Verification of the Energy Attributes of a Biochromic Facade through Real-time Measurements

Abstract

Microalgae facades can significantly impact a building's energy consumption and carbon neutrality. This particular facade achieves this effect through various mechanisms, including dynamic shading efficacy, winter solar gain, dynamic visual light transmission, carbon sequestration through photosynthesis, and the transfer of produced oxygen to indoor space. While numerous smart facades have been introduced in the contemporary era, the imperative to attain zero-carbon buildings has intensified the quest for nature based, sustainable solutions characterized by minimal carbon production and real time carbon sink throughout their life cycles. This paper aims to assess the potential for reducing building energy consumption by examining the influence of microalgae facades on Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) and Visual Light Transmission (VLT).

The research employs a combination of experimental and simulation approaches to facilitate comprehensive result comparisons. Microalgae façade samples were prepared at four distinct cell densities (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) to examine the density's impact on SHGC and VLT. Furthermore, the study undertakes a comparative analysis of energy consumption of a reference building and a microalgae building across diverse climates. This comparison is conducted using conventional glazing according to ASHRAE 90.1 and microalgae facades with varying cell densities, contributing to a nuanced understanding of their respective energy efficiency implications. The results indicate that cell density and thickness of microalgae facades can play a key role in SHGC and VLT. Therefore, microalgae can act as a façade with dynamic U-value and VLT depending on different climate zones. The results indicate that almost in all climates integrating microalgae façade can reduce the energy consumption by 4% to 12%.