Abstract
Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) replaces building envelope materials and provides electric power generator, which has aroused great interest for those in the fields of energy conservation and building design. Double-skin façade (DSF) has attracted significant attention over the last three decades due to its bi-layer structure, which improves thermal and acoustic insulation and therefore increases the energy efficiency and thermal comfort of buildings. It is hypothesised that the integration of BIPV and DSF (BIPV-DSF) would help buildings in reducing energy consumption and improving indoor thermal comfort concurrently. However, the prototype of the BIPV-DSF has not been well explored. Thus, the investigations of the BIPV-DSF are worthwhile. Numerical simulation is a cost and time effective measure for the design and analysis of buildings. This chapter spells out a comprehensive method of numerical simulation modelling of the novel BIPV-DSF system in buildings, which is carried out by using a graphically based design tool – TRNSYS and its plugins. TRNSYS has been validated and widely used in both the BIPV and building related research activities, which are capable in analysing the effects of BIPV-DSF on building performance such as energy consumption and indoor thermal condition.
Highlights
Either building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) or double-skin façades (DSF) is widely adopted in buildings; few studies or real applications of the hybrid mechanism of BIPV and DSF have been implemented in either academic or industrial settings [1]
The proposed numerical BIPV-DSF model can be used to investigate the advantages of double-skin façades and building-integrated photovoltaic technology in terms of thermal and electrical performances of the entire BIPV-DSF integrated onto buildings, which are related to indoor thermal condition and energy consumption of buildings
TRNSYS and TRNFlow programmes are selected for carrying out the proposed numerical modelling, which are able to predict the effects of the implementation of the BIPV-DSF on building performance such as energy consumption and indoor thermal condition, based on the capabilities of the software
Summary
Either building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) or double-skin façades (DSF) is widely adopted in buildings; few studies or real applications of the hybrid mechanism of BIPV and DSF have been implemented in either academic or industrial settings [1]. It is worth understanding the behaviour of this novel integrated system – BIPV-DSF. It has been proved that numerical simulation modelling is much more cost-effective and less time consuming than experimental study, especially for those inaccessibly experimental conditions in real life [4] In this context, the proposed chapter presents a comprehensive method of numerical simulation modelling of the novel BIPV-DSF system in buildings. The proposed numerical BIPV-DSF model can be used to investigate the advantages of double-skin façades and building-integrated photovoltaic technology in terms of thermal and electrical performances of the entire BIPV-DSF integrated onto buildings, which are related to indoor thermal condition and energy consumption of buildings
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