Search results for "Building Envelope"
showing 10 items of 45 documents
Mechanical Tests on Innovative BIPV Façade Components for Energy, Seismic, and Aesthetic Renovation of High-Rise Buildings
2018
The paper shows the results of mechanical tests carried out on prototypes of a new Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) component developed by the author and SBskin Smart Building Skin s.r.l. This patented innovative component is able to merge structural function, insulation proprieties, and production of clean energy for retrofit actions and/or the construction of translucent faç
Performance Analyses of Innovative Glassblocks for BIPV
2014
The paper illustrates the results of the performance analyses conducted on an innovative glassblock integrated with 3rd generation dye-sensitized solar cells, designed for enabling the construction of translucent and sustainable building envelopes. The analyses encompass the simulation of both thermal and optical performance referring to different configurations of the PV-integrated glassblock, showing the results obtained by using two different software tools: Comsol Multiphysics and WINDOW. The configurations may differ, for example, because of the position of the module inside the glassblock, the type of dye-sensitized solar module used (composition, transparency, design), and glassblock…
Integrazione di celle solari di terza generazione nel vetromattone per la realizzazione di involucri edilizi traslucidi fotovoltaici
2013
L’integrazione di celle solari di terza generazione - Dye-sensitised Solar Cells (DSSC) - nel vetromattone consente di ottenere un prodotto edilizio in grado di generare energia pulita, personalizzabile in termini di colore, livelli di trasparenza e fi niture, adatto alla realizzazione di componenti edilizi fotovoltaici, traslucidi e multifunzionali, facilmente integrabili nelle chiusure degli edifi ci per la costruzione di involucri edilizi energeticamente effi cienti ed attivi anche in contesti climatici avversi, quali possono essere quelli del Mediterraneo e delle aree subtropicali. L’articolo illustra 4 differenti ipotesi di integrazione delle DSSC nel vetromattone fornendo, per ciascun…
Evaluation and application of Opuntia ficus-indica insulation panel
2015
Today the attention to the building sustainability issue is increasingly important, because of the major responsibility of the buildings field in the environmental degradation: both in terms of energy consumption from non-renewable sources and the raw materials impoverishment. In addition, the level of comfort required by users are growing and the thermal insulation of buildings becomes the key element in the reduction of energy consumption and C02 emissions, both in the case of new construction and existing ones. The thermal insulation of buildings is the key element in the reduction of energy consumption and C02 emissions due to the cooling of building interiors, both in the case of new c…
Pre-stressed translucent panels made of innovative 3D glass components DSC-integrated, for safety and active building façades
2018
The widespread use of glazed envelopes, especially in high-rise buildings, is pushing building designers and researchers to the development of novel solutions for the improvement of their performance. At the University of Palermo, SBskin. Smart Building Skin s.r.l. (an innovative start up and academic spin off) is prototyping precast, pre- stressed and dry-assembled panels made of 3D glass subcomponents, able to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, to produce clean energy and to maintain high level of mechanical resistance against horizontal forces due to winds and earthquakes. The integration of glass subcomponents with third-generation PV technologies -Dye- Sensitized Solar Cells (…
A methodology for evaluating the flexibility potential of domestic air-conditioning systems
2020
The paper presents a methodology for quantifying the electrical flexibility potential of air-conditioning systems (ACS) installed in residential buildings according to the building envelope characteristics and the ACS performance. In order to provide a thorough analysis of the issue, the ACS baseline consumption referred to the indoor temperature of 24°C has been computed for three typical residential buildings built in the South of Italy over different periods. The baseline consumption was used as a reference to estimate the effect of the set point temperature change on the ACS power profile. The results showed that increasing the set-point temperature of ACS by 2°C and 4°C leads to a redu…
Rain on building façades
2006
Rain is one of the main causes of moisture damage to the building envelope, leading to problems such as rain penetration, frost and salt damage, discoloration by leaching, soiling by differential washing, etc. The potential of deterioration due to rain depends on the façade material, the junction of building envelope components, the overall geometry of the building, but also the presence or absence of modulation on the façade. In this paper, Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are used to analyze these effects and illustrated with examples taken in Sicily. It is firstly shown that buildings protect themselves from driving rain due to the wind blocking effect, but that façade open…
Integration of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Glassblock
2012
The paper will show the first results of a research (included in a larger work about the Improvement of glassblocks performance in order to use them for the construction of sustainable translucent building envelops even in Mediterranean and Tropical Areas) aimed to the integration of glassblock with the DSC technology. Glassblock is a high-performance type of glass in the field of sustainable architectural claddings: the process of deposition of the cells on the single glassblock, their best position and the performance of this new kind of glassblock, DSC integrated, will be discussed in the paper in terms of transmittance, light transmission and aesthetical effects, together with the probl…
Retrofitting existing buildings by means of innovative envelope components: low-impacting new assemblies
2020
Current policies addressing the energy efficiency of buildings aimed at the control of their overall primary energy demand, require not only that the edifice envelope has to be properly designed to optimize its thermal performances, but also that the eco-friendly properties of the involved building materials have to be properly taken into account, in order of assessing all the associated environmental costs. In fact, the design of envelope structures that are able to realize proper levels of thermal insulation and, in the same time, to employ materials characterized by low environmental impacts, are believed as the most effective strategies to be adopted in the aim of addressing the above-m…
Innovative Photovoltaic Translucent Components for the Building Envelope
2014
International directives that regulates buildings energy efficiency and environmental sustainability establish strict parameters for the construction of a new generation of “Zero Energy Buildings” indicating transmittance limits for building envelope components and encouraging the use of renewable sources. In this sense, the PV sector aims at the definition of novel efficient solutions for the integration in the building envelope, standing out for their multifunctional features. After an overview on the main PV technologies and building integrated applications, focusing on semi-transparent envelope solutions, the paper shows the results of a research that is being carried out at the Departm…