Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Application of passive wall systems for improving the energy effciency

in buildings: A comprehensive review
Hossein Omrany a, Ali Ghaffarianhoseini b,n, Amirhosein Ghaffarianhoseini c,
Kaamran Raahemifar d, John Tookey b
a
Department of Construction Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor, Malaysia
b
Department of Built Environment Engineering, School of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland,
New Zealand
c
Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
d
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The building sector accounts for approximately 40% of total global energy usage. Energy consumption for
Received 4 May 2015 space heating and cooling makes up 60% of the total consumed energy in buildings. This paper presents a
Received in revised form comprehensive technical review of passive wall systems in building envelopes while discussing their
7 January 2016
respective capabilities in optimizing energy efficiency. Different types of energy efficient walls such as
Accepted 6 April 2016
Trombe Walls, Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Walls, Double Skin Walls, and Green Walls are explored.
Furthermore, novel concepts for optimizing energy efficiency in building envelopes are also introduced.
Keywords: Finally the utilization of passive wall systems to save energy while improving the building environmental
Building energy consumption impacts is discussed.
Building envelope
& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Passive wall systems
Building Façades

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1253
2. Research methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1254
3. Passive wall systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255
3.1. Trombe walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255
3.1.1. Overview of Trombe walls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255
3.1.2. Effects of Trombe walls on BICE performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255
3.2. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1257
3.3. Double skin façades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1257
3.3.1. Overview of double skin façades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1257
3.3.2. Effects of double skin walls on the building energy performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1258
3.4. Application of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in wall systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1258
3.5. Green walls/systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259
3.5.1. Green façades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1261
3.5.2. Living walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1261
3.6. Innovative wall system solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1262
4. Future trends of building façade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1263
4.1. Intelligent façades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1263
4.2. Kinetic façades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1263

n
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ali.ghaffarianhoseini@aut.ac.nz (A. Ghaffarianhoseini).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.04.010
1364-0321/& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269 1253

4.3. Biophilic design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1264

4.4. Climate adaptive building shells (CABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1266
5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267

1. Introduction [10]. Additionally, The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural

Maintaining building's indoor climate and environment (BICE)
is responsible for consuming 30-40% of global energy [1]. This
percentage varies between countries as the result of social and
economic situations, concentration on energy requirements and
the approach towards utilizing building energy codes, availability
of main energy resources and climatic conditions. Recent studies
estimate that 41% of total US primary energy demand is consumed
by the building climate control [2], close to the figure of 40%
within the European Union [3]. Different BICE proportions have
been proposed in the literature for consuming the total primary
energy in China. International Energy Agency (IEA) [4] indicated
that China's BICE demand consumed 31% of its total primary
energy in 2007. Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Develop-
ment of China (MOHURD) [5] also stated that China's building
energy consumption accounted for 27.5% of the total energy con-
sumption in 2012. Zhang, et al. [6] calculated the amount of
building energy use with a life cycle approach in China. It was
concluded that; buildings consumed approximately 43% of China's
total energy consumption (2011–2013). Similarly, BICE in India is
known to be in charge of consuming 169 million tons of oil
equivalent (Mtoe) or 47% of the total energy usage [7].
Significance of achieving energy efficiency in buildings has
been well reflected in European regulations where 3 out of the 10
priority measures in the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (Eur-
opean Commission, 2006) are related to buildings [8]. The recent
recast of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
requires all new buildings in the EU to consume ‘nearly zero’
energy after 2020. It requires buildings' energy efficiency to be
raised to a higher level through ‘the coherent application of passive
and active design strategies in order to reduce the heating and
cooling loads’, ‘raising equipment energy efficiency’, and ‘the use of
renewable energies’ [9]. Similar attempts have been made by China
to control the growing trends of energy use in building sector.
Comprehensive Building Energy Codes (BEC) comprising standards
for design and regulations have been issued. The current BEC for
residential and commercial buildings addresses heating, ventila-
tion, and air conditioning systems (HVAC) and building envelope
Development in China established different energy efficiency tar-
gets for BIC. For example, it was targeted to achieve 50% reduction
in energy use for new buildings and fulfilling energy conservation
for existing building by 25%, 15%, and 10% in large, medium, and
small cities, respectively, through implementing the retrofitting
measures by the end of 2010 [10].
The US government also targets to achieve 80% Greenhouse
Gases (GHG) reduction by 2050 as a response to the “the 2 °C
guardrail” approved by the Copenhagen Climate Summit [11].
Moreover, US federal policy aims to decrease the energy demand
in new buildings by 70% by 2020 [12]. Different programs have
been initiated in order to respond to the increasing demand for
energy consumption in the US. For example, LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design) is a federal energy policy that
includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction,
operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes and
neighborhoods developed by the U.S. Green Building Council
(USGBC). LEED is intended to assist building owners and operators
to be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently.
A primary measure to minimize the BICE energy use is to
enhance the thermal and energy performance of the building
envelope. This enhancement is achievable through enforcing
active, passive or combined energy management measures. In
recent years passive strategies have held prominence. Researchers
have proposed innovative solutions aiming to improve the energy
performance of building envelope components. This paper pre-
sents a widespread technical review of the wall component in
building envelope and discusses about its respective improve-
ments from a BICE efficiency perspective. The scope of this
research is limited to the use of passive strateies in the wall
component. Different types of energy efficient walls such as
Trombe Walls, Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Walls, Double Skin Walls,
and Green Walls are discussed. Furthermore, innovative wall con-
cepts and their potential to reduce the energy use are presented.
This study introduces new concepts, recognized as novel solutions,
for future trends of building envelope.

