A Review on Interaction of Innovative Building Envelope Technologies and Solar Energy Gain

Daylightophil concept towards architectural design plays a crucial role in building thermal comfort, as a way to high-performance architecture in which multi-objective optimization technics adopted to enhance interaction of building envelope and level of energy efficiency. Performance-based design is to control heat transfer from inside to outside, solar heat load from outside to inside, better efficiently in solar energy, maximum usage of sunlight, innovative building envelope for green biotecture, support inside of the building from glare etc. This paper presents a comprehensive review of Innovative Building Envelope Technologies, which interact with solar energy. Different types of such building envelope technologies, which are explored, are: building window shading, energy frame, vertical garden, solar façade (BIPV, BIPV/T, BIST), adaptive solar façade, building integrated intelligent materials, double skin façade, climate adaptive building shell, micro-algae façade system. Then the mentioned technologies are evaluated according to solar energy gain efficiency and architectural adaptability factors by a group of experts. The results of the research show that in terms of architectural adaptability vertical gardens along with algae bioreactor façade systems and in terms of energy efficiency, algae bioreactor façade, solar facades (BIPV/T) and Climate adaptive building shells (CABS) acquire the highest score. The overall evaluation results demonstrate that CABS as well as vertical garden, solar façade (BIPV/T type), Adaptive solar Envelope (ASE) group stand at the second and the third levels, respectively and algae bioreactor façade devotes the highest average score to itself. The results emphasized on the role emerging technologies such as algae bioreactors and other green developments on future building envelopes.