Definition and design of a prefabricated and modular façade system to incorporate solar harvesting technologies

The current research presents the design and development of a prefabricated modular façade solution for renovating residential buildings. The system is conceived as an industrialised solution that incorporates solar harvesting technologies, contributing to reducing energy consumption by employing a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Izaskun Alvarez-Alava, Peru Elguezabal, Nuria Jorge, Tatiana Armijos-Moya, Thaleia Konstantinou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Stichting OpenAccess 2023-12-01
Series:Journal of Facade Design and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jfde.eu/index.php/jfde/article/view/301
Description
Summary:The current research presents the design and development of a prefabricated modular façade solution for renovating residential buildings. The system is conceived as an industrialised solution that incorporates solar harvesting technologies, contributing to reducing energy consumption by employing an “active façade” concept. One of the main challenges was to achieve a highly flexible solution both in terms of geometry and enabling the incorporation of different solar-capturing devices (photovoltaic, thermal, and hybrid). Therefore, to be able to provide alternative customised configurations that can be fitted to various building renovation scenarios. Guided by the requirements and specifications, the design was defined after an iterative process, concluding with a final system design validated and adopted as viable for the intended purpose. A dimensional study for interconnecting all the technologies composing the system was carried out. Potential alternative configurations were assessed under the modularity and versatility perspective, resulting in a set of alternative combinations that better fit the established requirements. Complementarily, the system also integrates an active window solution a component that incorporates an autonomous energy recovery system through ventilation. The main outcome is explicated in a highly versatile modular façade system, which gives existing buildings the possibility to achieve Nearly Zero Energy Building requirements.
ISSN:2213-302X
2213-3038