Natural cooling strategies efficiency in an office building with a double-skin facade

In these last years, a great deal of interest has been devoted to double-skin facades due to the advantages claimed by this technology (in terms of energy saving in the cold season, high-tech image, protection from external noise and wind loads). The advent of computers and other office equipment increased the internal heat gains in most offices. Highly glazed facade become very common. This, together with the extra heat gains from the electric lighting made necessary by deep floor plans, and the wider use of false ceilings, increased the risk overheating. To preserve comfort and reduce cooling loads, it is important to apply natural cooling strategies. This article examines the efficiency of the various strategies in an office building with and without a double-skin facade during a sunny summer day. It mainly studies the natural night ventilation possibility in related to the double skin orientation and the speed and orientation wind. In this matter, we choose to study a multistory double-skin facades behavior. Simulations were realized with TAS software on the building proposed in the frame of the subtask A of the Task 27 (Performance of solar facade components) of the International Energy Agency, Solar Heating and Cooling Program. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.