Assessing the performance of an advanced integrated facade by means of simulation: The ACTRESS facade case study

The growing demand for both building energy efficiency and indoor environmental comfort is leading to a substantial evolution of the traditional concept of the building envelope. The future building skin is required to be responsive and dynamic, actively regulating the flows of heat, light, air and water from outdoor to indoor and vice versa, in order to effectively respond to ever-changing climatic conditions, occupant comfort and energy efficiency requirements. In the framework of a decade-long research activity on Advanced Integrated Facade, AIF, a new Multifunctional Facade Module called ACTRESS has been conceived: the ACTive, RESponsive and Solar envelope is designed to play different roles through its ability to change its thermo-physical behaviour in order to suit the different environmental conditions. This paper briefly illustrates the ACTRESS MFM concept and its functional strategies, focusing on the simulation and the assessment of the performance of such a dynamic envelope. The numerical study was conducted in order to evaluate the potential energy savings achievable with such a facade and to evaluate different functional strategies and options. The evaluation of the performance in terms of energy savings was done at both component and whole-building level. Moreover this work presents an example of the applicability of Building Performance Simulation tools to the design of an innovative and dynamic facade system, discussing the capability of BPS software in simulating and evaluating the performance of such systems. The results show that the ACTRESS MFM can effectively reduce the total primary energy consumption of an office building up to 55% compared with a reference facade complying with national regulations. On the other hand modelling assumptions and simplifications are needed in order to evaluate the performance of such a system with BPS software, representing a barrier to the design and the adoption of advanced facade systems in the building industry

[1]  Daniel R. Rousse,et al.  A comprehensive review of solar facades. Opaque solar facades , 2012 .

[2]  Luisa F. Cabeza,et al.  An approach to the simulation of PCMs in building applications using TRNSYS , 2005 .

[3]  Vladimir Bazjanac.  Impact of the U.S. National Building Information Model Standard (NBIMS) on Building Energy Performance Simulation , 2007 .

[4]  Valentina Serra,et al.  Experimental assessment of the energy performance of an advanced responsive multifunctional façade module , 2012 .

[5]  Jlm Jan Hensen,et al.  Climate adaptive building shells: state-of-the-art and future challenges , 2013 .

[6]  Rui Zhang,et al.  Coupled EnergyPlus and computational fluid dynamics simulation for natural ventilation , 2013 .

[7]  Matthias Haase,et al.  Optimizing the configuration of a façade module for office buildings by means of integrated thermal and lighting simulations in a total energy perspective , 2013 .

[8]  Zhiqiang Zhai,et al.  Modeling phase change materials embedded in building enclosure: A review , 2013 .

[9]  Ingrid Taylor,et al.  Intelligente Glasfassaden : Material, Anwendung, Gestaldung = Intelligent glass façades : material, practice, design , 1995 .

[10]  Paul Torcellini,et al.  Simulation of Energy Management Systems in EnergyPlus , 2008 .

[11]  Qian Jin,et al.  A BPMN-based process map for the design and construction of facades , 2013 .

[12]  Axel Ritter,et al.  Smart Materials in Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design , 2006 .

[13]  Jon Hand,et al.  CONTRASTING THE CAPABILITIES OF BUILDING ENERGY PERFORMANCE SIMULATION PROGRAMS , 2008 .

[14]  Nicholas Walliman,et al.  Removing Unwanted Heat in Lightweight Buildings Using Phase Change Materials in Building Components: Simulation Modelling for PCM Plasterboard , 2007 .

[15]  Jlm Jan Hensen,et al.  Modeling and simulation of a double-skin façade system , 2002 .

[16]  Dirk Saelens,et al.  Energy performance assessment of single storey multiple-skin facades , 2002 .

[17]  Luisa F. Cabeza,et al.  Review on thermal energy storage with phase change: materials, heat transfer analysis and applications , 2003 .

[18]  S. Corgnati,et al.  Experimental assessment of the performance of an active transparent façade during actual operating conditions , 2007 .

[19]  Francesco Goia,et al.  The Impact of an Ideal Dynamic Building Envelope on the Energy Performance of Low Energy Office Buildings , 2014 .

[20]  Xiufeng Pang,et al.  Real-Time Building Energy Simulation Using EnergyPlus and the Building Controls Test Bed , 2013 .

[21]  Daniel R. Rousse,et al.  A comprehensive review of solar facades. Transparent and translucent solar facades , 2012 .

[22]  Marco Perino,et al.  Towards an active, responsive and solar building envelope , 2010 .

[23]  Jlm Jan Hensen,et al.  Simulation-based support for product development of innovative building envelope components , 2014 .