Improves Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy Performance, and Storm Protection Using Dynamically Adaptable Modules
This dynamically adaptable building envelope system uses dynamically adaptable building façade modules with ornamental design, achieving improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ), energy performance, and increased resilience to damaging weather events. The impact of building fenestrations—the arrangement of windows and doors on the elevations of a building—on energy performance and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of a building is well known. Acting as an “exchange agent” between indoor and outdoor environments, building fenestrations are responsible for many thermal interactions taking place between a built structure and the natural environment. Prominent interactions between a building and the external environment render the building envelope as the crucial element regarding resilience and energy conservation.
Building envelope systems have a significant impact on buildings’ energy performance and indoor environmental conditions, such as daylight admission, shading, and glare. Therefore, engineers and researchers are developing solutions to further advance building envelope technologies to enhance indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and save energy. However, the latest developments in the field address multiple IEQ improvement objectives using multiple facade technologies, resulting in high installation costs and frequent maintenance costs. A solution combining multiple functionalities into a single, integrative, economically conscious, and dynamically adaptive system is necessary to reduce the need for separate installations and minimize ongoing maintenance efforts.
Researchers at the University of Florida developed an environmentally conscious, dynamically adaptive building envelope technology (EDBE) with accompanying ornamental design to provide multiple functionalities through a single integrative system. This system simultaneously achieves improved IEQ, energy conservation, energy generation, and resilience to damaging weather events, while optimizing energy consumption and indoor environment parameters in real time.
Application
Eco-dynamic building envelope system achieves improved IEQ, energy performance, and increased resilience to damaging weather events
Advantages
- Combines multiple functionalities into a single, integrative building envelope system, reducing the need for separate installations and minimizing ongoing maintenance efforts
- Utilizes a control system responsive to real-time environmental sensor measurements in and outside the building, achieving optimized energy consumption and indoor environment parameters
- Features sensor-responsive motors to mechanically reshape modules’ geometric patterns based on indoor space requirements, offering three main configurations and continuous transitions to any partial state in between
- Includes strategically placed, adaptable modules and shading mechanisms to maximize natural light penetration into the building interior, control direct sunlight, and reduce glare, improving occupant comfort and indoor environmental quality
- Enables modules to function as storm shutters during extreme weather events, enhancing storm protection and reducing sound intensity
- Integrates photovoltaic (PV) solar cells on modules, facilitating on-site renewable energy generation and making the system energy neutral
Technology
This environmentally conscious and dynamically adaptive building envelope system (EDBE) achieves improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ), energy performance, and increased resilience to damaging weather events using dynamically adaptable building facade modules. Climatical parameters at the building’s location determine the selection of dynamically adaptable modules installed on the building facade. After the installation, the control system measures environmental conditions using sensors inside and outside the building. To optimize IEQ and energy performance, the sensor inputs activate the system’s motor, inducing the modules’ mechanical self-rotation to three main configurations or any partial configuration in between. Additionally, the modules feature PV solar cells, which generate and supply energy to the system for daylight operations. The system’s storage battery stores any excess energy generated for nighttime operations. This dynamically adaptable building envelope system also facilitates storm protection. In its closed rotated configuration, the modules act as storm shutters, protecting the windows during natural hazards. The storage battery allows for the system’s operation in the event of a power failure during disaster recovery periods.
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