Integrating solar cooling technologies into building façades can play a crucial role in reducing reliance on conventional cooling systems. However, incorporating various aspects at the early stages of a project can be challenging for designers due to the diverse types of information, steps, and decisions required. This study aimed to develop strategies for design teams to facilitate the early-stage design and evaluation of building façades integrating solar cooling technologies. The strategies were developed using a research-through-design methodology, considering the Spanish context and a proposed evaluation set-up to assess techno-economic feasibility. The development of strategies involved mapping the design and evaluation of solar cooling integrated façades by identifying and relating key processes, inputs, outputs, design decisions, and tools within key design stages. Consequently, a systematic design and evaluation process was carried out, including the identification and assessment of potential integration scenarios for solar electrically driven and thermally driven technologies based on relevant techno-economic criteria. The findings indicate that water-cooled vapor-compression chillers (VCC), combined with photovoltaic (PV) panels as an electrically driven solution, were the most relevant option for the selected case. Additionally, the developed strategies revealed that early-stage decisions significantly impact later processes, as they involve a greater number of steps, required information, and design choices. These strategies serve as guidelines to support designers in adopting a systematic design approach, helping to manage the complexities associated with processing diverse technical and economic information. Providing such structured methodologies to professionals with limited experience in solar cooling technologies is crucial for enabling their broader application.

Achieving a climate-neutral European Union requires overcoming challenges in Nearly Zero-Energy Building (NZEB) renovations, including labour shortages and time-intensive traditional methods. Industrialised façade systems offer a promising solution, but their life-cycle impacts remain insufficiently studied.

This research uses life-cycle assessment to compare conventional and industrialised façade systems for renovating a representative residential building typology. Renovation scenarios integrating passive, active and renewable measures were analysed to assess embodied (A1–A5, B4) and operational (B6) carbon emissions. Results show that façade renovations can reduce total carbon emissions by 44 % (industrialised) and 58 % (conventional systems) compared to the current state. Additionally, large pre-fabricated panels significantly reduce construction waste, while modular façades with integrated photovoltaic panels exhibit the highest circular economy potential.

The findings of this study enhance the understanding of industrialised façade systems across their life cycle, highlighting their potential to accelerate NZEB renovations while addressing key barriers to scaling decarbonisation efforts across Europe.

The present research proposes a framework to design and evaluate façade products integrating solar cooling technologies (SCTs), applied in an office building in a Southern Europe region. The building comprises various types of façade elements, such as opaque walls, glazed curtain walls, overhangs, and balconies. Key regulatory measures were implemented considering national energy saving regulations. The results represent annual energy consumption (kWh/m2/year) and the average daily cooling demand in Summer Design Week (kWh/day) of the simulated base model. This energy consumption lies within range of a previously simulated generic office and the average annual energy consumption of office blocks. Potential scenarios for integrating SCTs were outlined and evaluated using the solar fraction (SF) as an indication to measure the potential performance of the system based on nominal efficiencies, providing an initial reference of its ability to meet cooling demands, an essential step in early design stages. Scenarios per configuration related to double-effect chillers with evacuated tubes collectors and water-cooled vapor compression chiller and photovoltaic (PV) panels were the only one having an SF value of 1 or more, meaning that they can be able to handle the required cooling demand. Future steps should consider a second level of technical evaluation of scenarios having SF values of 1 or more, which should involve aspects related to how to physically integrate the technology, considering compactness and space usability and also maintenance requirements, among other relevant criteria.