Energy performance of an adaptive façade system

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of an adaptive façade system on the energy performance of a hypothetical office building located in a cold climate. The design of a nine-story office building was selected from an advanced design studio taught by the authors, and used as a case study to carry out a whole building energy simulation. The energy simulation was run by a state-of-the-art simulation tool, DesignBuilder, using EnergyPlus weather data in Minneapolis, MN and Houston, TX. An adaptive façade system was developed, consisting of a typical curtainwall system and an operable shading system. The energy performance of the adaptive façade system was numerically verified using Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) software, and was used as input variables in DesignBuilder. The results of the analysis revealed the adaptive façade system consumes less heating energy compared to its static façade counterpart. The study addresses the importance of adaptive façade systems that contribute to aesthetics, technical innovation and building sustainability.