PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF AN INDUSTRIALIZED AND MODULAR FAÇADE INCORPORATING RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES IN AN INTEGRATED CONCEPT

Current building renovation trends are strongly governed by an energy-efficiency scope although closely linked to comfort, sustainability, accessibility, functionality, or aesthetics. This strategy directly implies upgrading and improving different building components (envelope, insulation, windows…) and services (HVAC, lighting, renewables…). However, there is no universal solution that is usable for all the different and complex renovation cases. The research presented herein is focused on an innovative industrialized façade for retrofitting residential buildings. The solution is an aluminium modular façade concept, with a high industrialization level that, thanks to its flexibility and versatility, can be configured for different and varied renovation scenarios. Moreover, it also allows to integrate a variety of renewable solar energy technologies (photovoltaic, thermal and hybrid) in the same component. In this paper the procedure to evaluate this multifunctional façade is described, providing the objectives and target values that the new solution needs to accomplish, as well as the methods to assess them. Based on the results achieved from different simulations, design verifications and, fullscale laboratory tests, the system’s design will be validated. The double scope of a building component and an energy generating device defines the differentiative approach adopted compared with regular analysis employed for conventional construction products. The main conclusions ofthe research presented are the demonstration of usefulness of the evaluation procedure developed, together with its practical application to a product development process where the successful incorporation of solar capturing technologies into a façade system is validated.