What are the benefits of retrofitting living walls to existing buildings?
The Pritchard and Pritchard team carry out the living wall maintenance of this stunning installation at the University of Plymouth which uses the Fytotextile living wall system from Scotscape.
This green wall has been part of an exciting research program, undertaken at the University of Plymouth at their Sustainability Hub to assess the insulation properties of vertical gardens when retrofitted onto existing buildings.
Their findings have been really encouraging:
‘The study, conducted at the University of Plymouth, centred around the Sustainability Hub – a pre-1970s building on the University campus – and compared how effectively two sections of its walls retained heat.’
”After five weeks of measurements, researchers found the amount of heat lost through the wall retrofitted with the living façade was 31.4% lower than that of the original structure.’
This would translate to substantial energy savings throughout the year, keeping buildings warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer and bringing meaningful energy consumption benefits to building assets.
Heating space in buildings accounts for 60% of all energy use
The outcome of this study is hugely encouraging given that buildings in the UK account for 17% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and heating space in buildings accounts for a huge 60% of that figure.
If the retrofit of living walls is adopted widely throughout our towns and cities – they really could support the journey towards our net-zero pledges.
Click here to read more detail about the research study.
Benefits of Living Walls
In addition to these proven insulative qualities of living walls they also offer a substantial array of other benefits to the environment:
- Biodiversity
- Habit creation
- Acoustic improvements
- Improvements to localised air quality
- Reduction of the thermal heat island effect
- Biophilic benefits to people – bringing nature into the heart of the built environment
- A natural and beautiful visual wow factor!
The team installs all types of living walls and we offer living wall maintenance throughout the UK.
If you want to learn more about the benefits of incorporating vertical gardens into your premises get in touch, we can assist.
info@pritchardandpritchard.co.uk