Energy Adaptive Glass Matter

Abstract

The critical aims of glass envelope design and development must be to enable measures upon glass buildings to prevent uncontrolled heating of the building surfaces, increase emissivity and the impacts of this heat conduction into the building interior spaces. Current glass envelopes depend upon hybrid facades, double skin glass facades; solar shading; passive solar energy systems (transparent insulation materials, solar glazing balconies) to reduce solar temperature gains upon this surface. The envelope performance is based upon measures in the reduction of heat conduction via the material that form its surface, to resolve the conflicts between services and fabric provisions (such as heating systems fighting cooling systems). New materials have been developed of increased performance to resolve this issue by product and component development. For example the integration of solar active elements within the glass panels. However glass building envelopes constructed in hot locations (where temperature are over 40 degrees) have the poorest lighting levels, as the needs to control thermal conduction and high energy consumption needs, to cool the building. These buildings are dependent upon artificial lighting and the reliance of HVAC systems.

Natures Buildings as Trees: Biologically Inspired Glass as an Energy System

“…Fluidics within vascular networks, capillary channels, are the methods employed by nature to regulate and control materials in response to solar irradiance. This absorptivity control will enable energy generation as a cyclic energy system [19] [20], is real time thermal management of material temperature regulation. The management of this energy flow would need to be supported by a decision support monitoring, to act and respond to fluctuations in material temperature.…”

Bio-inspired Adaptive Building Skins

“…The researchers report a cooling effect of 7-9°C at a relatively low flow rate, and expect a significant energy-saving potential with full-scale facade integration of the new technology (Hatton et al 2013). A further iteration of this product aims at enhanced heat capacity, by enriching the fluid with phase change materials (PCM) in the form of nanoparticles (Alston 2014).…”