The effect of external surface properties on the thermal behaviour of a transparently insulated wall

The properties of transparent plaster covering transparent insulation materials (TIM) were investigated using a whole building simulation program (ESP-r). The outer plaster was made from glass balls of different diameter, glued together with synthetic resin. The transmittance of the whole transparent covering layer (plaster + TIM) was estimated for different solar incident angles by laboratory measurements. The innovative character of the materials required refining of ESP-r’s optical database in order to take into account these new characteristics. The transparently insulated building facade was proposed as a solar energy storage system. The results of the initial analysis showed the desirable optical properties, estimated for sun incident angles on the façade at a latitude of 52 degrees north. Then, simulations based on real climatic data for Central Europe were conducted to predict the thermal TIM wall behaviour. The influence of the structure on the diurnal heat storage potential was investigated for selected periods of the year