Experimental analysis of air flow profiles in a double skin facade in a maritime climate

Oliver Kinnane, Daniel Murphy, Michael Grimes

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

    Abstract

    Glazed Double Skin Facades (DSF) offer the potential to improve the performance of all-glass building skins, common to commercial office buildings in which full facade glazing has almost become the standard. Single skin glazing results in increased heating and cooling costs over opaque walls, due to lower thermal resistance of glass, and the increased impact of solar gain through it. However, the performance benefit of DSF technology continues to be questioned and its operation poorly understood, particularly the nature of airflow through the cavity. This paper deals specifically with the experimental analysis of the air flow characteristics in an automated double skin façade. The benefit of the DSF as a thermal buffer, and to limit overheating is evaluated through analysis of an extensive set of parameters including air and surface temperatures at each level in the DSF, airflow readings in the cavity and at the inlet and outlet, solar and wind data, and analytically derived pressure differentials. The temperature and air-flow are monitored in the cavity of a DSF using wireless sensors and hot wire anemometers respectively. Automated louvre operation and building set-points are monitored via the BMS. Thermal stratification and air flow variation during changing weather conditions are shown to effect the performance of the DSF considerably and hence the energy performance of the building. The relative pressure effects due to buoyancy and wind are analysed and quantified. This research aims to developed and validate models of DSFs in the maritime climate, using multi-season data from experimental monitoring. This extensive experimental study provides data for training and validation of models.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publication Proceedings of International Conference CISBAT 2015 “Future Buildings and Districts – Sustainability from Nano to Urban Scale”
    Place of PublicationLausanne
    PublisherSwiss Federal Institute of Technology
    Pages161-166
    Number of pages6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015
    EventCISBAT - Lausanne, Switzerland
    Duration: 09 Sept 201511 Sept 2015

    Conference

    ConferenceCISBAT
    Country/TerritorySwitzerland
    CityLausanne
    Period09/09/201511/09/2015

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