Table 1
Reviewed Journals for selection of relative papers.

Scope Journals Publisher

Energy and Built Environment Automation in Construction; Energy and Buildings; Building and Environment; Construction and Building Materials; ELSEVIER
Progress in Materials Science; International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment; Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews; Ecological Engineering; Landscape and Urban Planning; Procedia; International Journal of Heat and
Mass Transfer; Journal of Cleaner Production; Applied Acoustics; Renewable Energy; Energy Policy; Applied Energy;
Sustainable Cities and Society; Solar Energy
Building Research & Information; Intelligent Buildings International; Architectural Science Review; Construction Taylor & Francis
Management and Economics
Cement & Concrete Composites; Built Environment Project and Asset Management; Journal of Engineering, Design EMERALD
and Technology; Smart and Sustainable Built Environment
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research WILEY
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management; Journal of Architectural Engineering; Computing in Civil ASCE
Engineering
Advances in Heat Transfer; International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment ScienceDirect
Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences; Journal of Central South University; Heat and Mass Transfer Springer
Other Journals Scopus; Proquest; Google Scholar; International conferences; Official websites –
1254 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
Fig. 1. The review approach.
Table 2
Keywords used in research approach.
Keywords used to search for the most popular passive walls
Building envelope; Building energy consumption; Active pipe-embedded
building envelope; Carbon emissions; Thermal performance; Energy effi-
ciency; Energy savings; Building façades; Trombe Walls; Building envelope
design; Thermal insulation; Sustainability; Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
(AAC) Walls; Double skin façades; Advanced façades; Responsive archi-
tecture; Biophilic Design; Biophilic architecture; Green building; Built
environment; Renewable energy; Phase Change Materials (PCMs) Walls;
Passive techniques; Green walls; Automated control; Intelligent Façades;
Shading device; Climate Adaptive Building Shells (CABS); Façade control;
Innovative design of building envelope; Thermal mass; Energy efficient wall
system; Active pipe-embedded structure; New house wall; Wall insulation
materials; Indoor environmental quality; Thermal comfort; Kinetic Façades;
Thermal insulation system; Passive solar design
2. Research methodology
This research presented a comprehensive technical review of
passive wall systems in building envelopes, while discussing their
respective potentials towards optimizing energy efficiency. The
review considered the most related scholarly studies from diverse
academic databases, as represented in Table 1.
During the first stage, a comprehensive list consisting of the
most popular passive walls, and building facades with promising
performances in optimizing building energy consumption were
prepared (Fig. 1). A keyword search was carried out to develop this
list (see Table 1). Table 2 demonstrates the most common key-
words used for this purpose.
The outcome of this stage represents a list embodying the most
significant passive wall systems, and building facades (Table 3).
These walls, and facades were genuinely recognized in the litera-
ture as the energy efficient systems resulting in enhancement of
building performance. However, due to the extent of study's
Table 3
Primary list of passive walls developed based on the keywords search.
Passive solar walls
Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Walls
Double skin façades
Green wall
Wood-framed wall systems
Phase Change Materials (PCMs) Wall systems
Trombe Walls
Intelligent Façades
Climate Adaptive Building Shells
Solar chimney
Biophilic
Unglazed transpired solar façades
Kinetic Façades
Lightweight concrete (LWC) walls
Walls with latent heat storage
Passive-house curtain walls
domain, filters were applied to limit the numbers of passive walls
targeted for this study. These filters include ‘the performances of
these facades and walls for increasing the building energy opti-
mization’, ‘possession of the highest rate of repetitiveness in the
literature’, and ‘existence of data reliability relative to these
facades, and wall systems’.
During the second stage, the identified papers were classified
into two categories including the most popular passive wall sys-
tems and the building facades recognized in the literature as
appropriate solutions to improve the energy performance of
building envelope. Notwithstanding the potential of these facades,
their applications are not yet generalized in the building sector.
Therefore, these facades were classified under the cluster of ‘future
trends of building facades’, and their potentials were highlighted
accordingly. The final database created was rigorously analyzed
