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Optimisation of the double skin facade in hot and humid climates through altering the design parameter combinations

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Abstract

Architects welcome double skin facade (DSF) due to its aesthetic quality. The first DSF structure was intended to prevent cold weather and strong winds. Nowadays, the application of DSF under different climates has been investigated in many previous studies. However, little work had been done on the behaviour of DSF in hot and humid climates. Therefore, this paper aimed to extend the application into this specific climate and Guangzhou was selected as the sample city. Both the climate and the design influence the performance of DSF. In this paper, rather than explore how each design parameter influences the performance, the design was evaluated from an overall aspect. The Designbuilder software was used to build the single skin facade (SSF) and double skin facade base model. Annual HVAC energy consumption for both the two models was calculated and compared. An optimisation process was conducted to figure out what kinds of parameter combination could make the design more energy-saving and thermally comfortable. The results indicated that it was possible to design an energy-saving DSF system applied in hot and humid climates compared with the SSF model. The efficiency of the DSF could be further enhanced with a better parameter combination. The optimised options had some features in common, which could provide some inspirations for the application of DSF in hot and humid climates.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Anhui Province (No. S202004a07020029).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Building Environment and Equipment, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Meng Wang, Zhongting Hu & Wei He

  2. College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China

    Jingxin Hou

  3. Qinghai College of Architectural Technology, Xining, 810012, China

    Hancheng Yu

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  1. Meng Wang
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  2. Jingxin Hou
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  3. Zhongting Hu
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  4. Wei He
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  5. Hancheng Yu
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Correspondence to Wei He.

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Wang, M., Hou, J., Hu, Z. et al. Optimisation of the double skin facade in hot and humid climates through altering the design parameter combinations. Build. Simul. 14, 511–521 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-020-0682-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-020-0682-6

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