InnoGlassLab: Próxima geração de hot box combinando múltiplos ensaios para avaliação abrangente de soluções de envidraçados

This project aims to create a new type of apparatus to characterize innovative energy-efficient glazing solutions (when subject to different weather conditions) and to evaluate their impact on the energy performance of buildings and the occupants’ comfort. For this purpose, the following main objectives have been set out: • To conceive and develop the InnoGlassLab, a new experimental apparatus and set of procedures for the evaluation of complex glazing systems, that will significantly improve on the current hot box method and allow their full characterization in a wide range of dynamic weather conditions. The InnoGlassLab apparatus will incorporate indoor solar calorimetric methods (for evaluating g-value) and in-situ characterization methodologies, such as heat flow meter (HFM), convection velocimetry and radiation thermometry; • To incorporate surface condensation risk assessment and thermal comfort analysis into the experimental procedure; • To develop innovative and optimized energy-efficient glazing systems combining different existing glazing technologies; • To experimentally characterize various glazing solutions in the InnoGlassLab, replicating a wide range of weather conditions, combining different components such as temperature variation, humidity level, solar radiation, wind speed and rain; • To improve on existing numerical models for evaluating the thermal behaviour of glazing systems, considering the impact of more weather components on glazing and to validate the new numerical calculations against experimental results obtained using the InnoGlassLab procedure; • To assess the impact of innovative energy-efficient glazing systems on NZEB and ZEB goals. The ultimate goal of the project is to contribute to a deeper understanding of complex glazing systems' behaviour under varying and extreme weather conditions, facilitating the selection and the development of effective retrofitting strategies, thereby advancing the field of energy-efficient building design and improving thermal comfort in buildings and contributing to climate change adaptation. The fact that windows are the most impactful element of building envelopes, with the most dynamic behavior and the greatest influence on comfort, demands for further research. It is urgent to improve methods for evaluating the glazing system’s influence on energy performance of buildings and thermal comfort, especially considering the variability of climatic conditions and the increasingly frequent extreme weather events.