THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF ADAPTIVE INSULATION APPLIED TO AN OFFICE BUILDING

The paper aims at evaluating the energy performance of an average office building characterized by very high glazing ratio, with adaptable envelope solution, i.e. adaptive insulation for the opaque area. Using the PHPP programme, three cases were analysed and compared: exterior walls and roof with i) conventional thermal insulation and with adaptive insulation having ii) minimum thermal transmittance (insulating state) and respectively iii) maximum thermal transmittance (conducting state). Considering the monthly energy demand for cooling and the potential of the adaptive insulation to eliminate excess heat at night, the energy savings were calculated at 134.9 kWh/m2year, representing 59.19% of the annual cooling demand. Moreover, when the opaque façade area is in insulating state, characterized by minimum thermal transmittance, the heating energy demand decreases by 18%, respectively from 117 kWh/m2year to 96 kWh/m2year.