Abstract
The aim of this study is to show the critical aspects of a completely glazed high rise office building from an energy efficiency point of view in different European climates. The achievable consumptions and the most influential parameters such as glazing U-value, VT/SHGC and shading and their optimal values were investigated. The study has been carried out for a theoretical office building in Italy and Lithuania, representatively of a southern and northern EU climate. The building chosen is representative of all the glazed-simple shape buildings and the analysis of the entirety of the building enables a clear and im-mediate outcome of global consumptions. Number of DesignBuilder simulations were performed and the annual consumptions are summed with the primary energy criteria. Results show the critical aspects of 100% WWR buildings: in the coldest climate the main problem is the huge surface of relatively high glass U-value compared with standard walls, while in the warmer one the main efforts need to be done to avoid the summer overheating caused by incoming solar radiation. Finally, it is shown that it is difficult to lower the overall primary energy consumptions below 130 and 140 kWh/m2a for North-Italy and Lithuania locations respectively. The analysis is focused only in the envelope parameter, thus it is not included renewable energy systems, which can generate higher energy efficiencies.
Highlights
Thermal issues of glazed curtain wallsLooking at each medium or large city it’s easy to realize how many of the new modern buildings are covered with a glazed curtain walls (Fig. 1)
The aim of this study is to show the critical aspects of a completely glazed high rise office building from an energy efficiency point of view in different European climates (Southern – Italy and Northern – Lithuania)
Simulation of different alternatives both for Italian and Lithuanian climates has shown that for totally glazed office building glazing U-value has small potential in reduction of primary energy demand, because difference between values required by the standard and best available on the market is decreasing
Summary
Looking at each medium or large city it’s easy to realize how many of the new modern buildings are covered with a glazed curtain walls (Fig. 1). This architectural solution is dominating already for decades. Using the best windows solutions, the glass U-value will be always 5–8 times higher than a modern standard brick insulated walls and much more solar radiation can enter into the building. Despite of the great success of glazed curtain wall, a tendency against it has grown into the society: experts such as Straube (Straube 2008) and Alex Wilson, founder of Environmental Building News, are against the use of the glass façade, supporting more classical way of building such as concrete brick walls. Dental clinic centre of the University of Zurich and “Intesa San Paolo” building in the center of Turin which require 78 and 100 kWh/m2 a respectively, only for heating purposes (Iasparra 2009)
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