Integrated Façade System for Office Buildings in Hot and Arid Climates: A Comparative Analysis

High solar gain in hot and arid climates causes overheating in summer and increases the demand for air conditioning, energy and carbon footprints of buildings. There are different strategies, tools and solutions to address this problem, but Integrated Façade Systems (IFSs)—façade systems where different technological solutions are integrated to improve performance and to lower the impact of the building—are still an underdeveloped yet a fast-growing field of research. Such systems can reduce solar heat gain, lower air conditioning costs and lessen glare, while maximising the use of natural light and help produce energy if combined with PV technology. Previous research has addressed one or a combination of some of the influential factors on performance of such systems, yet there still is a gap in the state-of-the-art research in comprehensive systematic approach not only to help gauge the impact of alteration of parameters on the IFS performance, but also an approach which can be deployed in other studies where the focus is on façade systems. With a special reference to office buildings in hot and arid climates, this chapter sets out to systematically identify IFS parameters which have potential impacts on energy, lighting, glare and heat gain. Then as a part of a comprehensive ongoing research in this area, this chapter presents a proof of concept to demonstrate the application of such methodology to a parametric study of IFS technology. In doing so, it chooses only one of the parameters indicated in this systematic review and uses building simulation as its core method to investigate the influence and impacts of those variations on performance of IFS. It will indicate how this approach provides high flexibility to adjust or configure any combination of those parameters and to measure, subjectively, how this will result in change in façade performance.