Ventilated active facades to reduce heating demand in office buildings. The case of Spain

This paper analyses the energy efficiency of a Ventilated Active Facade -VAF- applied to office buildings in Spain to reduce heating demand. This facade system consists of an outer layer element of 2 mm galvanized steel panels and a 3 cm air cavity where the ventilation air is preheated in winter and exhausted in summer. After defining 8 typical office typologies in Spain, 192 study cases are obtained where different parameters like the percentage of glass in facade, the orientation and the climatic zone of the buildings are considered. The energy demand of all these study cases is obtained using the official simulation tool of the Spanish Technical Building Regulation - CTE called LIDER. The results, in terms of reduction of heating demand, are presented in comparison with the minimum energetic requirements of CTE.