Environmental and energetic design of a precast concrete panel for commercial and industrial building

On the basis of Directive 2002/91/EC the energy savings in the buildings sector (residential, commercial, industrial, etc...) cannot be postponed; about 40% of the total energy consumption takes place in buildings, which is the highest percentage among energy consumers. The building design have to take into account all issues related to energy performance, and in special way, all those related to building energy use for heating, ventilation, cooling, lighting. In this framework are of particular interest, commercial and industrial buildings fo which the building-related energy use is often the dominant component of total energy use. Concrete precast panels, firstly used for industrial building cladding, are currently employed, in Italy and worldwide, also in the abovementioned sectors (e.g. commercial building, warehouse, office,..) and this claim for a better energetic and thermal performances in term of thermal insulation and thermal inertia to ensure energy savings. In this paper, based on actual panel used in an industrial building application, that is from the real conditions of operation, is presented a methodology that from the energy point of view and heat transfer point of view, has lead to the improvement of the actual panel. External conditions (temperature, humidity, wind direction, solar radiation, illumination) and internal conditions (temperature, humidity, illumination) have been collected and then compared to software simulation esults (ECOTECT). This leads to the effective information on main parameters that are influencing actual panel and so they can define requirements necessary to improve energetic performance in term of thermophysical performances (thermal resistance, lower water vapour diffusivity, optimization of thermal lag and enhancement of energy savings).