A New Double Skin Façade with Integrated Movable Shading Systems: Numerical Analysis and Evaluation of Energy Performance

Energy performance of a new glass double skin façade equipped with an integrated movable shading system is presented. A spectrophotometric campaign on transparent and opaque materials has been conducted to evaluate transmittance, reflection and absorption of each element constituting the double skin façade. The solar radiation path with its multiple reflections at the different interfaces has been taken into account, employing a ray tracing method, integrated in the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) code. The simulation shows that the winter configuration of the proposed façade enhances the solar heat gain thanks to the heating of the air inside the gap; in the hot season the system is able to block significantly solar radiation, thus reducing summer cooling demand. An energy analysis of a residential building equipped with the proposed façade is reported, showing good performance both in winter and in summertime, especially if compared to the thermal behaviour of common transparent façades.