Energy, Condensation Risk and Constructability Evaluation of Metal-Exterior Curtain Wall Panel Systems for Reducing Heat Loss through Thermal Bridges

메탈 커튼월 패널 시스템의 열교최소화 대안별 에너지, 결로 및 시공성 평가

In order to achieve the national target for reducing the green house gas emission, energy consumption in buildings should be reduced because such consumption accounts for more than 21% of the national energy consumption in South Korea. To save energy in buildings, the most important task is to improve the energy performance of a building envelope. Therefore, the Korean government has tightened insulation design code for buildings. In the case of a metal-exterior curtain wall panel system built using steel trusses, actual insulation performance may not be satisfied the code because of additional heat loss through local thermal bridges such as fixing units, steel trusses and joints between panels. The aim of this study was to develope highly insulated metal-exterior curtain wall panel systems in order to obtain the better energy performance. After examining the locations and configurations of thermal bridges, three alternatives for removing thermal bridges were proposed and compared with two existing curtain wall panel systems in terms of their energy performance, condensation risk, construction cost, and constructability. As results, the second alternative reduces heat loss by maximum 85.7% compared with existing cases and has optimal construction cost and constructability.