Abstract
As the interface mediates between the interior space and outdoor environment, building envelope plays a crucial role in determining building systems’ energy efficiency as well as structural safety. However, the static nature of current envelope design and operation is diametric to the mutable and transient forces and energies acting on our building stocks. Substantial energy-saving potential resides in more pervasive solutions that transcend the envelope’s role from a passive barrier to a responsive functional assembly attuned to energy optimizations. This chapter provides an overview of technological developments that enable such responsive/or interactive building envelope concepts. First, a general classification of current responsive building envelope (RBE) technologies is discussed together with their sensing, actuation mechanisms, and application spaces. Emerging materials and future development outlook of RBE technologies are discussed.
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The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from U.S. National Science Foundation under grant CMMI-1954517.
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Zhou, H., He, Y. (2023). Thermally Responsive Building Envelopes from Materials to Engineering. In: Wang, J., Shi, D., Song, Y. (eds) Advanced Materials in Smart Building Skins for Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09695-2_6
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