with viewpoints to the main aim of this research to discuss the
potential of employing passive wall systems as well as applying
 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
Fig. 2. Functionality of the Trombe wall [17].
energy efficient building facades towards reduction of building
energy utilization. Findings were subsequently interpreted, and
presented.
3. Passive wall systems
Walls are the outermost part of the envelope that make up the
largest component in a building. Walls can be defined as ‘prevalent
fragments of a building envelope which are expected to provide
thermal and acoustic comfort for occupants without compromising
the esthetics of building’ [13]. Walls normally constitute the largest
portion of the building envelope. Consequently walls create a
route for thermal transmission as a result of their large surface
area, allowing solar radiation to pass through the building in
bright sunlight. Conversely they also provide a large surface that
facilitates thermal radiation in cold environments. In high-rise
buildings with a high ratio of wall to envelope, the thermal per-
formance of walls can be even more crucial. Highlighting the
functionality of walls in buildings, appropriate selection of wall
type is a fundamental measure to reduce the energy consumption.
3.1. Trombe walls
3.1.1. Overview of Trombe walls
Trombe wall, also known as storage wall or Solar Heating Wall
(SHW), was first presented by Edward S. Morse in 1881 [14]. The
wall was later developed by French engineer Felix Trombe and the
French architect Jacques Michel. Its integration in buildings as an
architectural element was popularized in the 1960s [15]. This type
of wall consists of a massive vertical structure, generally made of
stone, brick, or concrete, with high inertia and black color installed
at a close distance to glazing (Fig. 2). The wall absorbs solar
radiation and transmits part of thermal energy into the building by
natural convection through the solar chimney formed by the
glazing on one side and the wall on the other. The heat absorbed
from the sun by the external surface of the wall conducts slowly
through the massive wall to the inner surface and then to the
room by radiation and convection [16]. This wall delivers different
advantages (see Table 4). The most important advantage offered by
the heat capacity of the wall is to store the solar thermal gain
during the day and release it into the building space overnight
1255
[17]. Current design practice has added two vents to the bottom
and top of glazing frame in order to increase the buoyancy through
the ‘solar chimney’ (the air space between glazing and high-mass
wall). Moreover, the heat-absorbing wall, which normally is
painted black, has two openings to allow airflow through ther-
mosyphon to the interior. These vents can be closed at night with
dampers (Fig. 3).
During winter, incoming heat is absorbed and stored in the
high-mass wall for the nighttime period. Proper use of air vents
can further increase the air changes between chimney and interior,
as the stack effect (primary driving force of natural ventilation,
caused by temperature difference between the smoke in the shaft and
the ambient fresh air) [18] is enhanced by incoming solar radiation
through the glass. During summer, by closing the air vents of the
heat-absorbing and storage wall with dampers, the warming
effects will be significantly neutralized [19]. Careful considerations
of Trombe wall design parameters improve the overall perfor-
mance of the wall. The space between wall and glazing is con-
sidered to be important in order to prevent heat loss through the
glass. Additionally, the width of chimney is another significant
criterion as it can affect the convection process. It has been sug-
gested that a suitable width for the chimney ranges between 3 and
6 cm [20,21].
3.1.2. Effects of Trombe walls on BICE performance
Prior research has addressed different aspects of Trombe walls
e.g. heat storage characteristics [22], integrating Photo Voltaic
system (PV) with Trombe walls [23–25], cost analysis of PV
Trombe walls [26] and the application of phase change materials
(PCM) in Trombe walls [27]. Researchers endeavored to discover
the capability of Trombe walls in reducing the building energy
consumption.
Boji et al. [28] studied a design optimization of two passive
Trombe walls placed at the South side of a modified ‘Mozart’ house
design, located in the in Lyon, France. Investigation was performed
through using EnergyPlus software to simulate the thermal
behavior of these houses and GenOpt code to find the optimal
thickness of the Trombe wall core layer. Energy performances of
these buildings were compared to that of those without Trombe
walls, with a saving of approximately 20% of the annual operating
energy during the heating seasons compared to the building
without Trombe walls. Abbassi et al. [17] developed a numerical
1256 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269

Table 4
Advantages and disadvantages of the reviewed passive walls.

