Green walls are a great way to improve your home or business environment and create a unique design statement. They are also a great way to reduce your energy costs, boost your health and reduce your carbon emissions.
Plants in a living wall remove toxins from the air, such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. This improves the quality of the air in the area and can help people with respiratory conditions such as asthma.
Improved Air Quality
The air we breathe is filled with contaminants, mainly from cooking and improperly vented combustion appliances (woodstoves, gas water heaters, and gas ranges). These pollutants can cause irritation to our eyes, ears, noses, and throats.
Green walls, especially those that use active biofiltration technology, can help to improve the air quality in your home or workplace. Plants absorb common indoor pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde, and toluene.
As well as removing airborne pollutants, a living wall can also provide a more soothing environment to your surroundings. This is important in a city, where people spend much of their time indoors and are exposed to many different factors that can affect their physical and mental health.
To determine whether green walls impact ambient air quality, we measured PM and noise levels at 12 green wall and reference wall locations across a dense urban centre, over a 6-month period. The results show that both PM and noise were significantly lower proximal to the green walls relative to their paired reference sites.
Increased Energy Efficiency
A green wall system can help insulate the building, reducing energy costs. This means less air conditioning and heating.
The plants in a green wall also absorb particulate matter and gases, which can improve indoor air quality. This reduces the need for air conditioning and reduces the amount of pollutants released into the air.
In addition, a green wall system can help lower the temperature of incoming air. This can lower the temperature at intake valves, reducing energy costs to cool air before it is circulated around a building.
There are many different types of green wall systems available, from panel and tray systems to freestanding walls. Each one offers a different set of benefits, so it’s important to choose the right system for your space.
Reduced Carbon Emissions
The benefits of a green wall system extend beyond visual aesthetics, as the plants in these systems absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants, reducing air pollution levels. Plants are capable of converting 25% of human-generated carbon emissions into oxygen, a process that improves air quality and increases wellbeing in the surrounding area.
The current study tested the ambient PM, temperature and noise conditions at 12 passive green walls and spatially matched reference wall locations across Sydney over a 6-month period. No significant differences were found between the green walls and reference wall sites.
This result supports previous research that has suggested that ambient PM reductions can be achieved with active green walls, which employ assisted aeration using some form of mechanical fan. This increases the surface area for PM adherence, leading to greater filtering efficiency than simple diffusion mechanisms.
Increased Property Value
A green wall is one of the best examples of green design, and can add value to a property. The benefits of a green wall are numerous and include reduced energy bills, improved air quality, and increased visibility.
A freestanding living wall is the most common type of green wall, but they also come in a variety of forms. Structural media, for example, is an interesting and effective method of growing plants on a wall without soil.
The most important part of any green wall system is the selection of the appropriate plants and media. In this respect, a high-quality green wall is no different from a garden. The right combination of vegetation, soil, lighting and other elements will create the magic. This is where a little research can go a long way. For instance, a green wall system with a good irrigation system will help your plants survive winter. The best ones will also thrive in warm temperatures.