Industrialization and Thermal Performance of a New Unitized Water Flow Glazing Facade

Belen Moreno Santamaria, Fernando del Ama Gonzalo, Danielle Pinette, Benito Lauret Aguirregabiria and Juan A. Hernandez Ramos
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Belen Moreno Santamaria: Department of Construction and Architectural Technology, Technical School of Architecture of Madrid, Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Av. Juan de Herrera 4, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Fernando del Ama Gonzalo: Department of Sustainable Product Design and Architecture, Keene State College, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435, USA
Danielle Pinette: Department of Sustainable Product Design and Architecture, Keene State College, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435, USA
Benito Lauret Aguirregabiria: Department of Construction and Architectural Technology, Technical School of Architecture of Madrid, Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Av. Juan de Herrera 4, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Juan A. Hernandez Ramos: Department of Applied Mathematics, School of Aeronautical and Space Engineering, Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Plaza Cardenal Cisneros 3, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-22

Abstract: New light envelopes for buildings need a holistic vision based on the integration of architectural design, building simulation, energy management, and the curtain wall industry. Water flow glazing (WFG)-unitized facades work as transparent and translucent facades with new features, such as heat absorption and renewable energy production. The main objective of this paper was to assess the performance of a new WFG-unitized facade as a high-performance envelope with dynamic thermal properties. Outdoor temperature, variable mass flow rate, and solar radiation were considered as transient boundary conditions at the simulation stage. The thermal performance of different WFGs was carried out using simulation tools and real data. The test facility included temperature sensors and pyranometers to validate simulation results. The dynamic thermal transmittance ranged from 1 W/m 2 K when the mass flow rate is stopped to 0.06 W/m 2 K when the mass flow rate is above 2 L/min m 2 . Selecting the right glazing in each orientation had an impact on energy savings, renewable energy production, and CO 2 emissions. Energy savings ranged from 5.43 to 6.46 KWh/m 2 day in non-renewable energy consumption, whereas the renewable primary energy production ranged from 3 to 3.42 KWh/m 2 day. The CO 2 emissions were reduced at a rate of 1 Kg/m 2 day. The disadvantages of WFG are the high up-front cost and more demanding assembly process.

Keywords: building energy management; water flow glazing; unitized facade (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:18:p:7564-:d:413279

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