Best Facade

Best Practice for Double Skin Facades – Guidelines

Best Practice Guidelines for Double Skin
Facades
A. Blomsterberg
Energy and Building Design, Lund Institute of Technology,
Sweden
and
WSP Environmental, Malmo, Sweden

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Objective

Information supporting in the design, choice,

implemenation and management of energy efficient
and healthy office buildings (refurbishment and new
construction) with double skin facades

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Target group
‰Clients/developers
‰Decision makers
‰Governmental bodies
‰Standardization
‰Architects
‰Engineers
‰HVAC engineers
‰Facility managers
‰Façade suppliers
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Contents

Part 1: Fundamentals
Part 2: Applications
Part 3: Tools

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Contents
Part 1: Fundamentals

Common basic scientific, technical

and economic knowledge on double
skin facades

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Contents
Part 1: Fundamentals
‰What is a glazed building?
‰Architectural aspects
‰Technology
‰Glazing
‰Facade construction
‰Costs
‰Energy use, daylight, indoor climate and sustainability
‰Why glazed buildings with double skin facades?
‰Potential problems and how to overcome them
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 Contents
Part 1: Fundamentals
‰Architectural aspects: glass architecture must limit energy
losses by innovative solutions
‰Technology: many aspects
‰Glazing: many properties of value to buildings
‰Facade construction: heat losses and solar gains
‰Costs: LCC
‰Energy use, daylight, indoor climate and sustainability:
great challenges
‰Why glazed buildings with double skin facades?: solves
some problems with highly glazed single skin facades
‰Potential problems and how to overcome them: high costs, 8
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 Mode 1: Typical Double Façade

Naturally ventilated
Summer Winter
Summer: heat extraction through the AHU AHU

ventilated cavity

Winter: the closed cavity functions

as a thermal buffer zone

Advantages:
Summer: (low) cooling demand similar with case with external shading devices
Winter: (low) heating demand similar with case with intermediate shading devices
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 Mode 1: Typical Double Façade

Mechanically ventilated
Summer Winter
Summer: heat extraction through the AHU HX AHU

ventilated cavity

Winter: the air is preheated in the

cavity and through the AHU supplied
in the building

Advantages:
Summer: heat extraction through the cavity for lower cooling demand
Winter: increased inlet air temperatures to the AHU
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 Mode 2: Airflow window

Mechanically ventilated
Summer Winter
Summer and Winter the cavity AHU H.Ex

functions as a thermal barrier

Advantages:
Summer / winter: better air temperatures of the inner pane leading to improved
thermal comfort during all year round (inlet = indoor air temperature)
Energy efficient in extreme cases (e.g. warm summer days that the outdoor air
temperature is higher than the indoor one)
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Contents
Part 2: Applications
Detailed practical information for design, choice,
management, use and maintainance of DSF and
buildings with DSF (new construction and
refurbishment)

Performance specifications

LCC

”Rules of thumb” recommendations

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Contents
Part 2: Applications

Case studies – good and not so good examples,

from WP1 and WP3

When DSF are appropriate

Impacts of DSF

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Contents
Part 2: Applications
‰Introduction
‰Performance specifications
‰Design
‰Construction
‰Commissioning
‰Operation and maintenance
‰Costs
‰Case studies
‰Predicted performance - examples MCE Anlagenbau Austria GmbH & Co – 03.02.2005: 14
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Contents
Part 2: Applications
‰Introduction: performance specifications and
simulations from the beginning, separate
specification for facade
‰Performance specifications: building, system and
component level
‰Design: 8 crucial areas, 10 planning steps, façade
mock-up, U x Ag, g x Ag and Tv x Ag
‰Construction: checking built as designed

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8 crucial areas for design
‰Comfort/daylight: PMV/PPD/ daylight quality, asymmetry/
cold air

‰Internal gains: equipment/artificial lighting, persons

‰Ventilation/cooling: air quality, removal of loads

‰Energy use: heating, cooling

‰Thermal mass: floor/ceiling, walls/furniture

‰Solar shading: type/location/material, operation/control

‰Glazing: area, U-value/g-value incl. and excl. solar shading,

surface temperature, daylight transmittance

‰Boundary conditions: size/orientation, use/outdoor climate

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Planning steps for DSF

1. Checking the constraints

2. Determining the type of construction
3. Ensuring a good fresh air supply
4. Avoiding overheating of the cavity of the
DSF
5. Optimizing the air flow
6. Planning the conditions for operation
7. Exploiting the construction to the full
8. Testing the dimensions
9. Involving clients and users into the planning
process
10.Taking the control mechanisms into
operation
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Contents
Part 2: Applications
‰Commissioning: performance checks
‰Operation and maintenance: Intelligent control and
BEMS
‰Costs: LCC factors to consider, examples
‰Case studies
‰Predicted performance - examples

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Contents
Part 3: Energy and indoor
climate tools

Review of simulation tools

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Contents
Part 3: Tools

‰International and national calculation standards

and guidelines
‰Simple calculation method developed in the
BESTFACADE project
‰Building Energy Simulation tools
‰Examples on tools
‰Conclusions

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Contents
Part 3: Tools

‰International and national calculation standards

and guidelines: a review
‰Simple calculation method developed in the
BESTFACADE project
‰Building Energy Simulation tools: a couple of
programs can handle DSF
‰Examples on tools: TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, IDA-
ICE, ESP-r, TAS
‰Conclusions: complex task, simulations are
important
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Contribution from other partners

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Conclusions on DSF

‰Growing interest to design and build

glazed office buildings with DSF
‰Appropriate for highly glazed buildings with
external noise and wind
‰Appropriate for highly glazed buildings,
new and refurbishment
‰More expensive than SSF
‰High costs compensated for by lower
eenrgy use and effective operation of the
building
‰Can be energy efficient, but often notMCE Anlagenbau Austria GmbH & Co – 03.02.2005: 23
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Conclusions on DSF

‰Simulations of the performance of the DSF

and the building are necessary
‰Low level of knowledge
‰Little knowledge on energy performance
and indoor climate in existing buildings
‰The guidelines will improve the knowledge,
and promote the concept of well-performing
DSF, where it is relevant

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