Analysis of the Thermal and Cooling Energy Performance of the Perimeter Zones in an Office Building

Abstract

Indoor thermal conditions can be highly influenced through building envelopes by outdoor conditions, especially climatic parameters. While a lot of attention has been paid to the thermal performance in core zones in buildings, other zones, such as perimeters, experience significant heat loss and gain through building envelopes. Focusing on the energy and thermal performance in perimeter zones, the present study performed an energy simulation to find the most susceptible building orientation in an office building in South Korea regarding the cooling loads during the summer. Through field measurements, the solar radiation impact on the thermal performance in the perimeter zones was practically investigated. To reduce the cooling loads in the perimeter zones, an air barrier system was utilized. As a result, the biggest amount of heat was observed in the perimeter zones facing the west façade in the winter, according to the measurements. While the highest temperature was observed at the internal surface of the windows, the temperature in the perimeter and core zones was stably maintained. The heat that occurred through the west façade was reduced by the air barrier system by removing the vertical thermal stratification using the fan-powered unit in the system.