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Double-skin Façades: Acoustic, Visual and Thermal Comfort Indoors

Conference Paper · June 2006

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3944.1682

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Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2006 Thermal Comfort

Double-skin Façades: Acoustic, Visual and Thermal Comfort Indoors

Patrício, J1, Santos, A.2 and Matias, L.3

Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC), Buildings Dept., Av. do Brasil, 101, 1700-066 Lisboa,
Portugal
1 2 3
email: jpatricio@lnec.pt ; asantos@lnec.pt ; lmatias@lnec.pt

Summary: This paper concerns to the post-occupancy monitoring of a building with transparent
double-skin façades (DSF) located in Lisbon. This is the first of a larger monitoring program covering
other buildings and different climatic conditions, aiming to clarify under which climate and performing
conditions this architectural solution is acceptable. Within this campaign an ample set of parameters were
measured from external conditions to indoor comfort. The present paper is focusing on the sound
insulation of the double-skin façades and the visual and thermal comfort of the indoors spaces.

Keywords: double-skin façade, monitoring

Category: IAQ, and Energy

1 Introduction
Façades are one of the most important components of
the buildings. They create a physical barrier
separating the external environment from the indoor
spaces where comfort, quietness and, above all, living
quality is fundamental and needed. Amongst all
façade types projected by architects, the double-skin
ones are being increasingly used mainly in office
buildings.
and densely constructed area of Lisbon. The DSF
covers all the five orientations (SE-SW-NW-N-E) of
the building’s envelope, and encloses a central atrium.
The DSF has a mechanically ventilated multi-storey
configuration, horizontally partitioned on every three
or four storey. The exterior glazing of the façade is 12
mm clear tempered glass and the interior 10 mm also
tempered clear glass.

The double-skin façade is an architectural/

The cavity of the double facade includes manually
engineering solution developed from the need to
operated shading devices, consisting of perforated
increase comfort and energy efficiency in comparison
canvas roller shades. The spaces of the building are a
to buildings with single glazed façades, such as the
mix of open plan and individual/double office rooms
curtain-wall façades. The actual concept of holistic
with an height of 3,5 m.
approaches to the building energy systems considers
the DSF as an element of an Advanced Integrated
Façade. The monitored compartments of the building face
approximately west and are represented in Fig.1.
Although DSF were initially developed for colder
climates, uncertainty remains on their applicability to
warmer areas. Also there is a need for data on post- 0,0 m 1,0 m 2,0 m 3,0 m

Room 1
occupancy performance of buildings in order to
properly evaluate how they work from the comfort
Room 2
and energy points of view and to improve and validate
prediction models and design tools.
TC1 TC2
A set of monitoring campaigns on some DSF
buildings, located in Lisbon, for summer, winter and
midseason conditions, were programmed. This paper
reports the first campaign, where a set of parameters
were measured to assess their acoustic, visual and
thermal performance.

2 Building and DSF description Section AA' Section BB'

The monitored building is an eleven storey

commercial and services building located in a busy Fig. 1 - Plan and sections of the monitored rooms

37
Thermal Comfort Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2006

3 Measurement campaigns window pane of the DSF: external window pane and
internal one.
Playing an essential role for the indoors comfort in
buildings DSF challenges the scientific community in
terms of their related efficiency [1,2].
D2m,nw = 31 dB
50,0
45,0
Having in attention all the previous mentioned aspects 40,0
35,0
a set of daylighting, thermal and acoustic 30,0

R [dB]
measurements were carried out in an office building 25,0
20,0
with a DSF. 15,0
10,0
5,0
0,0

100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150
4 Acoustics
Freq. [Hz]
The sound insulation, D2m,n (normalised level
difference) of façade elements (massive wall and
window pane) is measured on site in accordance with Fig. 2 – Sound insulation of the DSF
what is set by the international standard EN ISO 140-
5 [3], using Eq. (1).
Being not possible to make this comparison using the
D2m,n,w index (there was not a diffuse sound field
A between the glazing panes and a complete defined
D2m,n = L1, 2 − L2 −10 log  dB (1) enclosure of the air gap), the adopted solution for the
 A0  purpose was the use of Eq. (2), respectively:

In this equation, L1,2 is the average sound pressure

level in front of the façade (2 m distance), in dB; L2 is
the average sound pressure level in the receiving
room, in dB; A is the equivalent sound absorption
area of receiving room [4], in m2; and A0 is the
reference absorption area (normally, taken equal to 10
m2).
R w = L1 − L2 dB (2)
Figure 3 shows the sound transmission loss between
the external DSF glazing pane, which was obtained
subtracting the outdoor noise levels in front of the
façade (2 m distance) and the sound field established
in the cavity of the DSF.

