A responsive double-skin façade for the retrofit of existing buildings: Analysis on an office building in a Mediterranean climate

Abstract

The history of our planet has always been characterized by climate change, but the way in which this change has been taking place in recent decades puts us in front of a real climate crisis, for which man is primarily responsible. Among the sectors affected by the energy transition process, that of construction is in the foreground, especially with reference to existing buildings. This study proposes a dynamic envelope based on the double-skin façade (DSF) technology as retrofit measure for an existing building office located in a city with a Mediterranean climate. The methodology used is of an experimental type, using DesignBuilder® and EnergyPlus software, for the energy modeling and simulation phases respectively. The responsiveness of the proposed facade is obtained through the controlled opening of the windowed components of the internal and external surface of the DSF, which allows for the establishment of an airflow. Furthermore, for the summer season, a shading system with dynamic activation controlled by the temperature is proposed. Compared to the current state of the building, the impact on energy consumption for the thermal load is between −17.8 % and −37 %, while for the cooling load it is between +9 % and −3%, based on the configuration adopted. With the best solution, a total primary energy saving of 20 % is obtained.