Integral evaluation of façades and building envelopes

Due to ever-rising energy prices and an increasing awareness of the need to protect the environment, numerous innovative developments concerning the use of regenerative energy sources and energy-saving building concepts have emerged in recent years. In turn, the resulting changing requirements for the building envelope call for the constant adaptation and further development of these systems as well as their optimal interaction. Photovoltaics, solar thermal energy and intelligent functions integrated into the façade can significantly reduce energy consumption in modern buildings. Multifunctional façades are based on the combination of different technical disciplines with high requirements in terms of building physics. They perform a wide variety of functions, such as ventilation, lighting and protection against the weather, with more and more systems generating and distributing thermal and electrical energy.

Our multi-story, modular, façade test facility at our Holzkirchen branch – the VERU Modular Test Facility for Energy and Indoor Environments – offers customers and partners the unique opportunity to study on a 1:1 scale and under real weather conditions the influence of the façade in interaction with the systems technology installed behind it. Our studies focus on the energy required for heating, cooling and ventilation, as well as on aspects of comfort, daylighting and glare.

The calorimetric façade and roof testing facility can be used to evaluate the energy efficiency of large-format transparent building elements. Whereas conventional laboratory facilities can generally only evaluate test specimens on a reduced scale due to geometric limitations, this test facility enables large-format building elements to be studied, such as façade structures, skylight domes or multi-layer membrane cushion systems, with dimensions up to 2.6 x 3.5 meters. The test facility is primarily used to measure the total solar energy transmittance (g-value) and the heat transfer coefficient (U-value) under real installation and weathering conditions. The measuring chamber can be rotated almost 360 degrees and tilted 90 degrees, so that the test piece can be examined in any direction and position between horizontal and vertical.

We would be happy to help you evaluate and further develop your façade concept. We are looking forward to hearing from you!