Typology Advantages Disadvantages References

Trombe walls
Capability to be integrated with new technologies such as PV
In regions with mild winters and hot summers, overheating [23–25,101–
systems.

Reduction of building's energy consumption, and decrease of
In a climate with extended cloudy periods, without employing
moisture and humidity of interior spaces in humid regions.

The indoor temperatures are more stable than in most other
passive systems. Prevention of excessive sunshine penetration
into the inhabited space.

Installation is relatively inexpensive, where construction would
normally be masonry, or for retrofitting existing buildings with
uninsulated massive exterior walls.

The time delay between absorption of the solar energy, and
delivery of the thermal energy to the living space can be used
for night-time heating.

Trombe wall not only provides thermal comfort in the spaces
connected to itself, but also contributes to the enhanced ther-
mal comfort condition of adjacent spaces.
AAC walls
AAC walls are lightweight concrete, and fire resistance.

Reduction of energy consumption. Ease of construction, trans-
portation and installation. Environmentally friendly.

Lower thermal conductivity, lower shrinkage; ductility;
acoustic insulation properties and transpiring properties.

Porous structure resulting in lower density and compressive
strength compared to normal-weight concrete.

AAC can be introduced as a green masonry material due to its
properties.
Double skin
Provision of sufficient visual connection with the surroundings.

walls
Facilitation of entering a large amount of daylight
without glare.
Increasing the weight of building's structure due to the

Offering attractive esthetic values.

Promotion of natural ventilation, and thermal comfort without

any electricity demand. Reduction in building energy
consumption.

Acoustic insulation.
PCMs wall
Organics; availability in a large temperature range.
systems
Freeze without much super cooling.

Ability to melt congruently.

Compatibility with conventional material of construction.

Chemically stable.

Recyclable.

Inorganics; High volumetric latent heat storage capacity.

Low cost and easy availability.

Sharp phase change.

High thermal conductivity.

Non-flammable.
Green wall
Enhancing building esthetics.
systems
Improving the acoustic properties.

Reduction of heat gains and losses.

Ability to be integrated with existing buildings.
problems may outweigh the winter benefits. 104]
the adequate operable insulation, the wall may become
heat sink.

Trombe walls have low thermal resistance causing to transfer
the heat flux from the inside to the outside of a building
during the night or prolonged cloudy periods.

The amount of gained heat is unpredictable due to changes
occur in solar intensity.

Trombe walls are esthetically appealing.

Production cost per unit for ACC is higher than other ordinary [34–39]
concretes.

AAC is not as strong as conventional concrete.

According to the Portland Cement Association [105], ACC has
an allowable shear stress of 8–22 psi, and a compressive
strength of 300–900 psi. However, conventional concrete
has a shear stress closer to 40 psi, and a compressive strength
of 1500 psi.

The process of autoclaving concrete requires significant
energy to be consumed, by which environmental demerits
will be involved in its application.
Higher cost for designing, constructing, maintaining com- [42,43,106,131]
pared to the traditional single façade.
application of this façade.
Risk of overheating during sunny days can be increased.
Complicated process of designing.

Additional maintenance and operational costs.

Increased airflow velocity inside the cavity.

Potential issues associated to fire propagation.

Low thermal conductivity. [60–63,107]

Low volumetric latent heat storage capacity.

Flammable.

High volume change.

Super cooling.

Segregation

Providing a living environment for mosquitoes, moths, etc. [73–77]
Requiring significant, and consistent maintenance measures.

Water drainage can be involved in complexities, and
difficulties.

