Intelligent Facades in Low-Energy Buildings

Growing interest in development of innovative solutions for enhancement of sustainability in the built environments has been observed in recent years. According to the main constituents of buildings particularly in building envelopes, facades are expected to play a significant role towards the promotion of sustainable design in low energy buildings. This study presents a holistic review towards the analysis of ‘intelligent facades’ according to their types, current implementations, challenges, and ultimate impacts. Intelligent facades need to be responsive and conscious to the local climate, outdoor environment, and indoor spaces with view to parameters such as energy performance, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, visual comfort, etc. The findings demonstrate that energy modeling and simulations should be performed during the early stage of design process of buildings to ensure the practicality and effectiveness of any green implementations in buildings. In conclusion, the study recommends the intelligent facades to become an inherent constituent of green buildings for future development of low energy buildings.