A sensitivity analysis of design parameters of BIPV/T-DSF in relation to building energy and thermal comfort performances. (September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Siliang; Fiorito, Francesco; Prasad, Deo; Sproul, Alistair; Cannavale, Alessandro
• Is Part Of: Journal of building engineering. Volume 41(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Subjects: Sensitivity analysis -- Building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal system -- Double-skin façade -- Indoor thermal comfort -- Energy consumption -- TRNSYS simulation; Building -- Periodicals; 690.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102426
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-7102

Abstract

Abstract: In recent years, Building-Integrated Photovoltaic/Thermal Double-Skin Façade (BIPV/T-DSF) shows great potentials on improving indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency for buildings. Previous studies assessed both indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency of a BIPV/T-DSF building through the use of the photovoltaic devices and ventilation types of the BIPV/T-DSF, however, which did not evaluate the effect of other dominant design parameters on the BIPV/T-DSF's performance. This paper presents a simulation study of sensitivity analysis on the correlations between indoor thermal comfort and energy consumption and various design parameters of the BIPV/T-DSF operating in different configurations and climatic conditions. The results showed that solar heat gain coefficient of the BIPV/T-DSF's external window possessed the highest importance affecting indoor thermal comfort and energy consumption, while thermal transmittance of both the internal and external windows and cavity depth of the BIPV/T-DSF showed also the notable importance to the building performances. Highlights: Sensitivity analysis for building-integrated photovoltaic double-skin facades through numerical simulation. Correlations between building performance and various parameters of the façades were studied. The building performance included indoor thermal comfort and energy consumption. The windows' thermal transmittance and solar heat gain coefficient showed the highest importance for the facades. The identified most important parameters are refined to determine the optimal design solution of the facades.