The effects of rooftop garden on energy consumption of a commercial building in Singapore

DOE-2 energy simulation program was used to determine the effects of rooftop garden on the annual energy consumption, cooling load and roof thermal transfer value (RTTV) of a five-story hypothetical commercial building in Singapore. The thermal resistances (R-values) of turfing, shrubs and trees were estimated using data from site measurements, and the effects on the building energy consumption of a rooftop garden with these three types of plants were simulated. Two soil types with different soil thickness on the building roof were also simulated. The results showed that the installation of rooftop garden on the five-story commercial building can result in a saving of 0.6–14.5% in the annual energy consumption, and shrubs was found to be most effective in reducing building energy consumption. The results also revealed that the increase of soil thickness would further reduce the building energy consumption and the moisture content of soil can affect the outcome quite substantially.