Adaptive Dynamic Building Envelopes with Solar Power Components: Annual Performance Assessment for Two Pilot Sites

Abstract

Energy consumption reduction and thermal quality improvement constitute two major aspects of building design and/or retrofitting. Following the current energy transition trends, a state-of-the-art solution is the implementation of Adaptive Dynamic Building Envelopes (ADBEs), which are capable of integrating different technologies and components. The purpose of this investigation is to assess the annual performance improvement of two actual building spaces retrofitted with ADBEs, consisting of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPVs), additional thermal insulation, mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, and solar air heaters (SAHs). Both buildings are pilot sites for the EU Horizon 2020 Plug-n-Harvest project and are located in two rather different climate zones, i.e., Cardiff, Wales, and Grevena, Greece. Moreover, through detailed dynamic modeling with the use of Modelica language, this study attempts to accurately capture all interactions between buildings and all the aforementioned ADBE components. The simulations compared the energy performance and indoor temperature levels in each space before and after the installation of the ADBEs. The results showed that the harvesting of renewable energy through the ADBE system could potentially contribute 60% and 21.8% to the annual electricity and heating load of the space in Cardiff, respectively, and 43.5% to the annual electricity load of the building space in Grevena.