IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2023i1p288-d1309394.html

Climate-Adaptive Building Envelope Controls: Assessing the Impact on Building Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Sukjoon Oh

    (Department of Building Energy Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang-si 10223, Republic of Korea)

  • Gyeong-Seok Choi

    (Department of Building Energy Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang-si 10223, Republic of Korea)

  • Hyoungsub Kim

    (Department of Architecture, Inha University, 100, Inha-ro, Michuhol-gu, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

Pursuing innovations in sustainable architectural solutions, this study examines the impact of a climate-adaptive building envelope with dynamic photovoltaic integrated shading devices (PVSDs) on building performance. A major challenge in designing PVSDs is the lack of established guidelines for geometry and operations. We delve into the complexities and potential benefits of integrating dynamic PVSD designs into building performance simulations, particularly considering their time-varying geometric and operational aspects. This research assesses a range of similar PVSD design options with differing patterns, emphasizing their effects on solar energy potential, daylighting, and thermal efficiency. We conducted tests on south-oriented PVSDs (featuring two-axis rotation) in Houston, Texas, focusing on variables such as panel count (4 or 36), rotation angle range, and operational patterns (synchronized or individual). Regarding solar potential, the four-panel synchronized PVSD option outperformed static shading by 2.1 times. For daylighting and thermal performance, the 36-panel synchronized option with a wide rotation range and the four-panel individual option proved superior to other PVSD configurations, improving up to an average of 36% (sDA300/50%) and 1.5 °C, respectively. Our findings emphasize the critical role of integrating geometric design and operational patterns in PVSDs for enhanced system effectiveness and highlight PVSD design and application limitations. Our findings emphasize the critical role of integrating geometric design and operational patterns in PVSDs for enhanced system effectiveness. Furthermore, they shed light on the limitations in the PVSD design process and practical applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Sukjoon Oh & Gyeong-Seok Choi & Hyoungsub Kim, 2023. "Climate-Adaptive Building Envelope Controls: Assessing the Impact on Building Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:288-:d:1309394
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/1/288/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/1/288/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Skandalos, Nikolaos & Karamanis, Dimitris, 2021. "An optimization approach to photovoltaic building integration towards low energy buildings in different climate zones," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    2. Lee, Junghun & Kim, Seohoon & Kim, Jonghun & Song, Doosam & Jeong, Hakgeun, 2018. "Thermal performance evaluation of low-income buildings based on indoor temperature performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 425-436.
    3. Paolo Corti & Pierluigi Bonomo & Francesco Frontini, 2023. "Paper Review of External Integrated Systems as Photovoltaic Shading Devices," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-21, July.
    4. Jayathissa, P. & Luzzatto, M. & Schmidli, J. & Hofer, J. & Nagy, Z. & Schlueter, A., 2017. "Optimising building net energy demand with dynamic BIPV shading," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 726-735.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Skandalos, Nikolaos & Wang, Meng & Kapsalis, Vasileios & D'Agostino, Delia & Parker, Danny & Bhuvad, Sushant Suresh & Udayraj, & Peng, Jinqing & Karamanis, Dimitris, 2022. "Building PV integration according to regional climate conditions: BIPV regional adaptability extending Köppen-Geiger climate classification against urban and climate-related temperature increases," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    2. Shaohang Shi & Ning Zhu, 2023. "Challenges and Optimization of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) Windows: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-30, November.
    3. James Kamau & Baye Alioune Ndiogou & Nassif Rayess, 2025. "Simulation-Based Performance Evaluation of a Desiccant Indirect Evaporative Cooling System for Office Buildings in Hot–Humid East African Coastal Climates," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-28, August.
    4. Dehwah, Ammar H.A. & Krarti, Moncef, 2021. "Energy performance of integrated adaptive envelope systems for residential buildings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    5. Taveres-Cachat, Ellika & Lobaccaro, Gabriele & Goia, Francesco & Chaudhary, Gaurav, 2019. "A methodology to improve the performance of PV integrated shading devices using multi-objective optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 731-744.
    6. Liao, Chenxin & Miyata, Shohei & Qu, Ming & Akashi, Yasunori, 2025. "Year-round operational optimization of HVAC systems using hierarchical deep reinforcement learning for enhancing indoor air quality and reducing energy consumption," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 390(C).
    7. Zhang, Lei & Alizadeh, As'ad & Baghoolizadeh, Mohammadreza & Salahshour, Soheil & Ali, Elimam & Escorcia-Gutierrez, José, 2025. "Multi-objective optimization of vertical and horizontal solar shading in residential buildings to increase power output while reducing yearly electricity usage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    8. Piotr Michalak, 2023. "Simulation and Experimental Study on the Use of Ventilation Air for Space Heating of a Room in a Low-Energy Building," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-17, April.
    9. Federico Minelli & Diana D’Agostino & Maria Migliozzi & Francesco Minichiello & Pierpaolo D’Agostino, 2023. "PhloVer: A Modular and Integrated Tracking Photovoltaic Shading Device for Sustainable Large Urban Spaces—Preliminary Study and Prototyping," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-35, August.
    10. Piotr Michalak, 2022. "Thermal—Airflow Coupling in Hourly Energy Simulation of a Building with Natural Stack Ventilation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Sohani, Ali & Cornaro, Cristina & Shahverdian, Mohammad Hassan & Moser, David & Pierro, Marco & Olabi, Abdul Ghani & Karimi, Nader & Nižetić, Sandro & Li, Larry K.B. & Doranehgard, Mohammad Hossein, 2023. "Techno-economic evaluation of a hybrid photovoltaic system with hot/cold water storage for poly-generation in a residential building," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    12. Piotr Michalak, 2022. "Impact of Air Density Variation on a Simulated Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger’s Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-24, April.
    13. Li, Guiqiang & Xuan, Qingdong & Akram, M.W. & Golizadeh Akhlaghi, Yousef & Liu, Haowen & Shittu, Samson, 2020. "Building integrated solar concentrating systems: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    14. Xiao, Tianqi & You, Fengqi, 2023. "Building thermal modeling and model predictive control with physically consistent deep learning for decarbonization and energy optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    15. Daniel Efurosibina Attoye & Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul & Ahmed Hassan, 2017. "A Review on Building Integrated Photovoltaic Façade Customization Potentials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-24, December.
    16. Ito, Risa & Lee, Sihwan, 2024. "Performance enhancement of photovoltaic integrated shading devices with flexible solar panel using multi-objective optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 373(C).
    17. Kasaeian, Alibakhsh & Zirak, Nastaran & Ghaziasgar, Seyedmohammad & Akbari, Mojtaba & Fadaei, Niloufar & Khazanedari, Kian & Zarkhah, Nava & Shahmirzadi, Sheida Khosravi & Pourfayaz, Fathollah, 2026. "Application of transparent and semi-transparent photovoltaics in building windows: a review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 405(C).
    18. Wu, Zhenghong & Zhang, Ling & Su, Xiaosong & Wu, Jing & Liu, Zhongbing, 2022. "Experimental and numerical analysis of naturally ventilated PV-DSF in a humid subtropical climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 633-646.
    19. Hong, Seongkwan & Choi, An-Seop & Sung, Minki, 2017. "Development and verification of a slat control method for a bi-directional PV blind," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1321-1333.
    20. Ge, Biqiu & Fan, Zhengyu & Liu, Jiaping, 2025. "Thermal and carbon emission multi-objective optimization of photovoltaic skylights integrated large railway station in the cold zone of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:288-:d:1309394. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.