Envelope and Building Systems: A Tool for Controlling and Managing Smart Buildings

This paper describes a software program developed to control smart building components (SBCs) and improve comfort in buildings that use SBCs. In a virtual environment, this software package allows to control automatically the performance of buildings that include SBCs in their envelope and systems. The software has been calibrated on a simple model of a virtual building that is characterized by an SB intelligent skin, so that it is enabled to change its own characteristics and to modulate them in accordance to variability of boundary conditions. Internal comfort is guaranteed by hourly check and automatic management of the following elements: (a) Electrochromic glasses, (b) External vertical screening, (c) Internal vertical screening, (d) Ventilation grids, and (e) Radiant floor heating system.