Concerning the kind of building used for this

measurement campaign, the legal acoustic Rw = 20 dB
requirement for façades (notice the buildings we are 50,0
dealing with are commercial and services buildings) is 45,0
40,0
the following [5]: 35,0
30,0
R [dB]

25,0
20,0
D2m,n,w ≥ 30 dB 15,0
10,0
5,0
This normalised level difference index is obtained 0,0
100

125
160

200
250

315
400
500
630
800

1000
1250
1600

2000
2500

3150

using the procedure set up in the appropriate

international standard [6]. Freq. [dB]

So, a set of measurements were done in the selected

Fig. 3 – Sound insulation of the DSF exterior glazing
building (see figure 1), whose results are shown in
figures 2, 3 and 4.
As it was really expected as normal, both glazing
In figure 2, the sound insulation of global façade
panes show equal values of Rw index.
(outdoors vs. indoors) is presented; as well as its
corresponding sound insulation index (31 dB). As can
Similarly, figure 4 shows the same calculation, but
be seen the value obtained for this index is higher
now considering the outdoor and indoor sound fields.
than the specific legal requirement established for this
This calculation also represents the global DSF sound
kind of building (30 dB).
insulation (however not expressed in terms of
normalised difference; thus not coherent with
Nevertheless, it was considered really interesting to
Portuguese Acoustics Buildings Code).
evaluate the acoustic performance (in situ) of each

38
Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2006 Thermal Comfort

in two rooms, as indicated in figure 1, facing

Rw = 35 dB
approximately West. The measurements, for
50,0
45,0 mid-season daylight characterisation, were made
40,0
35,0
under quasi-clear sky conditions on the 16th of
30,0 September, at solar noon. The evaluation included the
R [dB]

25,0
20,0 measurement of the diffuse transmittance of the blinds
15,0
10,0
(aprox. 2,8 %), the general glare conditions on the
5,0 rooms and the internal illuminances along horizontal
0,0
working planes at the height of 0,75 m above the
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150
Freq. [Hz]
floor, in three different conditions: i) without shading
device; ii) with shading device half-closed and iii)
with shading device fully closed. The results obtained
Fig. 4 – DSF sound insulation (expressed in terms of Rw) are referred in figures 5 and 6 as illuminances (in lux)
profiles (along the AA’ and BB’ axes indicated in
figure 1).

5 Daylighting and Visual Comfort 3500

Daylighting and visual comfort are fundamental no shading

3000 shading half-closed
aspects of indoor environment and energy efficiency shading closed
in buildings. Although its importance and value are 2500
generally recognised, often the reality fails to confirm illuminance (lux)
2000
its merits, due to inadequate building design
integration. 1500

1000
In hot sunny climates, where solar protection is a
priority during the cooling periods, it’s frequent to 500
find buildings with the solar protections fully
0
activated, for thermal reasons, during high daylight
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
availability periods,. This aspect has negative impacts Distance from window (m)
not only at the visual comfort and general well-being
of the occupants, but also on the additional electric Fig. 5 - Measured illuminance (in lux) profiles in the centre
lighting consumption. DSF technologies can, in of room 1, under quasi-clear sky conditions.
principle, provide good potential for daylighting
integration, but, for hot sunny climates its usefulness
is yet to be demonstrated. 3500
no shading
The main anticipated problems, from the daylighting 3000 shading half-closed

point of view, in DSF buildings are: shading closed

2500
i) lack of integration between daylighting and solar
illuminance (lux)

protection strategies; 2000

ii) direct and reflected glare in workplaces;

1500
iii) additional electric lighting consumption when
moveable shading devices are fully closed. 1000

500
The most used parameter for quantification of
daylighting in buildings is the Daylight Factor (DF). 0
Daylight Factor can be defined as the illuminance 0 1 2 3 4
Distance from window (m)
received at a point indoors from a sky of known or
assumed luminance distribution, expressed as a
percentage of the horizontal illuminance outdoors Fig. 6 - Measured illuminance (in lux) profiles in the centre
from an unobstructed hemisphere of the same sky. of room 2, under quasi-clear sky conditions.
Direct sunlight is excluded from both values of
illuminance. Usually, the sky of known or assumed
luminance distribution is the CIE Overcast Sky [7]. As may be inferred from figures 5 and 6, the
mid-season daylight illuminances under clear sky
Other relevant parameters for the evaluation of conditions, without the blinds activated, are very
daylighting and visual comfort performance in reasonable over almost all areas of the monitored
buildings are the uniformity ratio and glare. rooms, but glare from windows is also high, in
The “on site” evaluation of the daylight and visual particular in visual display screens (VDU). Due to the
comfort performance [8,9] of the DSF was performed intense glare, occupants tend to use the shading

