Glass Building or Glass Furnace?
“In God we trust. All others must bring data.” -by W. Edwards Deming.
The building envelope comprises walls, roof, and fenestration (openings including windows, doors, vents, etc.). The design of the building envelope influences heat gain/loss, natural ventilation, and daylighting, which, in turn, determines indoor temperatures, thermal comfort, and sensible cooling/heating demand.
Glass buildings have high envelope heat gain, whereas well-shaded, insulated, reduced window wall ratio buildings have lower heat gains. Envelope heat gains are measured in W/m2 & W/ft2. Envelope heat gains are also called OTTV (Overall Thermal Transmittance Value).
From the graph, reducing window to wall ratio dramatically reduces the overall building energy consumption.
Get in touch with McD BERL today for sustainable building design and MEP solutions for your buildings. We are experts in net-zero energy/water building design that can help you reduce your capital and operational expenses to a great degree.
