Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 2.3
Setback of east and south faced windows of the building
2.2.1 Building Enclosure
One of the most important factors in a building is its enclosure, since the solar
gathering process is performed through it. In general, in a building two different
kinds of enclosures could be considered, glazed and opaque.
The first enclosure is the element responsible for the most part of solar gains, since
it is through it that the process of solar gathering has the most influence (Bosqued
et al.
2008
). Therefore, the design of glazed enclosures is a key factor both to prevent
(a correct selection of its orientation) and at a corrective level (selecting the suitable
type of glass). In the case study of this building, both a climatic double thermoacoustic
piece of glass (CLIMATIC
2013
) and security glass, with aluminium frames, have
been selected.
On the one hand, and in contrast to the glazed enclosure, the heat flow through
an opaque enclosure is not instantaneous, since it arrives indoors with a certain
absorption and time lag. In the studied building, different external enclosures have
been selected as a function of their orientation and use. More specifically, the south
and east facades present an enclosure that consists of a ventilated facade which is
composed of a quoted perforated brick, a 3 cm thickness sprayed polyurethane foam
insulation, a wall cavity, and a compact ceramic tiling (Bosqued et al.
2008
). On the
other hand, the enclosure of the plant and the north facade is composed of a 20 cm
