The reduction of energy consumption is a major issue nowadays that should be considered during the design process. High-rise buildings represent a building type with significantly high energy consumption. They serve typically as offices with fully glazed façades, generating considerable energy demand. This study aims to optimize the envelope and the shading systems of a high-rise office building (Middle Europe). For this purpose, multiple façade variants were tested by assessing the thermal and visual comfort, as well as energy demand. The IDA ICE 4.8 building energy simulation program was used for thermal and lighting modeling and to carry out building physics calculations. Results revealed the best performing, optimized façade configuration in terms of comfort and energy efficiency.

The optimization of high-rise office buildings' envelope and the application of energy-efficient measures have become a priority nowadays. Therefore, this investigation aims to assess the role of the façade's geometry design factors, e.g., folded façade perforation, window orientation, and window-to-wall ratio on building comfort and energy performance. The energy simulations were performed using IDA ICE 4.8 thermal simulation program to evaluate the thermal and visual comfort and the energy consumption of various façade test models. The optimization resulted in a façade model with a great level of thermal and visual comfort as well as a total energy reduction of 14%, representing a good compromise solution in the trade-off between thermal and visual comfort as well as energy efficiency.

The design of the envelope in high-rise office buildings is a task of great importance as it can impact the entire building's energy performance. The study presented in this paper is an extension of a previous work reporting on the optimization of the façade and the shading systems of an east-west facing high-rise office building. This study aims to investigate the façade geometry design factors for other potential orientations, e.g., south, south-east, and south-west directions. The IDA ICE 4.8 complex dynamic building energy simulation program was used to assess thermal and lighting simulations. The optimization results revealed the best-performing façade configurations, appropriate for each orientation examined in terms of thermal comfort, visual comfort, and energy consumption.

Energy storage on grid level is still a critical issue. Inventions related to development and control of smart buildings, including integrated solar systems can be easily realized by smart control of building management including storage. At buildings, which have high heat capacitance the part of the stored heat can be used for grid stabilization. This means the grid can be balanced with well-set up heating/cooling strategy and well-scheduled timetable via intelligent control of buildings. A possible solution is introduced in this paper, where the surplus production is used for overcooling the building, while the building thermodynamic properties are making it possible to store this amount of energy for days. This paper analyses a cost-effective solution of grid energy storage through a case study.

The application of natural ventilation strategies in high-rise office buildings is considered one of the most promising trends to address high energy performance and enhance the indoor thermal comfort levels in interior office spaces. In this regard, this study attempts to assess the potential of natural ventilation strategies of a specific, previously investigated, envelope design of a high-rise office building located in a temperate climate zone. Different summer natural ventilation approaches were tested using the building energy simulation program IDA ICE 4.8, evaluating thermal comfort and energy demand. The findings indicated that considerable energy savings can be achieved, compared to conventional mechanical ventilation and air conditioning systems.