Evaluation of the Thermal Performance of Two Passive Facade System Solutions for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Sustainable development is essential for the future of the planet. Using passive elements, like ventilated facades based on insulation and air chambers, or living walls, which are solutions based on nature, is a powerful strategy for cities to improve their thermal environment, reduce energy consumption, and mitigate the effects of climate change. This approach allows for the quantification of the influence of passive surfaces on energy fluxes compared to bare surfaces. In addition, it delves into understanding how the incorporation of vegetation on building facades alters surface energy fluxes, involving a combination of physical and biochemical processes. This comprehensive investigation seeks to harness the potential of passive and natural solutions to address the pressing challenges of urban sustainability and climate resilience. This research uses a surface energy balance model to analyze the thermal performance of two facades using experimental data from a PASLINK test cell. This study uses the grey box RC model, which links continuous-time ordinary differential equations with discrete measurement data points. This model provides insight into the complex interplay among factors that influence the thermal behavior of building facades, with the goal of comprehensively understanding how ventilated and green facades affect the dynamics of energy flow compared to conventional facades. The initial thermal resistance of the bare facade was 0.75 (°C m2)/W. The introduction of a ventilated facade significantly increased this thermal resistance to 2.47 (°C m2)/W due to the insulating capacity of the air chamber and its insulating layer (1.70 (°C m2)/W). Regarding the modular living wall, it obtained a thermal resistance value of 1.22 (°C m2)/W (this vegetated facade does not have an insulating layer). In this context, the modular living wall proved to be effective in reducing convective energy by 68% compared with the non-green facade. It is crucial to highlight that evapotranspiration was the primary mechanism for energy dissipation in the green facade. The experiments conclusively show that both the modular living wall and open-ventilated facade significantly reduce solar heat loads compared with non-passive bare wall facades, demonstrating their effectiveness in enhancing thermal performance and minimizing heat absorption.