mardi 26 août 2014

The Advantages Of Living Green Wall Systems

By Deanne Shepard


As cities have grown, so both noise and air pollution has increased and greenery has disappeared. This has caused many problems and living green wall systems offer one of the solutions to these problem. A system like this is used to beautify sterile surroundings but it does far more than just enhance a space aesthetically. Many buildings from skyscrapers to hotels and office blocks are reaping the benefits of having them installed.

A garden like this consists of plants rooted within a structure that is either freestanding or attached to an existing wall. Some systems utilize boxes or trays that are filled with soil or other materials like peat or coco coir. The trays are planted up and then stacked onto a backing board. Modular movable structures can even be used in the middle of a room. Another system consists of a frame and panels in which plants are grown.

Today there are materials available that retain moisture and nutrients enabling plants to thrive without having to be planted in the ground. A great diversity of plants such as flowering perennials, foliage plants, ground covers and even shrubs and bushes can thrive in this way. A multitude of colors, textures and sizes can thus be used to create real works of art. It is even possible to have customized logos or patterns created.

A great benefit of such a system as that it acts like a lung. Pollutants in the air like carbon dioxide are absorbed and life-giving oxygen is released instead. This helps to keep people inside buildings healthy and increases their productivity. Plants are well known to have a calming effect and can help to reduce stress.

These vertical gardens help to reduce energy bills in winter and summer. During summer there is an increased demand for air conditioning as buildings heat up. An exterior vertical garden keeps the surface cooler and less heat is radiated inwards. The transpiration of plants indoors also cools the surrounding environment. In winter, insulation is provided by a layer of trapped air, causing less heat to escape and less cold air to come in.

Throughout the world, plants have been used on highways and busy roads to reduce noise. A vertical garden can have the same effect. Studies have shown that the leaves of plants reflect, refract and absorb acoustic energy. The reduction of noise pollution in an office is proportional to the number of plants in the room. An exterior structure helps to absorb any noise pollution of the city such as traffic, reducing sound penetration.

Environmental concerns are uppermost in many minds today. Companies are all trying to reduce their carbon footprint and such systems are one way to do this. It offers not only energy savings but many other environmental benefits too. Reduction of pollution, saving of water as well as bring bird and insect life back into the cities are just some of these benefits.

Designing and implementing a vertical garden which is aesthetically pleasing and easy to maintain is a complex task. It requires proper planning, an excellent knowledge of plants and creativity. It can be fairly costly to implement but the cost is well worth it for the many benefits it provides.




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