The impact of facade materials on the thermal comfort and energy efficiency of offices buildings

In order to improve thermal comfort conditions of tertiary buildings through the facades of buildings, a research has been undertaken with the intention of developing a contextually appropriate and energetically efficient facade under the conditions of a hot and arid climate. The study has taken as its starting point the analysis of comfort conditions of a set of office buildings located in Biskra. These buildings were distinguished from standpoints of the treatment of their facades and the materials used. The study proposes to evaluate the thermal functioning of the different materials of the facade, then to optimize their behavior by acting on their material characteristics and the walls composition. The facade, indeed, represents a place of interaction and exchange between the inside and the outside, the performance of which is due to factors that are formal, material and technical. This article presents the main results of the analytical work. The investigation is based on an empirical approach (measurements in situ on real cases) as well as on a parametric simulation study. The results show that the facade represents with excellence the place of interaction and exchange between the interior and the exterior, the performance of which is due to factors that are both material and conceptual. Through a set of recommendations, this study tries to develop a material composition of high-performing facade that can respond optimally to the requirements of a tertiary building in a desert climate, while ensuring a pleasant thermal ambience and low consumption energy.