Energy Performance Evaluation of a Ventilated Façade System through CFD Modeling and Comparison with International Standards

Sofia Pastori, Riccardo Mereu, Enrico Sergio Mazzucchelli, Stefano Passoni and Giovanni Dotelli
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Sofia Pastori: Department of Architecture, Built environment and Construction engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Riccardo Mereu: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy
Enrico Sergio Mazzucchelli: Department of Architecture, Built environment and Construction engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Stefano Passoni: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy
Giovanni Dotelli: Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: Ventilated façades can help to reduce summer building thermal loads and, therefore, energy consumption due to air-conditioning systems thanks to the combined effect of the solar radiation reflection and the natural or forced ventilation into the cavity. The evaluation of ventilated façades behavior and performance is complex and requires a complete thermo-fluid dynamic analysis. In this study, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) methodology has been developed for the complete assessment of the energy performance of a prefabricated timber–concrete composite ventilated façade module in different operating conditions. Global numerical results are presented as well as local ones in terms of heat flux, air velocity, and temperature inside the façade cavity. The results show the dependency of envelope efficiency on solar radiation, the benefits that natural convection brings on potential energy savings and the importance of designing an optimized façade geometry. The results concerning the façade behavior have been thoroughly compared with International Standards, showing the good accuracy of the model with respect to these well-known procedures. This comparison allowed also to highlight the International Standards procedures limits in evaluating the ventilated façade behavior with the necessary level of detail, with the risk of leading to design faults.

Keywords: CFD; ventilated façade; energy efficiency; natural ventilation; forced ventilation; timber construction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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