39
Thermal Comfort Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2006

devices half-closed, allowing the penetration of
sufficient daylight for most of the tasks, improving,
simultaneously the uniformity and maintaining some
degree of visual contact with the exterior
environment. However, with the blinds completely
closed, the daylight levels are very low.
In order to draw more objective conclusions,
regarding de daylight performance of DSF, the
daylight and visual comfort evaluations should be
completed with additional measurements, in particular
under standard overcast sky conditions and Summer
clear sky conditions.
The PPD is an index that establishes a quantitative
prediction of the percentage of thermally dissatisfied
people who feel too cool or too warm [11].
For the purpose of the two referred Standards [11,
12], thermally dissatisfied people are those who will
vote hot, warm, cool or cold in scale given in table 1.
In the evaluation of PMV and PPD the metabolic rate
was fixed at 1.2 met (sedentary activity) and the
actual people clothing at 0,6 clo came from the
questionnaires carried out.

The questionnaires, filled in at the end of each

6 Thermal comfort thermal comfort survey by the workers seated close to
The evaluation of the thermal environmental the analysers, were used to investigate the thermal
conditions of the DSF building was performed in two sensation of the users of the spaces, voting their
rooms (see TC1 e TC2 in figure 1), in summer season thermal sensation on the 7-point scale (see table 1),
(16 September) of 2005. and to estimate the clothing value for the
determination of the PMV index.
The thermal environment was analysed by measuring
the following objective parameters: Two series of two thermal comfort surveys have been
- air temperature (TA), carried out, simultaneously, in the analysed rooms,
- mean radiant temperature1 (TMR) or operative one in the morning and the other in the afternoon
temperature (TOP), period.
- air relative humidity (RH),
- air velocity (v). The results of the measured parameters and the
calculated thermal indices are presented, respectively,
The parameters were measured in the centre of the in the tables 2 and 3.
analysed rooms (rooms 1 and 2), at the height of 0.6
m above the floor (abdomen level), according to the
Standard EN ISO 7726:2001[10] for seated persons. Table 2. Results of measured parameters.
The measurement period took 1 h in each survey. The
recorded data were elaborated in order to evaluate the TAR TMR RH v
Period Survey Room
thermal comfort indices, PMV and PPD and the (ºC) (ºC) (%) (m/s)
operative temperature, according to International 1 1 24,5 26,4 45 0,08
Morning
Standards EN ISO 7730:2005 [11] and 2 2 24,5 26,1 47 0,04
ANSI/ASHRAE 55:2004 [12]. 3 1 24,1 26,9 49 0,07
Afternoon
4 2 24,3 26,1 48 0,03

The PMV is an index that predicts the mean value of

the votes of a large group of persons on the
7-point thermal sensation scale (see table 1), based on Table 3. Results of calculated indices.
the heat balance of the human body [11].
Room TOP PMV PPD DR
Period Survey
(ºC) (%) (%)
Table 1. Seven-point thermal sensation scale.
1 1 25,4 + 0,4 8 5,5
Morning
2 2 25,3 + 0,3 7 1,0
+3 Hot 3 1 25,5 + 0,4 8 4,2
Afternoon
+2 Warm 4 2 25,2 + 0,3 7 0,5
+1 Slightly warm
0 Neutral
-1 Slightly cool According to EN ISO 7730 and ANSI/ASHRAE, the
-2 Cool PMV and PPD indices and operative temperature
-3 Cold (Top) presented in table 3 satisfy the thermal
requirements for environments specified for category
B - moderate level of acceptance
(-0.5<PMV< +0.5 and PPD<10 %).
1
- Measured with a radiant temperature asymmetry probe, ∆TPR

