Living wall systems: evaluating life-cycle energy, water and carbon impacts

There is little doubt that covering the façade of a building with a vertical garden can achieve numerous environmental benefits, such as reducing the energy consumption and the overall carbon footprint. However, there remains a need to assess these advantages on a more comprehensive basis. This study investigates the energy use, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions from a vertical garden throughout its life-cycle phases (manufacture, transportation, use, and disposal). This includes a payback period analysis of the energy savings provided by the vertical garden over an assumed lifetime of 20 years. The primary findings of this study were that the use phase has the greatest impact, and that reducing energy and water consumption at this phase has significant impact on the total life-cycle burden. Suggestions were given for future design and evaluation of vertical gardens.