Effect of thermochromic coatings on the indoor thermal behavior of a case study building

Abstract

Passive systems and solutions aimed at improving local thermal comfort conditions represent a cutting-edge research field in building applications. However, only a few investigations were performed by taking into account the local distribution and spatial variability of the airflow generated by the application of both traditional and innovative passive strategies. The present research work is aimed at bridging such gap by modelling the indoor thermal environment of a case study prototype building, i.e. test-room, situated in central Italy, by taking into account the indoor heat transfer phenomena. In particular, a CFD model of the building is elaborated and used to predict the indoor thermal effect of an adaptive thermochromic envelope, compared to more traditional solutions. The simulation results are post-processed in terms of (i) indoor temperature and (ii) indoor airflows. The main findings confirm a non-negligible and positive impact of the thermochromic building envelope on the local indoor thermal comfort conditions in both summer and winter conditions, due to its capability of selectively tailor the absorption of heat gains and a function of the local boundary conditions.