Ventilated Active Thermoelectric Envelope (VATE): Analysis of its energy performance when integrated in a building

Nowadays, there have appeared a lot of innovative strategies that one way or another try to improve the overall energy performance of buildings. There is no doubt that all of these new strategies are really great for that purpose, but, in some occasions, some of the results achieved when they are installed in a building are not as expected. The vast majority of the times this is because of problems with the integration of the new strategies instead of a problem with the technology itself. Besides, with the imminent arrival of the NZEB (Near Zero Energy Building) this kind of integration problems are the ones that will make the difference in order to reach the required energy demands limits. This work presents the energy performance analysis of the integration of a VATE (Ventilated Active Thermoelectric Envelope) in a building. A VATE is an industrial-scale modular active ventilated facade prototype with a new thermoelectric system, designed to be located in the building envelope and provide a high comfort level. The system integrates a passive design strategy VAF (Ventilated Active Facade) and an active one (TCHU: Thermoelectric Cooling and Heating Unit) in one solution. It deals with the natural phenomenon that takes place inside the ventilated air cavity of the facade, taking advantage when heat dissipation is needed and avoiding it when heat losses are not welcomed, and the thermoelectric unit which works as a HVAC heat pump. One of the main goals is to evaluate how this symbiosis affects in energy terms, so a prototype of the new system has being built in Pamplona (Spain) and its energy performance has been analysed during a year. The research enhances the out-standing role that solar radiation and insulation have in the energy performance and the great importance of making a careful analysis of the system when it comes to integration of different strategies. In this case, the symbiosis, without taking into account the insulation and the thermal inertia, has implied a thermal bridge. The results prove and measure the great influence that the implementation of the active strategy (TCHU) in the passive one (VAOF) has in the heat transfer of the overall prototype. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.