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Heat waves are expected to increase the use of air conditioning (AC), deriving in higher energy consumption. This research aims to determine whether thermal insulation is an effective retrofit strategy for tackling overheating. Four occupied dwellings in southern Spain were monitored: two houses built prior to any thermal criteria and two with current thermal standards. Thermal comfort is assessed considering adaptive models and user patterns for the operation of AC and natural ventilation. Results show that a high level of insulation combined with a proper use of night-time natural ventilation can increase thermal comfort hours under heat waves, lasting 2–5 times longer than in poorly-insulated houses and with up to 2 °C temperature difference at nights. Long-term effectiveness of insulation under extreme heat presents a better thermal performance, especially in intermediate floors. Yet, the activation of AC usually occurs with indoor temperatures of 27–31 °C, regardless of the envelope’s solution.

Adaptive Opaque Facades (AOF) is an innovative concept with potential to achieve low carbon energy buildings. However, so far AOF are not integrated in the construction industry. One remarkable issue that designers have when dealing with alternative low-carbon technologies, such as AOF, is the absence of previous built experiences and the lack of specialised technical knowledge. Design roadmaps can be convenient solutions to guide pioneer low carbon technology applications. This work presents a roadmap to assist the performance-based early-stage design process of Adaptive Opaque Facades. Previous research developed new approaches and tools to assist on the construction definition of AOF, so that their adaptive thermal performance was considered when specific design decisions needed to be made. The roadmap presented in this paper organises the implementation sequence of each methodological approach and tools in different design stages, which aims to provide a holistic design approach for AOF. The usability of the roadmap was validated in a workshop called “Performance-based Design and Assessment of Adaptive Facades” with master students representing the target group of this roadmap. Even though these students had never heard about AOF before, they could successfully design, define the early-stage characteristics of an AOF and quantify the thermal performance of their AOF designs. The roadmap was proven to be a useful support, which might make the implementation of AOF more approachable in the future., Building Product Innovation

Today's society needs to face challenging targets relating to environment and energy efficiency, and therefore the development of efficient façade systems is essential. Innovative concepts such as Adaptive Building Façades might play a role in the near future, as their dynamic behaviour could optimise the performance of a building. For their successful development, a balance between sophistication and benefit is necessary and the implementation of Smart and Multifunctional Materials in building envelopes could be the key, as they have the ability to repeatedly and reversibly change some of their functions, features, or behaviours over time in response to environmental conditions. However, these materials were predominantly developed for use in other fields, and there is a lack of specific technical information to evaluate their usefulness in façade engineering. The aim of this paper is to collect the critical information about promising responsive materials for use in the design of Adaptive Façades, in order to help designers and technicians in decision-making processes and to scope possible future applications in façades. Investigated materials were analysed from the Building Science standpoint; their weaknesses and threats in the built environment were highlighted, and their technical feasibility was examined through the study of their availability in the current market., Design of Constrution

Architectural Engineering +Technology