Exploring the advantages of photo-voltaic triple skin façade in hot summer conditions

Abstract A new skin of perforated metallic sheet is introduced in the cavity of a photo-voltaic double skin facade (PV-DSF) system for an efficient heat removal from the cavity without losing substantial light into the built space. Quantitative experimental analysis is conducted to evaluate its thermal and electrical performance for various combinations of ventilation modes, air cavities, and perforation ratios. The advantages of Photo-Voltaic Triple Skin Facade system (PV-TSF) over commonly used PV-DSF are also evaluated experimentally. The results showed that naturally ventilated PV-TSF provides lower temperatures and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) with slightly higher power when compared to no ventilation mode in PV-DSF system. The SHGC of the PV-DSF system can be reduced by nearly 4.7% with variation in air cavity (Thickness 50–200 mm); after which no noticeable improvement is observed. In the case of PV-TSF system, SHGC can be reduced by almost 14.7% compared to the PV-DSF system without significant loss of natural daylight into built space. Experimental results also showed that the reduction in perforation ratio from 60% to 20% reduced the SHGC by 3.8% with an average illuminance of 334 lux (minimum perforation, 20%). It was also observed that the addition of a perforated sheet can offset the large air cavity of a PV-DSF system. Therefore, the benefit of the PV-TSF system is profound as compared to PV-DSF.