Vegetation and cool materials on building envelopes: Impacts on indoor temperature and energy use in Indonesian tropical residential buildings

Abstract

‘Green’ and ‘cool’ building envelopes, which integrate vegetation and reflective materials on the roof and external walls, are recognised as effective solutions to mitigate overheating on the building and city scale. This study aims to assess the impact of these adaptations on residential buildings in the equatorial zone of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is characterised by high temperature and solar radiation year-round. Using DesignBuilder, this study compares green and cool strategies for roofs and walls across different building archetypes. Although the magnitude was low, results indicate that roof adaptations generally outperform wall adaptations in reducing indoor temperatures and cooling energy use. Among adaptations assessed, cool roofs exhibited the highest cooling potential. Differences in roofing systems influence the resulting daily cooling patterns. However, as the complexities increase, the cooling benefit of all adaptations becomes less pronounced. This research underscores the importance of sustainable building design in addressing climate change challenges in Indonesia.

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ORCID for Stephanie Gauthier: orcid.org/0000-0002-1720-1736

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