New scientific article shows why integrated prefabricated façades matter for renovation

A new scientific article has been published in Buildings: “Experimental and Numerical Characterization of a Prefabricated Timber Facade with Integrated HVAC Unit”.

This paper answers a very practical question: do prefabricated façades with built-in heating, cooling and ventilation really perform better than standard renovation solutions?

To answer this, the research team at Eurac Research, together with the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, did not stop at simulations. They built and tested a full-scale mock-up of a prefabricated timber façade with integrated HVAC at the Facade System Interactions Lab of Eurac Research in Bolzano.

The experimental results were then used to calibrate and validate a detailed 3D numerical model. This matters because it provides measured evidence that these systems can work in practice, not only in theory.

What the study found

The results show that the active façade achieved an equivalent thermal transmittance of 0.07 W m−2 K−1, compared to 0.21 W m−2 K−1, with a supply air temperature of 40°C, for the passive façade with the same materials but without active components.

In simple terms, the study shows that integrating HVAC functions into a prefabricated façade can:

• reduce heat losses significantly
• improve overall thermal performance
• provide insulation, heating, cooling and fresh air in one system
• support a more minimally invasive renovation process

Why this matters for renovation practice

One of the main challenges of industrialised renovation is proving that multifunctional solutions are not just innovative, but also reliable, measurable, and comparable with conventional building systems.

This paper helps fill that gap.

It proposes a simplified method to evaluate the thermal behaviour of active façades and compare them with more traditional wall systems.

That makes the research useful not only for scientists, but also for:

• designers
• façade manufacturers
• engineers
• building professionals working on deep retrofit

In short, this paper shows that multifunctional prefabricated façades are not just an idea: they are a practical and measurable solution for scaling up renovation.

Read the article: “Experimental and Numerical Characterization of a Prefabricated Timber Facade with Integrated HVAC Unit”.

We congratulate all authors and collaborators: Barbara Messner (MCI – The Entrepreneurial School), Martino Gubert (Eurac Research), Diego Tamburrini (Eurac Research), Stefano Avesani (Ecoloop), Giovanni Pernigotto (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano), Andrea Gasparella (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano), Ingrid Demanega (Eurac Research).