E2VENT: An Energy Efficient Ventilated Façade Retrofitting System. Presentation of the Embedded LHTES System

Abstract

Within the existing European building stock, a large share of the suburban multi-storey residential building stock was built in the 60's-70's, when there were only few or no requirements for energy efficiency. These buildings are characterized by very high energy consumption, low air quality due to poor ventilation, and low architectural value.

In this context, the European project E2VENT, that started in January 2015, aims at providing new solution of retrofitting of residential building. The proposal is a modular and adaptable ventilated façade retrofitting system that integrates an energy efficient HVAC system.

This paper first presents the concept of the E2VENT module, its architecture and how it is currently designed aiming at the reduction of the energy consumption and the improvement of not only the indoor air quality but also of the aesthetic of the building. Then the presentation focuses on the LHTES system, presenting its working principle, its thermal model and how it is designed in order to allow a daily thermal storage for both cooling and heating to allow the peak shaving. Three different PCM encapsulations are presented and discussed based on their efficiency calculated with a simple model but also on more practical considerations. Finally, the first prototypes are shown and the experimental protocol to be carried out is detailed.