Hi Patrick,

In general, green walls can be modeled as a wall with a shading device. Make
sure the shading is very close to the wall. There will be very little
insulating effect from the leaves, and they are not an efficient wind
breakers. Make sure the vegetation for the plant type specified is dense
enough to shade the entire wall. Else, you might want to shade only parts of
the wall proportionally to the density of the vegetation. Make sure you are
not shading the windows, as these are usually kept free from vegetation.

Also, you must pay attention to whether the wall itself is significantly
altered due to the vegetation. The most common green walls have the plant
rooted in the ground with only minor attachment points on the wall. In this
case you model the wall like any other wall. However, sometimes plants are
grown on the wall itself, with small shelves filled with earth. If this is
the case, you must make sure you model the areas filled with earth if they
occupy significant parts of the wall.

Lastly, the attachment points for the plant may in some instances have
significant effects on the thermal performance of the wall. Make sure you
incorporate this in your model if it applies to your building.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Sincerely yours,

*Ulrik Welle-Strand Horn *