Resolved duality : external double skin envelops for energy sustainability of office building in the tropics

Abstract

The paper presents a design matrix for external double skin envelope (EDSE) in multilevel office buildings for energy sustainability in the tropics. The methodology involved on site field investigations and a DesignBuilder simulation study investigating heat sink and insulating capacities of EDSE with thermal mass, a shaded cavity, night ventilation and low e glass windows. Evidence from a critical case building shows that bioclimatic influence of EDSEs can reduce elevation of indoor air greatly and achieve saving of energy utility index by 43 percent. The work highlighted that indoor overheating potential due to duality associated with building envelopes can be avoided through the enhanced effects of heat sink capacity and insulating capacity of EDSEs.