Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FaceINQ (Innovative dynamic Façade systems for INdoor environmental Quality)
Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-03-31
Buildings are the single largest energy consumer in Europe, responsible for more than 40% of our energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, addressing the challenges of climate change requires innovative approaches to building design and operation that reduce energy consumption. Furthermore, people spend most of their lives in buildings, where the quality of indoor environments, e.g. indoor air and thermal comfort, is vital. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown some of the health risks associated with poor ventilation and demonstrated that improving indoor air quality requires urgent attention and next-generation thinking. However, with energy efficiency being a priority when designing new and retrofitting old buildings, there is a challenge to balance good energy performance with ensuring indoor environment does not impair the health, comfort, wellbeing and productivity of building occupants.
FaceINQ is an exciting project that addresses the need for innovation in the design and operation of naturally ventilated buildings with complex glass façade systems, which are now a common feature in large-scale non-residential buildings. FaceINQ’s innovative approach utilises advanced computational models validated with measured data and qualitative feedback from building occupants to consider not only the building energy consumption, but also the impact of such façades on the indoor environment and building occupants, and also the occupants’ perception of indoor environment and façade operation. Through an interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach (i) combining architecture, engineering, building physics, health and social science, (ii) utilising a ‘living laboratory’ to collect extensive data, and (iii) enabling non-academic short visits and a placement to enhance the transfer of knowledge between industry and academia; this research provides new insights into the design, assessment and operation of naturally ventilated buildings. The results will enable society meet urgent challenge of providing climate-friendly buildings that are healthy, comfortable and productive places for people.
FaceINQ is an exciting project that addresses the need for innovation in the design and operation of naturally ventilated buildings with complex glass façade systems, which are now a common feature in large-scale non-residential buildings. FaceINQ’s innovative approach utilises advanced computational models validated with measured data and qualitative feedback from building occupants to consider not only the building energy consumption, but also the impact of such façades on the indoor environment and building occupants, and also the occupants’ perception of indoor environment and façade operation. Through an interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach (i) combining architecture, engineering, building physics, health and social science, (ii) utilising a ‘living laboratory’ to collect extensive data, and (iii) enabling non-academic short visits and a placement to enhance the transfer of knowledge between industry and academia; this research provides new insights into the design, assessment and operation of naturally ventilated buildings. The results will enable society meet urgent challenge of providing climate-friendly buildings that are healthy, comfortable and productive places for people.
The main technical and scientific activities carried out as part of this research included:
(i) A detailed measurement campaign in a ‘living laboratory’ operating office building with a naturally ventilated dynamic glass façade system. This was to investigate the effect of such an openable glass façade system on indoor thermal and air quality parameters and the occupants’ perceived thermal comfort and air quality. The measurement campaign included quantitative data gathering through the physical measurements of air temperature and velocity, relative humidity and CO2 concentration (as a proxy for air quality). Qualitative data, on occupants’ health, wellbeing and their perception of the indoor environment, was gathered through specifically designed occupant surveys deployed over the monitoring period. Finally, the physical measurements were used to provide input parameters and validation data for further investigation of indoor environmental conditions using computational simulation.
(ii) A development of computational models, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and building energy simulation, to further investigate the indoor thermal conditions and air quality in a naturally ventilated building. At the room level, the impact of natural ventilation and solar radiation through the façade on the comfort of occupants was investigated. Indoor comfort parameters, such as air temperature and velocity, were analysed to check potential sources of discomfort of the occupants, e.g. draught risk, local heat or cold on body parts. Furthermore, at the building level, the impact of different natural ventilation and façade shading strategies on energy performance of the building was also investigated.
(i) A detailed measurement campaign in a ‘living laboratory’ operating office building with a naturally ventilated dynamic glass façade system. This was to investigate the effect of such an openable glass façade system on indoor thermal and air quality parameters and the occupants’ perceived thermal comfort and air quality. The measurement campaign included quantitative data gathering through the physical measurements of air temperature and velocity, relative humidity and CO2 concentration (as a proxy for air quality). Qualitative data, on occupants’ health, wellbeing and their perception of the indoor environment, was gathered through specifically designed occupant surveys deployed over the monitoring period. Finally, the physical measurements were used to provide input parameters and validation data for further investigation of indoor environmental conditions using computational simulation.