40
Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2006
The analysis of the questionnaires demonstrated that
the inquired persons felt slightly warm (see table 1) in
the morning, slightly different of the calculated PMV
index (see table 3), and felt neutral during the
afternoon, in agreement with the determinated PMV
values.
The PMV and PPD indices express warm and cold
discomfort for the body as a whole. But thermal
dissatisfaction can also be caused by unwanted
cooling or warming of one particular part of the body
(local discomfort). The most common causes of local
discomfort are draught and high radiant temperature
asymmetries. The discomfort due to draught may be
expressed as the percentage of people predicted to be
bothered by draught, and estimated by the draught
rate, DR2.
Bearing in mind the limit of 20 % for DR, all the
values presented in table 3 are largely acceptable.
In the next table the results of radiant temperature
asymmetry3 carried out in the room 1, approximately
at 1,0 m of the DSF (see fig. 1), are presented for
three directions.
Table 4. Results of radiant temperature asymmetry.
Radiant temperature
asymmetry, ∆TPR
(ºC)
Period Survey DSF Wall Ceiling
Wall Wall Floor
Morning 1 2,4 1,3 2,8
Afternoon 3 4,5 2,0 4,3
Considering the requirements specified in the two
International Standards [11, 12] for local thermal
comfort, the values indicated in table 4 are also
perfectly acceptable.
It must be noted that the higher values, reached in the
afternoon, result of the heat coming from the DSF,
when there was no solar direct radiation over it and
the sun shading device (perforated canvas roller
shades) was half-closed.
2
- Function of local air temperature, air velocity and local
turbulence intensity.
3
- Estimated as the difference between the plane radiant
temperature in two opposite direction.
Thermal Comfort
In this way, it would be expected that with solar direct
radiation incidence over the DSF (at the final of the
day) the results of radiant temperature asymmetry
would be higher.
7 Conclusions
Concerning the acoustics performance and based on
this measurement campaign, a fundamental
conclusion comes out: the DSF sound insulation index
fulfils the Portuguese acoustic requirements for the
type of building under analysis. This evidence leads to
the assumption that the noise field established in the
reception compartment can be considered, in acoustic
terms, suitable for the development of professional
activities inside the building.
However, the amount of data obtained is quite poor
for any kind of extrapolation regarding acoustic
comfort indoors, in buildings with DSF. In this
framework, and in order to extract more precise
conclusions about the acoustic performance of DSF,
more results are obviously needed. Accordingly,
additional measurement campaigns using other
buildings are schedule for the near future.
Regarding the daylighting and visual comfort
performance, and based only on the mid-season
monitoring campaign, the main conclusion to be
drawn is that occupants tend to use the blinds half-
closed in order to attenuate de glare problems (due to
the direct incidence of solar radiation on working
planes and also due to the excessive brightness of the
sky seen through the windows). The daylight
conditions under these conditions can be considered
adequate. However, when, due to solar incidence, it is
necessary to fully close the blinds, the daylight
conditions are very poor.
In terms of thermal comfort, considering the
International Standards EN ISO 7730:2005 [11] and
ANSI/ASHRAE 55:2004 [12], the results of the
surveys carried out in two rooms of the DSF building
indicate that the thermal environmental conditions are
perfectly acceptable.
References
[1] Patrício, J. - Acústica nos Edifícios (Acoustics in
Buildings). 2nd Edition. Livraria Escolar, Lisboa,
2004.
[2] Patrício, J.; Santos, A.; Matias, L.; et al. –
Ambiente em Edifícios Urbanos (Indoor Environment
in Urban Buildings. LNEC, Lisboa, 2000.
[3] EN ISO 140-5 - Acoustics. Measurement of sound
insulation in buildings and of building elements. Part
5: Field measurements of airborne sound insulation of
façade elements and façades.
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 Thermal Comfort Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2006

[4] EN 20354: Acoustics. Measurement of sound

absorption in a reverberation room.
[5] Building acoustics code. Portuguese Decree-law,
129/02, May, 11th.
[6] EN ISO 717-1 - Acoustics. Rating of sound
insulation in buildings and of building elements. Part
1: Airborne sound insulation;
[7] CIE - Daylight. International Recommendations
for the Calculation of Natural Light. Pub. CIE 16.
Paris: CIE, 1970.
[8] Santos, A.J. - Desenvolvimento de uma
Metodologia de Caracterização das Condições de
Iluminação Natural nos Edifícios Baseada na
Avaliação “In Situ”. Lisboa, LNEC/FCUL, 2002. TM
14.
[9] EN 12464-1: Light and lighting - Lighting of
Work Places - Part 1: Indoor work places. Brussels:
CEN, July 2002.
[10] European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
Ergonomics of the thermal environment – Instruments
for measuring physical quantities. (ISO 7726:1998).
EN ISO 7726, Brussels, Belgium, 2001.
[11] CEN. Ergonomics of the thermal environment –
Analytical determination and interpretation of thermal
comfort using calculation of PMV and PPD indices
and local comfort criteria (ISO 7730:2005). EN ISO
7730, Brussels, Belgium, 2005.
[12] American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and
Air-conditioning Engineers, Inc. Thermal
Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.
ANSI/ASHRAE 55. Atlanta, USA, 2004.

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