8th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in

Engineering, TNTER-ENG 2014, 9-10 October

2014, Tirgu Mures, Romania
Development of Intelligent Façade
Based on Outdoor Environment
and Indoor Thermal Comfort
Mostafa M.S. Ahnicd”*, Au K. Abel_Rabmana.
Abmed Hamza H. AlP’
“L’nergv Resources Engineering Deparirneni. Egypt-Japan Univc’rsitr of Science
and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria. Egpt

Abstract
In the last decades, the development of innovative solutions is
considered as a prominent issue for achieving sustainability within
the built environment. Facades are crucial to energy consumption
and comfort within buildings. Incorporating intelligence in their
design is an effective way to achieve low energy consumption
buildings. The ability of specific facade systems to work reliably
and effectively is one of the challenges towards sustainability.
This study presents the state of art for intelligent facades at different
outdoor environment in different climates. In addition the indoor
environmental parameters such as thermal comfort, indoor air
quality and visual comfort are outlined. The study concluded that
intelligent facades in buildings and indoor themial comfort require
more development targeting low energy buildings and thermal
comfort.
1.Introduction

During the last decades façade technologies have undergone to

substantial innovations by integrating specific elements to adapt the
variation of the outside conditions to occupant requirements [1].
Facades are crucial to energy consumption and comfort in buildings.
incorporating intelligence solutions in buildings design is an
effective way to achieve comfort condition for occupants and
minimize energy consumption in buildings [2].
The term “intelligence in buildings” can create excitement among
architects and developers as the ultimate design solution, a building that
knows how to adapt to every situation, liberating the designer from the
duty of finding passive solutions to design problems, and implying that
conflict resolution is delegated from the designer to the end product
itself [3]. Since an intelligent being uses the least energy possible to
survive, prospects for sustainable climatic design in any climate seem
high.
The decision that made at a building’s initial design stage is very
important for an energy efficient building design. That’s why, this paper
are investigated intelligent facades to promote the use in building design.
This study begins with the relationship between indoor thermal comfort
and building façade and then outline of intelligent facades in architecture
- environmental control systems that use automated louvers and other
devices to maintain internal temperature, lighting levels and air quality.

2. The Relationship Betveen Indoor Thermal Comfort and Building

Façade
In general, facades are designed to respond to many scenarios and
perform functions that can be contradictory to each other: daylighting
versus energy efficiency, ventilation versus views and energy generation
[4]. Since a wide range of environmental parameters can affect the
quality of indoor spaces and user’s satisfaction, numerous studies have
been conducted by researchers and architects in order to establish design
strategies to create acceptable indoor environments in accordance with
the behavior of users and locality of the buildings [5]. Hence, in view of
the indoor environmental quality, most of the researches concentrate on
the thermal aspects of environments and the condition of human thermal
comfort inside the buildings [6].
Facade as the main constitute of building envelope and a boundary
between external and internal environments, considerably impacts the
environmental conditions of indoor spaces, the thermal performance of
buildings and subsequently the user’s satisfaction [6]. Hence, thermal
comfort conditions depend not only on the external environmental
factors (i.e., air temperature, air movement, solar radiation) but also
mainly on the architectural parameters and design elements such as the
position and orientation of building, facade materials, shading devices,
type and location of windows and roof shapes [7][8]. Thence, design and
selection of facades during the design process of building should be
considered as one of the major tasks in order to support the quality of
visual and thermal sensations in indoor environments.

3. Analytical review of intelligent facade

3.1.Intelligent façade
According to Moloney J. intelligent façade is defined as the use of
environmental control systems which react to change in external
conditions has a history at least as long as the invention of the rheostat.
In the last twenty years advances in electronic control systems have
progressed to where a building can be described as intelligent rather than
responsive [9].
The study by Tzempelikos et al. [10] also highlighted that the design of
facades is highly related to the energy and daylighting performances. In
this regard, intelligent facades are proposed as an innovative solution to
the enhancement of sustainability in built environments.
The term intelligent is, however, often used without any really deep
understanding of the complexity required beyond common descriptions
such as interactive, adaptive and responsive. It is easily understood that
an intelligent envelope system must be dynamic, i.e. able to change its
main functional parameters according to the dynamic demands of the
changing situations [11]. Intelligent envelopes should ideally be
developed with smart materials that are self-powering and self-actuating
[12].
The goal of an intelligent building skin is to optimize the building’s
systems relative to climate, energy balance and human comfort, typically
based on predictive rnodels[12].
One workable solution in such situation is, e.g., the use of “dynamic”
façade systems whose properties can be actively controlled to achieve
the desired operating behavior in response to the indoor and outdoor
changing conditions [13]. In the considered bbest new solutions” the
façades play multiple and complementary roles in providing natural
ventilation, daylight and thermal tempering. But this requires a high
degree of integration that must be thought already in the early stage of
the design process. It also suggests levels of technology integration that
are not routinely practiced in buildings, although they are consistently
achieved in other manufacturing sectors such as the automotive and
aircraft industries [lj.
According to Wiggington and Harris [14] the study of examples of
building intelligence showed that the façade was performing up to
different functions, which influenced the passage of energy from both
external environments to the internal environment, and the other way
around. The manipulating functions were identified as;
• The enhancement of daylight (e.g. light shelves/reflectors)
• The maximization of daylight (e.g. full-height glazing/atria)
• Protection (e.g. louvres/blinds)
• Insulation (e.g. night-time shutters)
• Ventilation (e.g. automatic dampers)
• The collection of heat (e.g. solar collectors)
• The rejection of heat (e.g. overhangs/brise soleil)
• The attenuation of sound (e.g. acoustic dampers)
• The generation of electricity (e.g. photovoltaics)
• The exploitation of pressure differentials (e.g. ventilation chinmeys)
3.2. Types of intelilgent façade
Intelligent façade types are double skin façade, double —Glazed façade,
ventilated façade, kinetic facade and solar façade.
The study by Ghaffarian Hoseini A et al. [6] demonstrated that the
integration of double-skin facades, double- glazed and ventilated facades
as well as the kinetic and solar facades could be significantly contribute
towards the reduction of energy consumptions, enhancement of the
building energy and environmental performance, enrichment of user’s
visual and thermal comfort while ultimately, mitigating the
environmental hazards (Table 1).
Referring to the study by Skelly [l5]were based on scrutinizing the
essence of intelligent facades, articulate particular parameters associated
with the effectiveness of intelligent facades. The findings explicitly
denote that an intelligent façade must be responsive to three main
parameters including weather, context and occupants. As stated that the
interrelations between the intelligent façade and the aforementioned
parameters must be dynamic. nonl inear, stochastic, multi-dimensional
and immeasurable as explained in Table 2.

