ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact of the double skin facades on the annual cooling energy consumption of buildings in a hot-humid climate. DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus software are utilized as simulation tools to study the airflow and the energy performance of different design scenarios of an office building with a double skin façade in the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The results are evaluated and compared to each other, as well as with conventional curtain wall façade systems which are used as a benchmark for the simulation. Results show variations in the energy performance amongst the investigated double skin facades types according to the construction characteristics and the width of the air cavity. In general, with a naturally ventilated air cavity, the double-skin façade system shows a potential reduction in the annual cooling energy consumption of 22% compared to the benchmark. Incorporating mechanical ventilation to the air cavity can potentially reduce the building’s annual cooling energy consumption by 32%.

摘要

本研究调查了双层外墙对湿热气候下建筑物年制冷能耗的影响。DesignBuilder 和 EnergyPlus 软件被用作模拟工具来研究位于阿拉伯联合酋长国迪拜市的双层外墙办公楼的不同设计场景的气流和能源性能。对结果进行评估并相互比较，并与用作模拟基准的传统幕墙外墙系统进行比较。结果表明，根据建筑特征和气腔宽度，所研究的双层外墙类型之间的能源性能存在差异。一般来说，具有自然通风的气腔，与基准相比，双层幕墙系统显示出每年冷却能耗降低 22% 的潜力。在空气腔中加入机械通风可以潜在地将建筑物的年冷却能耗降低 32%。