Energy Consumption Research Of Double Skin Facade With Presence Of Solar Radiation

Double skin facade (DSF) is used increasingly in our country, due to its advantages in energy efficiency and sound insulation compared with single skin facade. However, the energy consumption of DSF is difficult to calculate accurately because of complicated heat transfer processes involved in the DSF. So far, hardly any studies focused directly on the room heat gain of a DSF. Yet, the room heat gain is directly linked to the energy performance.This paper mainly studies the energy performance of DSF with presence of solar radiation by means of innovative experimental method, in which the heat flow into the room through the DSF is measured directly. Based on experimental data, A formula specifically to the DSF as a function of the solar radiation and the temperature difference between the inside and outside is summarized. The room heat gain through the DSF under different conditions can be easily calculated. The coefficients of the solar radiation and the temperature difference have clear physical meanings, which can be treated as the effective solar heat gain coefficient and the effective heat transfer coefficient. This formula can be applied to calculate the energy consumption of DSF in practice.The linear equation presented in this paper is only for a specific DSF. Considering the huge cost of time and labor in experiment, the paper use the experimental data to verify a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model developed in this study to predict the heat flow. A commercial software FLUENT12.0is used to simulate the heat flow in the DSF. There is a good match between the model prediction and the experimental data, indicating that the CFD model can be used to obtain a similar formula for different DSF configuration and material composition.In addition, a sunshade cloth is used in the cavity of double skin facade to evaluate the energy saving effect of shading devices. Finally, the paper summarizes the main achievements and discusses problems existing in the research and future recommendations.