(ii) A development of computational models, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and building energy simulation, to further investigate the indoor thermal conditions and air quality in a naturally ventilated building. At the room level, the impact of natural ventilation and solar radiation through the façade on the comfort of occupants was investigated. Indoor comfort parameters, such as air temperature and velocity, were analysed to check potential sources of discomfort of the occupants, e.g. draught risk, local heat or cold on body parts. Furthermore, at the building level, the impact of different natural ventilation and façade shading strategies on energy performance of the building was also investigated.
This project utilised both quantitative (i.e. computational simulations validated with on-site measurements) and qualitative (i.e. building occupant feedback) data to (i) investigate the airflow and heat transfer through a façade system, (ii) understand whether the effect of the active window on the quality of indoor environment is acknowledged by the building occupants, specifically thermal comfort and air quality. Furthermore, the outcomes of this work determined the energy savings potential with respect to the façade operation (i.e. utilising natural ventilation and solar shading strategies). This research approach stressed the importance of comfort and wellbeing of occupants in building design and operation, to minimise building related conditions and impact on productivity. Utilising a ‘living laboratory’ building, to collect extensive data and test different operational scenarios, provided new insights into the assessment of the operation of naturally ventilated buildings.
The core objective of the research was to learn the potential of new operational strategies and designs for an innovative building façade system that ensure the quality of indoor environment appropriate to users, limit building related health risks and reduce energy consumption. To address the core objective, the research used an interdisciplinary approach to address four specific research objectives (RO):
RO1: Analyse and simulate airflow and heat transfer through a demonstration dynamic glass façade and their impact on the indoor environment.
RO2: Investigate the impact of window opening on indoor climate.
RO3: Evaluate the perceived building related comfort and wellbeing effects of manipulating indoor air dynamics.
RO4: Provide new insights into the assessment of the operation of naturally ventilated buildings.
By utilising computational simulations (computational fluid dynamics and building energy simulation) validated with measurements from an operating ‘living laboratory’ building, and integrating qualitative user-feedback studies, the project produced a holistic analysis of the impact of the operation of a naturally ventilated dynamic glass façade on indoor thermal comfort and air quality, comfort and wellbeing of building users, as well as building energy consumption. This provided new insights on how building occupants interact with a façade system and how they perceive natural ventilation in a work environment (as opposed to mechanical ventilation). The research also demonstrated new approaches to testing different operational scenarios (in terms of natural ventilation and solar shading) and their impact on building energy consumption. This work will be further developed into guidelines for design and operation of naturally ventilated façades, which consider the occupants’ comfort, wellbeing, preference and behaviour as pertinent as the building’s energy performance.
The core objective of the research was to learn the potential of new operational strategies and designs for an innovative building façade system that ensure the quality of indoor environment appropriate to users, limit building related health risks and reduce energy consumption. To address the core objective, the research used an interdisciplinary approach to address four specific research objectives (RO):
RO1: Analyse and simulate airflow and heat transfer through a demonstration dynamic glass façade and their impact on the indoor environment.
RO2: Investigate the impact of window opening on indoor climate.
RO3: Evaluate the perceived building related comfort and wellbeing effects of manipulating indoor air dynamics.
RO4: Provide new insights into the assessment of the operation of naturally ventilated buildings.
By utilising computational simulations (computational fluid dynamics and building energy simulation) validated with measurements from an operating ‘living laboratory’ building, and integrating qualitative user-feedback studies, the project produced a holistic analysis of the impact of the operation of a naturally ventilated dynamic glass façade on indoor thermal comfort and air quality, comfort and wellbeing of building users, as well as building energy consumption. This provided new insights on how building occupants interact with a façade system and how they perceive natural ventilation in a work environment (as opposed to mechanical ventilation). The research also demonstrated new approaches to testing different operational scenarios (in terms of natural ventilation and solar shading) and their impact on building energy consumption. This work will be further developed into guidelines for design and operation of naturally ventilated façades, which consider the occupants’ comfort, wellbeing, preference and behaviour as pertinent as the building’s energy performance.