Building Thermal Envelope

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing requirements in building thermal and energy performance standards and the need for designing net-zero energy buildings, while still enhancing indoor comfort conditions, lead to a demand for more efficient thermal building envelope solutions. In fact, the effective use of building thermal envelopes, as an interface between outdoors and indoors, plays a key role in sustainable and energy-efficient building design. Therefore, there is a need for a continuous search for innovative materials, construction solutions, and technologies that manage the energy and mass transfer between buildings and the external environment, taking into account not only climatic changes but also user preferences. Knowledge concerning the performance of building thermal envelope solutions and existing design support tools, such as building performance simulation, is crucial for stakeholders to make informed decisions with respect to the definition and implementation of energy-efficient strategies for new and refurbished buildings.

This Special Issue intends to provide an overview of existing knowledge related to various aspects of building thermal envelopes.

Original research (theoretical and experimental), case studies, and comprehensive review papers are invited for possible publication in this Special Issue. Relevant topics to this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following subjects:

• Building envelope materials and systems envisaging indoor comfort and energy efficiency;
• Building thermal and energy modelling and simulation;
• Lab test procedures and methods of field measurement to assess the performance of materials and building solutions;
• Smart materials and renewable energy in building envelopes;
• Adaptive and intelligent building envelopes;
• Integrated building envelope technologies for high-performance buildings and cities.

Prof. Dr. Jorge de Brito
Prof. Dr. Maria da Glória Gomes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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