The energy consumption of a building is the real sore point for many architects who, in the last period, are working more and more on the development of the theme, studying systems capable of containing energy expenditure and of doing good not only to those who uses the building, but also to the planet.
A team of Spanish researchers has studied and proposed a prototype of a prefabricated fiberglass facade able to make the most of solar energy, absorbing it and releasing it inside to heat the rooms, and to perfectly isolate the building from the point of thermal view.
The prototype was built by the Sustainable Construction Division of the Tecnalia Research Center in San Sebastian. The prefabricated panel was obtained from a mixture of fiberglass and organic binders and it was decided to apply the “pilot model” on a building in Merida.
The tests to which the fiberglass wall was subjected to verify its performance were oriented in three main directions: fire resistance, water and wind resistance, thermal insulation and acoustic insulation.
The tests gave more than satisfactory results, allowing the researchers to tick this experiment on the checklist, noting values perfectly in line with the standards dictated by the European Union.
Water resistance was verified by checking the tightness of the technological units. The results led to the conclusion that the wall works if the rainwater does not come into contact with the inner side, positioned just behind the technology units.
In fact, if this condition occurs, the system could easily be affected by deterioration.
The resistance with respect to the force of the wind, on the other hand, would seem to be very high: the facade is able to withstand a pressure of about 305 kg / mXNUMX without showing any sign of subsidence. It certainly represents an excellent shelter in case of strong wind.
The most interesting aspect in terms of energy: the thermal insulation has been achieved. In fact, the fiberglass panels confirmed the great thermal and acoustic insulation capacity of the structure where they were mounted.
Source: Architetturaecosostenibile.it
