Integrated Thermal-Energy Analysis of Innovative Translucent White Marble for Building Envelope Application

Abstract

Marble is a natural material, used in the construction field since antiquity. It has always been used to communicate monumentality and solidity. Nowadays new technologies permit marble to express new languages: particularly, translucent marble technology overturns the concept of solidity. The main issue to address is the lack of thermal-energy performance of such a thin stone layer as the only facade component. Conversely, Bianco Carrara and Statuario marbles, for instance, have intrinsic benefits as natural cool materials, due to their high solar reflectance and thermal emissivity. Thus, this paper analyzes the thermal-energy and environmental behavior of marble facade for a new designed building in New York City. An integrated analysis of the energy performance of the marble skin is performed through a preliminary experimental characterization, carried out for two different types of naturally white marble, for comparative purposes. Then, a dynamic simulation model of the building is developed to evaluate year-round benefits and drawbacks of the translucent marble envelope in terms of indoor thermal comfort and air-conditioning requirement. The analysis showed how the proposed marble facade is able to decrease the energy requirement for cooling up to 6%, demonstrating possible relevant perspectives for marble-based facades, even in energy-efficient buildings. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2014, 6 5440 Keywords: thin translucent marble; building envelope; energy efficiency in buildings; cool natural material; optic-energy and thermal characterization; dynamic thermal-energy simulation of buildings

Cool Marble Building Envelopes: The Effect of Aging on Energy Performance and Aesthetics

“…Use of these materials is one of the strategies identified: (i) to counter the effect of for passive cooling, maintain a lower surface temperature. Use of these materials is one of the strategies identified: (i) to counter the effect of Urban Heat Island [8,9]; reduce energy demand for cooling during summer, while causing almost no major counter effect in winter [10][11][12][13]; and to improve thermal comfort in outdoor urban spaces [14]. This is especially the case with respect to the Mediterranean climate and measures of comfort [15,16].…”

“…In our assessment we consider how degradation impacts characteristics such as lightness and color, on its thermal properties and architectural implications of marble as building envelope component. Previous works dealt with: (i) the assessment of lightness, gloss, and Distinctness of Image (DOI) of thin marble used for aesthetic purposes, whereas reflectance was not included in the analysis [18]; and (ii) the thermal-energy performance of marble envelope components, assessing the reduction of cooling energy demand [10], but without verifying modifications due to degradation. In order to verify its sustainability as a cool, natural and durable building material, we will investigate the effect of degradation on: (i) energy performance, by means of dynamic simulation of a case study building; and (ii) the aesthetic quality of white marble when exposed to accelerated weathering.…”

“…Taking into account the architectural and aesthetic value of such elements, the optimal intrinsic optical characteristics of light stones as cool materials has been reported [10,17]. However, the optical characteristics of marble are influenced over time through degradation [18][19][20][21].…”

Evaluation of Different Urban Microclimate Mitigation Strategies through a PMV Analysis

“…This is why urban areas must be planned by implementing, where necessary, proper mitigation strategies. Some of these strategies, partially affecting each other, are: the use of high albedo surfaces [26][27][28][29][30], evaporation from porous surfaces [31,32], evaporation from ground-level water surfaces [33] and roof ponds [34], vegetated surfaces [35], rooftop gardens [36][37][38][39][40], and trees [27,41]. This paper, through the examination of a case study concerning the Cloister of San Pietro in Vincoli (placed right inside the Faculty of Engineering of the Sapienza University of Rome), evaluates how some of the mitigation strategies previously mentioned affect the microclimate and the outdoor thermal comfort.…”

On Innovative Cool-Colored Materials for Building Envelopes: Balancing the Architectural Appearance and the Thermal-Energy Performance in Historical Districts

“…It is interesting to note that the results, in terms of surface temperature reductions due to the cool-colored envelope implementation, are noticeable, and are equal to −8 • C, when compared to traditional-colored envelopes; this is not mirrored by energy demand reductions. By considering previous studies [53], which took into account cool envelope effectiveness with respect to other case studies, and while results in mean radiant temperatures are comparable, results in terms of cooling and primary energy saving are higher in these works (−18% in cooling energy demands for a similar increase in reflectance). Taking into account the solar reflectance differences between this work and the above cited one, the values are comparable; the wall composition of the case study building is different, with the latter being a thin, double-glazed envelope of a new building.…”