| The materials with which a building's facade is | | | | capacities. These differences influence their |
| constructed are a key element not only to its | | | | thermal performance. On the flip side, reliable and |
| beauty but also to its practicality. Good facade | | | | accurate information on the "coolness" of |
| design allows the building to look beautiful from | | | | construction materials is often lacking. |
| the outside and to save the owner money when | | | | One area of debate is the value of the opaque |
| it comes to heating and cooling. The following | | | | wall. Conventional practice dictates that high-mass |
| discusses the components and concerns of | | | | building materials offer significant energy benefits |
| energy-efficient facade design. | | | | in exterior walls. But these benefits are highly |
| A building's facade system should have a high | | | | dependent upon where the building is located, how |
| thermal performance. This means that because | | | | it is operated, and how it is designed. When it |
| the facade system helps the building gain less | | | | comes to energy performance, high-mass building |
| heat, the air conditioning system is subject to a | | | | materials are still very open for debate. In areas |
| lower load. Since the air conditioning system | | | | of thermal engineering and physics for buildings, |
| accounts for a significant portion of a typical | | | | recent innovations such as dynamic |
| building's electricity bill, having a facade system | | | | insulation--porous cooling or heating--and phase |
| that facilitates good thermal performance has a | | | | change material have defied conventional wisdom. |
| direct impact on energy consumption. | | | | Facade design has more considerations than |
| In order to design buildings that will provide | | | | aesthetics. A successful facade system is one |
| comfort with less energy use, you must | | | | that combines both the beauty of the architect's |
| understand the properties of the facade's | | | | vision and the practicality of being energy efficient. |
| materials. Different building materials have | | | | It is a combination that ensures a quality building |
| different thermal conductivities and specific heat | | | | that will endure for years to come. |