Coconut fibre insulators: The hygrothermal behaviour in the case of green roofs

Coconut fibre insulators represent an insulating material considered as ‘‘exotic”, which clashes with the scepticism of his thermo-hygrometric behaviour, particularly in the case of covering technology such as green roofs, which is a technological solution often adopted in the case of sustainable buildings or nearly zero energy building. Green roofs represent a valid constructive solution with high thermal performances, adopted both in existing and new buildings. The purpose of the research regards the study of the thermo-hygrometric behaviour of the concrete (CLS) and Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) slabs, insulated with coconut fibreboards (CF) such as an alternative of synthetic insulator, referred to 10 different green roofs scenarios. The results show that coconut fibre insulations are equally comparable to natural and synthetic materials, and the doubts for their applications, including the green roofs, are related to technological solutions for the implementation in the market and their diffusion between the buildings materials, rather than their hygrothermal features.