Solar Cooling Integrated Façades: Key perceived enabling factors and prospects of future applications

Abstract

Solar cooling integrated façades (SCIFs) have the potential to reduce primary energy consumption for space cooling. Identifying key enabling factors in the context of technical and product (T&P), financial (F), as well as process and stakeholder (P&S) related aspects represent an important step providing relevant knowledge for implementing solutions supporting the widespread application. This study aims to identify main factors enabling the widespread integration of SCTs in façades from the point of view of various professionals. An interview guide was designed to tackle main aspects to be considered for supporting the widespread application. Different criteria were considered to select the interviewees during the data collection, such as participants who worked on the application or façade integration of solar/SCTs in buildings. The findings obtained from a total of 23 interviews revealed that the most frequently mentioned factors are product performance and efficiency, facilitating the delivery of product information to architects and clients, aesthetical acceptability, multidisciplinary teamwork, and ability to customize products. The factors were mapped in the context of façade design and construction processes to establish a matrix for implementing solutions in product development. Majority of the factors were linked to the design phase according interviewees’ perceptions. The results also indicated that newly built office buildings have been perceived to be one of the most relevant types of buildings to be considered for such technologies. The identified enabling factors and prospects of future applications of solar cooling integrated facades (SCIFs) contribute to expand the boundaries of knowledge in the field of building product development.