Advanced Building Envelope Systems for Improved Energy Performance of Multistory Buildings

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Multistory buildings can accommodate increased density, however, their capacity for capturing solar radiation for electricity and heat generation is restricted. This is due to the reduced roof and facade areas relative to the total floor area that is available for active collection of solar energy. These drawbacks are further constrained by existing solar technologies, which offer only limited shapes and dimensions of solar panels, hindering therefore their application in advanced architectural design. In multistory buildings, the trend of the potential of roofs to integrate solar technologies decreases with the height of the building, while the trend of facades potential increases, due to increased surface area. PV panels integrated in south facades usually generate about 40% less electricity per unit area than those in south-facing roof surfaces (with optimal tilt angle). However, manipulating facade geometry can increase the energy generation potential of these facades as compared to flat surfaces.There is a need therefore to develop strategies for building envelope design/curtain wall to increase their solar potential. This should be accompanied by development of modular PV and hybrid PV/thermal panels, for applications in non-conventional building envelopes. The long-term objective of this research program is to develop  guidelines for the design of mixed-use solar communities, combining energy efficiency with effective solar technologies. The short-term objective aims at enhancing the energy performance of multistory buildings through advanced design and modelling of the building envelope/curtain wall systems, combining optimized geometries, curtain wall technologies and solar energy collectors. The approach to be used in this research is to develop scenarios of building envelope combining different layers/films and solar technologies within various geometrical designs of curtain wall systems. Integrated energy simulations will be then conducted to analyze the effect of these configurations on heating, cooling and daylighting of selected apartment and office units. Performance of optimal envelope configurations will be analyzed in some neighborhood patterns.The work may be extended into experimental phase, which can result in producing prototypes for demonstration projects in collaboration with industry partners. This research is expected to have a significant impact across the academic, research and industrial sectors. It will move to fill gaps in the knowledge and understanding of the energy performance of mid and high-rise buildings and the effect of building envelope designs on their energy generating potential. Results of the research will open motivation and opportunities for the development of innovative building envelope designs, and BIPV/T technologies and products.This research program will involve up to 3 Master students and 2 PhD candidates.