Fabio Favoino

• PhD CEng MCIBSE
• Professor (Assistant) at Polytechnic University of Turin

Thermochromic switchable glazing have been gaining increasing popularity among dynamic building envelope solutions aimed at reducing energy demand in tertiary buildings, due to their capability of varying optical properties according to the material temperature. This enables the management of entering solar loads without any need for an active cont...

A simplified approach to calculate the daylight glare comfort class (imperceptible, perceptible, disturbing, or intolerable glare) on annual basis and for a grid of points in a space is presented. This method relies on the calculation of the vertical illuminance (Ev) for each grid point only, which is compared to an Ev threshold value for each dayl...

Traditional façade characterisation metrics such as U-value and g-value are of limited value in the design process of buildings with adaptive façades. This issue is particularly important for adaptive façade components that have the capability of controlling thermal energy storage in the construction thermal mass. Building performance simulations c...

Adaptive building envelope systems have the potential of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the energy flexibility of buildings, while maintaining high levels of indoor environmental quality. The development of such innovative materials and technologies, as well as their real-world implementation, can be enhanced with the use of buildi...

This dataset contains future weather files for building energy simulations for Turin and Bolzano, Italy, and De Bilt, Netherlands. The weather data is provided in EPW format, which is commonly used as input for the EnergyPlus simulation engine. These files were generated using two primary downscaling methods: statistical and dynamical downscaling....

Climate change poses significant challenges to building resilience, necessitating proactive measures in facade design and operational strategies. This research conducts a sensitivity analysis of facade parameters to evaluate their impact on the thermal resilience of buildings under future climate scenarios. Through one-factor-at-a-time adjustments,...

Il progetto OUTFIT, finanziato dal bando PRIN 2022 prevedono la realizzazione prototipale di una mappa acustica dinamica del rumore stradale in un digital twin (DT). Il DT integrerà i dati crowdsourced alla base della mappa dinamica con i risultati dei livelli di rumore e ulteriori elaborazioni, consentendo una visione aumentata della situazione co...

Building acoustic standards like EN 14351 and ISO 10140 regulate the measurement of sound insulation of transparent elements, with indications of the test sample dimensions, test conditions, and criterions of adaptations of the results to different on-site conditions. However, given the research on innovative transparent building envelope including...

Double Skin Facades can greatly impact building energy needs and environmental comfort, due to the large modulation they could have on solar radiation transmitted, the heat and air flow across the façade. Within this paper a methodology and control architecture is presented, so that an embedded controller can be adopted to support such flexibility....

High-performance glazing technologies are essential for achieving the occupant comfort and building energy efficiency required in contemporary and future buildings. In real-world applications, glazing façades are selected from a steadily increasing number of glazing technologies. However, the authors could not identify a systematic and comprehensiv...

Building energy simulation (BES) tools offer the possibility to integrate double skin façade (DSF) technologies into whole building simulation through dedicated modules or possible workarounds. However, the reliability of such tools in predicting the dynamic heat and mass transfer processes within the DSFs is still to be determined. Therefore, this...

Double skin façades are adaptive envelopes aiming at improving building energy use and comfort performance. Their adaptive principle relies on the dynamic management of the cavity's ventilation flow and the shading device (when available). They can also be integrated with the environmental systems for heating, cooling, and ventilation. In most case...

Monitoring airflow rates and fluid dynamics phenomena in the ventilated cavity is a challenging aspect of the experimental assessment of the performance of double-skin facades (DSF). There are various methods to characterize the fluid-dynamics behavior of DSF, but each of these has its advantages and drawbacks. This paper presents the airflow chara...

Advanced fenestration systems (AFS) can respond to baseline functionalities and requirements in the remit of the transparent part of the building envelope (eg, reducing heat transfer, solar control and providing view out) and can combine these to a higher level of functionality aimed at providing an occupant with excellent indoor conditions while i...

