Experimental assessment and modelling of the performance of an open joint ventilated facade during actual operating conditions in Mediterranean climate

In this work, the performance of a real ventilated facade has been investigated both experimentally and numerically. The studied facade is south oriented and belongs to a building located in Almeria, a city in the South of Spain with warm Mediterranean climate. Experimental data, based on temperature, heat fluxes and incident radiation on the facade have been collected during one year. The experimental data have been used to analyse the energy performance of the facade during the summer and the winter periods. The results show that in warm climates with high levels of solar radiation, the ventilated facade can play an important role in reducing the heating and cooling thermal loads as long as the outdoor temperatures are not extreme. Additionally, a model based on fluid dynamic simulation techniques is proposed. The comparison with experimental data shows the importance of including the reflected radiation from the ground in the thermal modelling of the facade. The proposed model can predict temperatures and heat fluxes to the room with deviations lower than 10%. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.