Ecoefficient façades for office buildings

Abstract

This paper analyses the energy efficiency of a Ventilated Active Façade-VAF-applied to office buildings in Spain. The studied VAF was developed in the “Ventilated Active Façade” project financed by the Spanish National Plan for Research and finished in December 2009. This façade system consists of an outer layer element of 2 mm galvanized steel panels and a 3 cm air cavity where the ventilation air is preheated in winter and exhausted in summer. After defining 8 typical office typologies in Spain, 192 study cases are obtained where different parameters like the percentage of glass in façade, the orientation and the climatic zone of the buildings are considered. The energy demand of all these study cases is obtained using the official simulation tool of the CTE called LIDER. The results, in terms of energy saving, are presented in comparison with the minimum energetic requirements of the Spanish Technical Building Regulation (Código Técnico de la Edificación-CTE).