Experimental assessment of the energy performance of an advanced responsive multifunctional façade module

Responsive Building Elements (RBEs) and energy storage within the building are considered as a crucial development towards the nearly Zero Energy/Emission Building target. The exploitation at the building scale of renewable energy sources and the opportunities offered by the environment is achieved by the ability of the RBEs to dynamically adapt to changing environmental conditions. Among these concepts, Advanced Integrated Façades (AIFs) are probably one the most promising technologies, due to the important role that the building envelope plays in controlling the energy and mass flows between the building and the outdoor environment. In the framework of a decade-long research activity on AIFs, a new Multifunctional Façade Module (MFM) has been conceived and a prototype realized for the experimental assessment of its performance. The work herewith presented illustrates the results of the experimental campaign on the RBE-MFM called ACTRESS (ACTive, RESponsive and Solar).