Adaptive facades are characterized by multiple, dynamic functionalities that reflect the number of domains that the envelope needs to tackle during the operation. These responsive façade systems are promising solutions to continuously obtain a balanced performance across different competing requirements. In such systems the real-time management of...

The new HIEQ Lab (Health, well-being and Indoor Environmental Quality Laboratory) is presented. It is a living lab, primarily intended for research on human performance, comfort, and well-being, integrated with the energy performance in a completely controlled real space. Users are involved as active players in controlling and assessing building co...

Double Skin Façades are complex fenestration systems capable to control solar heat gain and ventilation in buildings. Due to the high flexibility of such innovative components, having energy models able to replicate the thermal behaviour of the Double Skin Facades is of utmost importance for their optimal control and integration with building autom...

Researches on building performances and environmental quality can be performed through different approaches, including dynamic numerical simulations, in-field studies, full scale test facilities and living labs. Researches performed through full scale test facilities allow carrying out studies under controlled realistic conditions, directly involvi...

Thermochromic (TC) materials are characterized by a change of their optical response at a specific temperature. They can work based on both, the alteration of solar reflection by temperature, or the change of photoluminescence intensity. In building applications, this type of smart materials enhances the rejection of solar heat for high temperature...

The development of lightweight and multifunctional curtain wall systems, which integrate different technological solutions, is aimed at achieving increasingly higher requirements related to energy efficiency as well as indoor environmental quality in non-residential buildings. On one hand lightweight and thin façade elements present several advanta...

Adaptive façades are a promising choice to achieve comfortable low-energy buildings. Their effective performance is highly dependent on the local boundary conditions of each application and on the way the dynamic properties are controlled. The evaluation of whole building performance through building performance simulation can be useful to understa...

The monitoring of fluid dynamics of ventilated cavities is a challenging part of the thermo-physical performance characterization of double skin facades (DSF). Tracer gas techniques are non-intrusive methods to determinate the bulk airflow rate inside ventilated cavities, even if only for short periods. Continuous monitoring of fluid dynamics behav...

Dual band electrochromic windows enable selective spectral control of the incoming solar radiation in buildings and can therefore efficiently respond to their ever-changing lighting, heating and cooling requirements. They allow indeed to selectively filter out near-infrared solar radiation passing through the window, thus blocking solar heat gain d...

Advanced building envelopes (ABEs) are innovative integrated systems that aim to increase the sustainability of buildings by providing flexible and efficient energy management solutions while safeguarding healthy and comfortable indoor environments. These building envelopes operate at the cross-section of architecture, engineering and data science,...

Thermochromic switchable glazing has been gaining increasing popularity as a dynamic building envelope solution aimed at reducing energy demand in buildings, and specifically cooling energy needs, due to its capability of varying optical properties according to the material temperature. To date, different thermochromic glazing technologies are bein...

GLANCE (GLare ANnual Classes Evaluation) is a simplified method to evaluate glare conditions over a grid of points in a space on an annual basis. The method is based on three methodological assumptions: (i) the vertical illuminance (Ev) is adopted as the parameter to estimate the daylight glare condition in each point of the space; (ii) daylight gl...

Adaptive envelope technologies are considered as ones of the most promising for reducing the energy use in buildings. Nonetheless, their real-world implementation is low, because of fragmented researches and limited capabilities of current BPS (building performance simulation) tools in evaluating properly their behaviour at a timescale consistent w...

Low driving range is one of the main obstacles for a larger market penetration of future autonomous Electric Vehicles (EV). Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system size and consumption can lower the range of an EV from 5 to 50%, depending on the outside weather conditions, vehicle size, vehicle envelope characteristics and driving s...

The present work is aimed at exploring the potentials of extracting control rules of a smart glazing from an optimal control strategy obtained by means of an ideal model predictive controller (MPC). To this sake an ideal deterministic MPC (Model Predictive Control with ideal prediction of disturbances), minimising total energy use, is devised for t...

