Comparisons of Thermal Performance and Energy Consumption of Facades Used in Commercial Buildings

Concerns over the growth of emissions and global warming in the developed world have been rising steadily over the past few years. Buildings hold the key to obtain and maintain long term energy savings and sustainability, as the building sector accounts for a significant percentage of the energy usage today.

It is important to assess energetic performance of buildings in order to provide owners and specifiers economic data allowing the choice of an appropriate renovation program for an existing building or provide a comparison for systems selection for new constructions. Choosing energy efficient fenestration systems can play an important role in minimizing energy costs (heating and lighting) for the building.

This study investigates the energy consumption of commercial buildings with varying climatic conditions and materials. Fenestration systems evaluated are mechanically fixed glazed curtainwall systems compared to Silicone Structural Glazed system. Simulations are performed using Therm and Window software from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories and EFEN software from Carli Inc.

Results show that low U values in combination with low air infiltration rates provide the lowest energy consumption resulting in best performance.