Simulation-Based Investigation of Etfe and Autoheal Polymers for Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Adaptive Building Envelopes

Facades are integral to building design, serving as the aesthetic outer shell and acting as a thermal barrier. The Responsive Kinetic Facades revolutionize the concept of facades changing the dynamism from a static structure to adaptive system, capable of responding to external environmental stimuli of glare, and temperature variation. The study evaluates two unique materials, Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) and Auto Heal polymer for their performance in adaptive façade systems. A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) criteria, explaining the data selection process with a PRISMA flow diagram. The study compares the energy efficiency performance and thermal comfort of these materials when applied to the south façade of a high-rise office building in Jaipur, India, which experiences a composite climate. The assessment aligns with Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommendations [1–3]. The performance metrics include annual energy consumption (kWh/m2), discomfort hours, Fanger Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD), and Fanger Predicted Mean Vote (PMV). Simulation test was conducted under identical environmental conditions using Design Builder V7.0 (with an EnergyPlus engine). Results showed that the ECBC base case, without any shading device has recorded the highest annual HVAC energy discomfort hours. The Auto Heal facade achieved significant reduction in energy use and lowered thermal discomfort hours. In comparison, the ETFE facade though contributed to improvements but not as much as AutoHeal. These findings suggest Auto heal as an alternative to ETFE for improving energy efficiency, thermal comfort and sustainable urban development [3].