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The implementation of a green roof is best suited for urban areas, as it provides an array of environmental benefits toward mitigating and adapting to climate change, including reduced flood risk, greenhouse gas emissions, urban heat island effects, and air pollution. However, green roof research and maintenance awareness in Malaysia are comparatively scarce, largely due to the absence of local tropical green roof guidelines. Therefore, this paper aims to explore current green roof maintenance practices and challenges for non-residential buildings in Malaysia through case studies and in-depth interviews. These results were then compared with three international green roof guidelines, namely those of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor, Singapore's National Parks Board, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The findings show that current green roof maintenance elements implemented in the case studies are insufficient and inadequate for Malaysia's tropical climate conditions. The paper recommends nine (9) green roof maintenance elements specific for non-residential buildings in Malaysia and the tropical climate: plant selection, rainwater harvesting system, pest control, monitoring performance, accessibility, irrigation cleaning, waterproofing membrane maintenance, plants and growing medium, and maintenance of outdoor furniture. As this paper has only included data from Kuala Lumpur, this limits the generalizability of the findings to other buildings in Malaysia and a tropical climate. The implications of this study may provide further direction for researchers to consider a larger sample size and other cities in a tropical climate. This study will allow policymakers and building stakeholders to develop suitable green roof maintenance guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that the crosswind reduces the output power of a SCPP (solar chimney power plant) with the deflection of the plume at the exit and separation of wind flow there at the downstream. The present numerical investigation was focused on the effect of the stack configuration on the performance of a SCPP. In this paper, the SCPP of the prototype in Manzanares was simulated, where the Boussinesq approximation was used for solving the continuity, Navier–Stokes and energy equations by the standard k-epsilon turbulence model in finite volume method. Governing parameters are taken as oblique angles from 27° to 45° and wind velocity from 0 to 10 m s−1. Investigation revealed that by changing the stack configuration, the performance of the SCPP could be improved. Numerical simulation of the conventional chimney was compared with the simulation data of the proposed altered chimney geometry (outlet bevel cutting) and observed that the throttling effect on the outlet of the chimney could be reduced. It was noticed that by changing the chimney oblique angle from 27° to 45°, the efficiency of the power plant was dropped. Further, the results illustrated that the oblique angle relies on the wind velocity and it needs to increase with the increase in the wind velocity to obtain a reasonable change in power output. The present investigation was further enhanced to incorporate a comparison of solar chimney power output in two cities (Kuala Lumpur and Kerman) for a better understanding of the effect of environment on constructing the solar tower power plant. The result shows that Kuala Lumpur is appropriated for the installation of SCPP although, the Kerman is suitable too, but the wind velocity in that city is higher than that in Kuala Lumpur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to raise awareness on how a simple action by the occupant can significantly influence building energy efficiency, cost and CO2 emissions to the environment. Classrooms in schools are the primary energy consumers (45.4%) due to the use of artificial lighting, despite Malaysia's tropical climate being ideal for daylight exploitation. This paper focuses on assessing the workplane daylight distribution quality and quantity in baseline and existing conditions of a typical pre-school classroom in Kuala Lumpur as a modelbased exploration strategy towards nearly Zero Energy Buildings. Design/methodology/approach - The adopted method is based on the calculation of average daylight factor (DF), daylight illuminance level (IL) and uniformity ratio (UR) parameters affected by the internal fixed drapes through computational and in situ measurements according to the requirements of the law and respective standards comprising the MS1525:2019, GBI and BREEAM. Findings - The results show how user behaviour can turn a well-daylit area (Net Lettable Area>90%) into a poor-daylit area (NLA<5%) by sacrificing natural daylight. All the parameters' values were significantly decreased from 10% (UR) up to 88% (ADF). Full dependency on artificial lighting has imposed a total of RM18858.90 and CO2 emissions of 25,362 kg for all pre-schools' classrooms in the country per day. Social implications - The paper develops the occupants' awareness on their contribution to climate change and global warming through the information and transparency provided. Originality/value - The evidence indicates that a simple action by the occupant can significantly influence visual comfort, EE, cost and CO2 emissions to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Climate change, obesity and undernutrition have now become a worldwide syndemic that threatens most people's health and natural systems in the twenty-first century. Adolescent malnutrition appears to be a matter of concern in Malaysia, and this is particularly relevant among the urban poor population. Mounting evidence points to the fact that underlying factors of malnutrition are subject to climate variability and profoundly affect nutritional outcomes. Hence, it is interesting to examine seasonal variation in nutritional status and its associated factors of urban poor adolescents in Malaysia. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study following urban poor adolescents aged 10–17 years living in low-cost high-rise flats in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, across two monsoon seasons. The baseline assessment will be conducted during the onset of the Northeast Monsoon and followed up during Southwest Monsoon. Climate data will be collected by obtaining the climatological data (rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity) from Malaysia Meteorological Department. Geospatial data for food accessibility and availability, and also built (recreational facilities) environments, will be analyzed using the QGIS 3.4 Madeira software. Information on socio-demographic data, food security, lifestyle (diet and physical activity), and neighbourhood environment (food and built environment) will be collected using a self-administrative questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements, including weight, height, and waist circumference, will be conducted following WHO standardized protocol. WHO Anthro Plus was used to determine the height-for-age (HAZ) and BMI-for-age (BAZ). Anaemic status through biochemical analyses will be taken using HemoCue 201+® haemoglobinometer. Discussion: The study will provide insights into the seasonal effects in nutritional status and its associated factors of urban poor adolescents. These findings can be useful for relevant stakeholders, including policymakers and the government sector, in seizing context-specific strategies and policy opportunities that are seasonally sensitive, effective, and sustainable in addressing multiple challenges to combat all forms of malnutrition, especially among urban poor communities. Trial registration: The protocol for this review has not been registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the design of courtyards for the microclimatic enhancement of outdoor spaces. However, there is still little knowledge regarding the thermal performance characteristics of courtyards, particularly in hot and humid climates. This study evaluates the ability of unshaded courtyards for providing thermally comfortable outdoor spaces according to different design configurations and scenarios, including the orientations, height and albedo of wall enclosure, and use of vegetation. The software ENVI-met was used as a tool for simulating the thermal performance of courtyards in the hot and humid climate of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The PMV and the number of hours per day that a courtyard could be enjoyed once the proposed design suggestions were implemented are assessed. Likewise, the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) index allowed to further explore the thermal comfort conditions of courtyards. As a result, guidelines are proposed in order to optimize the design of courtyards towards enhancing their thermal performance characteristics. In particular, the study shows that according to design parameters such as the building height ratio, an abundance in the amount vegetation the courtyard can achieve an acceptable level of thermal comfort for the tropics and may be enjoyed by its users for a long duration of daytime even during the noontime. Finally, this paper stresses that only well designed courtyards may represent a valid option for sustainable built environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]