This article presents a project that explores the potential of Additive Manufacturing (AM) for designing and fabricating multi-functional building components for improved climate performance. In this project, an innovative façade wall design was developed by using a computational method in an attempt to integrate a displacement ventilation system into the wall. A robotic AM solution is integrated into the workflow as a potentially feasible fabrication method for the resulting wall design with an intricate geometry. Clay is proposed as the AM material, being a potential low-carbon building material. To this end, a material exploration of clay was conducted to develop an appropriate composite for AM. A displacement ventilation system was developed to achieve better indoor air quality by using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Subsequently, an AM solution was integrated into the workflow to automate the fabrication phase. Finally, a partial prototype of the design was made through AM with clay to demonstrate the feasibility and observe the material qualities of the final product. The proposed workflow proves applicable, highlighting directions for future research. ... Read more

Phase change materials (PCMs) have already been used in buildings and building services for several decades, mostly integrated into walls or ceilings to passively increase the building’s thermal inertia, or integrated into the HVAC system for (pre-)heating or (pre-)cooling fresh air. More recently, the use of PCMs in facades is being explored for solar heating. This paper presents the results of a several years of research into the use of PCMs in rotatable Trombe walls and sun-shading for passive heating and cooling purposes. Simulations used a custom-made model of a room in Matlab/Simulink, in which all relevant heat transfer paths and mass components are accounted for. Once the behaviour of PCM was modelled, the model was connected with the optimisation platform modeFRONTIER to study the (best) performances under different scenarios. The results show that a significant reduction in the energy demand for heating and cooling can be achieved in different climates. The results also show that the shading and insulating effect of the solar wall have the highest impact on the reduction of the cooling respectively heating demand, followed by the thermal mass effect. The paper ends with the development of a prototype of a Trombe wall which was installed in an office at the Green Village (a living lab in Delft). ... Read more

Greenhouses in The Netherlands contribute significantly to the total energy consumption of the country. One of the leading Dutch philosophies for greenhouses is “the new growing” which reduce energy and improve health, quality and growing of plants: a greenhouse with an adaptive kind of comfort with a free running climate. Heating is necessary to prevent cold stress of plants or condensation. The relative humidity should be just low enough to prevent heat stress of plants or development of fungus. Ground ducts can reduce heating and cooling of air, reverse stratification, improve circulation and dehumidification. These ducts are heated up during the day by the air from the top of the green house, above the screens. In the thermal buffer of the ground solar heat is accumulated and released in the cold early morning. After measurements in a greenhouse with ground ducts, a calculation-model in Matlab is developed and validated. The diurnal temperature-swing in a ground duct is evaluated with the mathematic model of Hollmüller. Via the Matlab-model the energy savings and the effect of the amount and size of ground ducts can be predicted. The system has proved to create better developed tomatoes with almost no diseases anymore. ... Read more