3.3. Applications of intelligent façade

One of the most famous intelligent façade is Kientic façade which It is
ideally significant to design and develop facades that are interactive and
responsive to the environmental attributes. These facades, as part of the
so-called intelligent facades, are capable of adjusting their shape, form,
orientation or openings to automatically respond to the environmental
parameters including the temperature, humidity, wind, etc. [6]. To
support this contemplation, Kensek and Hansanuwat [4] strongly claims
that kinetic facades are dynamic and adaptable for responding to the
environment. Indeed, it is depicted that kinetic facades are considerably
influential for creating low energy and ultimately zero energy buildings
as an approach in the direction of sustainable development of built
environments. In this regard, movable and interactive shading devices
could also be highly inflectional for better performance of kinetic
facades.
GhaffarianHoseini A et al. concluded that intelligent facades are claimed
to be energy efficient and responsive to the interrelation of indoor and
outdoor environments. Overall, moving towards the proliferation of
intelligent façade design development, it is demonstrated that the
integration of double-skin facades, double-glazed and ventilated facades
as well as the kinetic and solar facades could be significantly
contributive towards the reduction of energy consumptions,
enhancement of the building energy and environmental performance,
enrichment of user’s visual and thermal comfort while ultimately,
mitigating the environmental hazards [6].
Within the study by Tzernpelikos et al. [10], shading devices are highly
influential for the optimized energy performance of buildings. These
shading devices, once integrated into the design of facades, could reduce
the level of solar heat gains, block direct sunlight while mitigating the
glare and undesirable contrasts. Accordingly, it is theorized that the
automated shading devices could lead to the reduction of energy
consumptions used for lighting, cooling, heating.

Table 1. Sustainable Potentials Embodied in Various Types of Intelligent Facades [6]

Type of Intelligent Facades Main Potentials Towards the Sustainable Design of Low Energy
Buildings Based on Outdoor Environment and Indoor Thermal Comfort

Double-Skin Facade - Energy efficient (Decreasing solar heat gains)

Energy efficient (Receiving optimized daylight)
Energy efficient (Ensuring proper air ventilation)
Sound insulation
Enhanced aesthetic feature
Improved thermal comfort

Double-Glazed Facade - Energy efficient (Decreasing the level of heat transfer)

Improved thermal comfort
Ventilated Facade Flexibility
Adaptability
Customizability (Shape & Color)
Energy efficient (Resolving moisture problems air ventilation)
Improved thermal comfort
Kinetic Facade -Energy efficient (Interactive and responsive to the environmental attributes)
- Adjustable
- Adaptable
- Automatically responsive
- Improved thermal comfort
Solar Facade - Energy efficient (Source of renewable energy)
- Contributive to cooling and heating purposes
- Visibility

Table 2.

The main characteristics of intelligent facades for being responsive and adaptive [15] [61

Characteristics Explanation

Dynamic Many parameters change over time and at different rates

Non-Linear Some parameters exhibit different types of behavior in
different regions
Stochastic Some parameters are subject to large unpredictable/chaotic
environmental disturbances
Multi-dimensional Many different mechanisms interact in a complex manner
Unmeasurable Some variables are difficult to measure, have unknown
relationships, or are expensive to evaluate in real time, such as
occupant satisfaction, psychological factors and future cloud
cover

The WICONA company developed a new intelligent façade concept

called “TEmotion” as shown in (Fig. 1). The façade reacts to changes in
outdoor and interior conditions, such as light or temperature, and
therefore makes a significant contribution to improving the energy
efficiency of the building envelope and reducing the operating costs.
TEmotion controls the integrated ventilation, air-conditioning and
heating technology, adjusts the sun protection to the prevailing
conditions and prevents the interior from overheating. At the same time,
by means of adaptable light control, it ensures dazzle-free, indirect
natural daylight. By automatically opening façade elements, it allows the
building to be “rinsed” with fresh air at night, which considerably cuts
the costs of cooling it. Active use of solar energy is possible through
integration of photovoltaic elements [16]. Figure 1 shown five elements
of WICONA multifunctional facade; 1-Ventilation in and out, 2-
Heating and cooling, 3 Lighting, 4-Solar shading, 5- Energy supply.
According to the study by Wu Dan et al. presents a solar cooling system
consists of evacuated tube solar collectors (ETSC) installed in the cavity
of the double skin façades (DSF) to collect solar energy and transferred
to be used in an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) turbine which drives the
compressor of the vapor compression cycle (VCC). The collected solar
energy during the weekends is stored in a hot water storage tank for use
during the operating hours of the office building [17]. The technical
feasibility of the system for cooling of office buildings in the tropical
climate zones shown in fig. 2.
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