Adaptive facades have the potential to shape resource-efficient and occupant-centred spaces only when their control strategies are tailored to meet transient, local and personal demands. State-of-the-art control algorithms are currently failing to provide occupant thermal satisfaction because the data on occupant response to the thermal environment...

Building envelopes are becoming more and more high engineered systems that need to meet strict requirements regarding architectural intent, structural capacity, energy-efficiency and comfort, durability etc.. In this regard, the research study presented in this paper assess the performance of novel engineered unitised systems for curtain walls, as...

Modern building envelopes are typically high-technological systems that need to meet strict requirements regarding architectural intent, structural capacity, energy-efficiency and durability. The study presented in this paper is based on recent research performed at the Glass & Façade Technology Research Group (University of Cambridge) that investi...

This article presents an overview of possibilities and points of attention for modelling the performance of dynamic CFS in building performance simulation software. Following a detailed analysis of the unique requirements that are associated with modelling of CFS, a comparative study of the capabilities in different software implementations is pres...

Introduction & motivation This poster showcases new early investigation results on novel GFRP-glass sandwich façade component and follow the previous investigations performed at the Glass & Façade Technology Research Group (University of Cambridge, UK) [1]. These sandwich structures are made of two tempered glass panes separated by, and bonded to,...

The use of thermochromic glazings (TCG) can significantly improve the energy performance of a building compared to traditional static glazings, due to their capability of varying their thermo-optical properties in response to the material temperature variation. To evaluate their potential in an accurate and comprehensive manner and to verify the pe...

Adaptive façades are building envelopes that interact with users and vary their performance or properties (controlling thermal or solar energy, air flow and/or daylight) in response to changing external conditions and indoor needs. However, effective adaptive façade solutions that provide an optimal balance between user comfort, satisfaction and en...

The use of thermochromic glazings (TCG) can significantly improve the energy performance of a building compared to traditional static glazings, due to their capability of varying their thermo-optical properties in response to the material temperature variation. To evaluate their potential in an accurate and comprehensive manner and to verify the pe...

The integration of smart glazing and adaptive façade in buildings can lead to large performance improvements and added functionality compared to conventional static building envelope systems. This is achieved not only by embedding automatic/controllable (smart/active) switchable materials into the building envelope, but also including intelligence...

This paper is the second of a two part study, which aims to evaluate the performance of adaptive insulation. Part 1 proposes a simulation framework for optimising adaptive insulation design and control parameters, it describes its implementation, and validates the simulation strategy qualitatively. This second paper applies the simulation framework...

The increasing insulation levels imposed by building regulations have the effect of reducing heating energy use, while increasing cooling energy use and/or reducing thermal comfort especially in summer. Adaptive insulation technologies could provide an opportunity to reduce building energy use while simultaneously improving indoor environmental qua...

This paper is the second of a two part study, which aims to evaluate the performance of adaptive insulation. Part 1 proposes a simulation framework for optimising adaptive insulation design and control parameters, it describes its implementation, and validates the simulation strategy qualitatively. This second paper applies the simulation framework...

The increasing insulation levels imposed by building regulations have the effect of reducing heating energy use, while increasing cooling energy use and/or reducing thermal comfort especially in summer. Adaptive insulation technologies could provide an opportunity to reduce building energy use while simultaneously improving indoor environmental qua...

The development of adaptive building envelope technologies, and particularly of switchable glazing, can make significant contributions to decarbonisation targets. It is therefore essential to quantify their effect on building energy use and indoor environmental quality when integrated into buildings. The evaluation of their performance presents new...

Responsive Building Elements (RBEs) are technologies enabling the exploitation of the opportunities offered by the environment and of renewable energy sources at the building scale. Amongst RBE concepts, Advanced Integrated Façades (AIFs) is probably one of the most promising technologies. In fact important players in the field of the façade engine...

This chapter presents a method to evaluate the performance and to support product development of adaptive micro- and nanobased material and technologies, integrated into buildings. In the first section, an introduction to adaptive building concepts is provided, followed by an overview of adaptive micro- and nanomaterials for building envelope integ...

