In the context of increasing concerns for sustainable development new comprehensive methods are developed by builders and architects in order to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) is one of these methods, perhaps the most functional one for the evaluation process. Using this LCCA contributes to the integration of the design process and helps identify opportunities for energy efficiency, such as appropriate zoning, natural lighting and design optimization of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). It also helps in finding the best solutions for reducing overall costs. LCCA is very little known in Romania and quasi unused practice for building design and for this reason the present paper contains a broad overview of the methodology and it’s uses highlighting its main advantages and a case study of the building design intended for laboratory research. The analyzed building is one of the 12 identical buildings of Transilvania University Research and Development Institute from Brasov.
The envelope (façade) of a building is the part that forms the primary barrier to its environment. Most of the new and modern office buildings have a glazed envelope and are usually built-in city centers. The concept of a double-skin façade was born as a consequence of urban noise. The principal noise source in urban areas is traffic noise. Using a double-skin façade can be a solution that ensures good sound insulation for a glazed office building. This study presents experimental results obtained both from measurement campaigns carried out over longer periods of time, in connection with heat transfer in the case of this system, and punctual measurements, over shorter periods of time, for sound insulation and interior comfort parameters, from the experimental chamber adjacent to the system. The results from this study indicate that box double-skin façades can contribute to noise reduction, improve the interior thermal comfort and increase the energetic performance compared to normal single-glass façades, but within certain limits.
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