Building energy simulation. Case studies with water flow glazing

Abstract

Buildings represent complex systems with high levels of inter-dependence on many external sources. Building envelope expertise is a part of the building process, from pre-design through post-occupancy. Large glazed surfaces increase the building’s luminosity. However, the glass is a poor thermal insulator, and allows a great part of the solar radiation passing through it. The use of a glazed façade has the disadvantage of introducing an excess of energy in the building by means of solar radiation during the summer months. New glass technologies solve the energy problems raised by the use of glass in buildings: double and triple glazing, surface treatments, solar control glazing, low-emissivity glazing, etc. One of these is the water flow glazing. Due to the spectral properties of water, it captures most of the infrared solar radiation, allowing the visible component to pass through. This provides the water flow glazing with the same luminosity than conventional glazing, only lessening the heat transfer towards the interior space. Furthermore, the water circulation allows us to use, store or dissipate the captured energy as deemed appropriate. The first goal of this paper is to study the integration of the water flow glazing to evaluate its behavior in different weather conditions. Active and passive strategies will be tested in real case studies to achieve the goal of a Zero Energy Building.