Design Considerations for Double-Skin Facades in Hot and Humid Climates

Thermal building simulations (TRNSYS) were linked to nodal airflow network simulations (COMIS) for a ventilated double-skin facade performance calculation and overall energy consumption for office building facades. Simulation results show good agreement with measured data. Especially interesting was the attempt to reduce the high peak cooling loads during the summer period by controlling the exhaust airflow using a climate sensitive regulator. It is shown that up to 26% reduction of annual cooling load can be achieved. This results in significant energy conservation and a reduction in system cooling size