The development of adaptive building envelope technologies, and particularly of switchable glazing, can make significant contributions to decarbonisation targets. It is therefore essential to quantify their effect on building energy use and indoor environmental quality when integrated into buildings. The evaluation of their performance presents new...

Adaptive transparent building envelope technologies could play a significant role in decreasing energy use in buildings and providing a more comfortable indoor environment. In order to evaluate these potentials in an economic and accurate manner, it is essential to have numerical models and simulation tools which correctly reproduce the behaviour o...

It has become a global issue that a large amount of non-renewable resources is consumed in buildings. A façade, as an interface between the internal and external environment, has crucial impacts on the energy demand and of the indoor environmental quality in a building. Adaptive façade technologies represent a valuable resource to reduce the impact...

The development of responsive/dynamic building envelope technologies, adapting to transient external and internal boundary conditions, is considered a crucial step towards the achievement of the ZEB target. Current building energy simulation tools only include models for established responsive technologies, and the controls of either the HVAC syste...

The assessment of adaptive facades presents a challenge because there is no established evaluation strategy to systematically reach this goal and many of the available building energy standards and codes have limited applicability for such advanced facades system. This paper reviews current evaluation methods for assessing adaptive facades system t...

The growing demand for both building energy efficiency and indoor environmental comfort is leading to a substantial evolution of the traditional concept of the building envelope. The future building skin is required to be responsive and dynamic, actively regulating the flows of heat, light, air and water from outdoor to indoor and vice versa, in or...

Adaptive facades provide opportunities for significant reductions in building energy use and CO2 emissions, while at the same time having a positive impact on the quality of the indoor environment. Many different types of adaptive façade concepts (materials, components and systems) have already been developed, and an increase in emerging, innovativ...

The growing demand for both building energy efficiency and indoor environmental comfort is leading to a substantial evolution of the traditional concept of the building envelope. The future building skin is required to be responsive and dynamic, actively regulating the flows of heat, light, air and water from outdoor to indoor and vice versa, in or...

The development of dynamic building envelope technologies, which adapt to changing outdoor and indoor environments, is considered a crucial step towards the achievement of the nearly Zero Energy Building target. It is currently not possible to evaluate the energy saving potential of innovative adaptive transparent building envelopes in an accurate...

This paper describes the development of a new facility for testing building envelope systems called Building Envelope Test cell (BETcell), implemented at Politecnico di Torino. The test facility is aimed at characterizing the thermal performance of building envelope components and systems in realistic boundary conditions (real world climatic condit...

The requirements for improvement in the energy efficiency of buildings, mandatory in many EU countries, entail a high level of thermal insulation of the building envelope. In recent years, super-insulation materials with very low thermal conductivity have been developed. These materials provide satisfactory thermal insulation, but allow the total t...

The development of dynamic building envelope technologies, which are capable of adapting to changing outdoor and indoor environments, is considered a crucial step towards the achievement of the nearly Zero Energy Building target. The main aim of this work is to present a method for defining the ideal/optimal range of adaptive thermo-optical perform...

Data Elaboration Centers are characterized by high specific energy consumptions, due to the requirements for the working environment of IT machines and their large working loads. This is due to the fact that the control of the indoor air parameters is of paramount importance in order to maintain the servers in safe working conditions. Reliable diag...

The development of adaptive building envelope technologies is considered a crucial step towards the achievement of the nZEB target. This paper presents a method to devise an ideal adaptive façade and evaluate its energy saving potential. This is based on the minimisation of the total primary energy consumption, by means of single-objective optimiza...

Responsive building elements (RBEs), renewable energy sources (RES) and energy storage within the building are considered as a key issue for the development of zero energy/emission buildings. The exploitation at the building scale of RES and of the opportunities offered by the environment can be achieved through the ability of the RBEs to dynamical...