ALSO ALLOWS US TO SEE THE FEASIBILITY AND PRACTICABILITY OF IMPLEMENTING A SIMILAR SYSTEM ON A LARGER SCALE. BURLE-MARXII WAS CHOSEN AS THE PLANT TO WORK AS A PREVIOUS DISSERTATION FOUND OUT IT HAD GOOD COOLING PROPERTIES.
THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE EXPERIMENT SHOWED THAT THE HEAT FLUX INTO THE ROOM INCREASED DESPITE THE ADDITIONAL COOLING MEASURES. THIS MIGHT BE A PROBLEM WITH THE SETUP OR ADDITIONAL CONFOUNDERS NOT FOUND WHICH WILL BE DISCUSSED LATER.
by: BRIAN SOH YONG HUA
Published: (2023)