jismart2020035: The Benefits of Living Wall Systems on Indoor Environment and Indoor Air Quality

Abstract

In modern societies, humans spend up to 80% of their time indoors, where air quality is often more polluted than outdoors. People have been bringing plants into residential and other indoor settings to improve the indoor environment for centuries, and this study recognizes this trend and considers vertical greening as a developing interest with application opportunities in both exterior and interior urban environments. With the development of vertical greening technology, living wall systems have gradually been introduced into the indoor environment. In the present article, we systematically review the experimental literature on the benefits of living wall systems. A review of available studies and interviews with experts found the fact that interior applications were needed to be investigated to determine relative value to indoor environments where most of human habitation is typically concentrated. Exterior application-based studies assessing thermal influence present evidence to suggest that vertical greening belonging to both categories offer significant benefit, with cooling influence during summer and in some instances a warming insulating effect in winter; with improved performance when conditions are at their harshest. The integration of plant science studies in this regard is highlighted as essential to develop a balanced, evidence base for the enthusiasm observed for promoting indoor living wall installations.