Fig. 3. Unvented Trombe wall (left); vented Trombe wall in winter mode (center); and vented Trombe wall in summer mode (right) [19].
 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
model of a Trombe wall system by using TRNSYS software. This
model was further validated by a small-scale experimental pro-
totype at a laboratory in Borj Cedria, Tunisia. Simulation results
indicated that approximately 77% of total heating demand of a
16 m2 non-insulated simple Tunisian building, can be reduced by a
vented Trombe wall of 8 m2. Moreover, a 97% reduction of the
annual heating loads was attained by a 6 m2 Trombe wall area
when the external walls of the considered simple building were
double walls insulated by 5 cm of expanded polystyrene. Koyun-
baba et al. [29] carried out a research to analyze the performance
of a BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic) Trombe wall inte-
grated to the façade of a room in Izmir, Turkey. Computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) was applied to predict the temperature and
velocity distribution in the test room model. Experimental results
indicated that; the BIPV Trombe wall model is capable of
increasing the building's thermal efficiency and enhancing the
average daily electricity consumption by 27.2% and 4.52%,
respectively. Jaber and Ajib [30] also studied the thermal, envir-
onmental and economic impacts of Trombe wall systems for
residential buildings in the Mediterranean region by using
TRNSYS. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) was used to determine the optimum
size of this system. It was concluded that the application of a
Trombe wall system does not reduce the maximum loads in the
building, but can reduce annual heating energy consumption. This
is primarily because performance of a Trombe wall depends on the
availability of solar radiation. Obviously where there is a high level
of solar radiation during the day, there is usually a lower overall
heating demand – and of course vice versa. They also calculated
the optimum Trombe wall area ratio from thermal and economical
points of view to be 37%. The use of optimum ratio decreased LCC
by 2.4%. Krüger et al. [19] analyzed the heating/cooling potential of
a Trombe wall system. Two test cells were built for this purpose
with an internal volume of 5.4 m3 (one of them with a naturally
ventilated Trombe wall attached to it and another one without it
called the reference test cell). Indoor temperature measurements
were carried out in cold periods of 2011 and during summer 2012.
They demonstrated that a Trombe wall system had a better per-
formance compared to the reference test cell. In another attempt,
Briga-Sá et al. [31] used a calculating methodology to analyze the
energy performance of Trombe wall based on ISO 13790: 2008 (E),
adapted to the Portuguese climatic conditions. It was concluded
that heating energy needs can be reduced by 16.36% if a Trombe
wall is added to a building envelope. The results also showed that
the proposed methodology provided a valid approach to compute
the Trombe wall thermal performance.
The Trombe wall is thus recognized as a wall system potentially
able to reduce BICE energy consumption. The performance of this
type of wall can be further improved through being integrated
with other modes of energy efficiency strategies namely BIPV.
Furthermore, this wall can have positive environmental impacts by
reducing the CO2 emission.
3.2. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) walls
AAC walls comprise of noncombustible cement-based materi-
als, manufactured from a mixture of Portland cement, fly ash (or
other sources of silica), quick lime, gypsum, water, and aluminum
powder (or paste) as described in ACI 523.2R [32]. This material
was first presented in the 1920s as an alternative for building
construction by Dr. Johan Axel Eriksson and Professor Henrik
Kreüger at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden [33]. In the
modern day AAC is being used widely because of its particular
characteristics as it combines ease of construction with an excel-
lent combination of mechanical and thermal properties. AAC is
also considered as an environmentally friendly material with
considerable potential for future applications. In comparison with
1257
traditional construction materials, AAC applications in building
can offer substantial advantages. These include lower material
density (i.e. the opportunity of creating lightweight, if not load
bearing, structures), lower thermal conductivity, lower shrinkage,
greater fire resistance and ease of use in construction [34]. Other
AAC advantages (see Table 4) include lightness; ease of transport
and installation; ductility; acoustic insulation properties and
transpiring properties [35].
Beside the aforementioned advantages of AAC, the salient fea-
ture of aerated concrete is the high porosity resulting in lower
density and compressive strength compared to normal-weight
concrete. The pore structure, consisting of a variety of sizes from
micro-pores to macro-pores and air-pores [36], results in excellent
thermal properties. AAC has been recently introduced as a green
masonry material. Several investigations into the energy saving
properties of this material have been undertaken. Al-Sayed [37]
discovered a significant reduction in heat gains and cooling loads
for a typical building in Kuwait can be achieved while using AAC
instead of cement blocks. Al-ajmi [38] investigated six air-
conditioned mosque buildings during the summer to inspect
indoor climate conditions and thermal comfort in Kuwait, con-
cluding that AAC blocks provided thermal comfort inside buildings
without the use of thermal insulation. Radhi [39] assessed the
influence of AAC on thermal performance of UAE residential
buildings, comparing these properties with a number of possible
alternatives including a techno-economic analysis. Results of their
study showed that the energy use could be reduced by approxi-
mately 7% if AAC walls were used. Additionally, each square meter
of an ACC wall can save almost 350 kg of CO2 emissions
throughout its life cycle. Application of AAC in building envelopes
offers significant advantages ranging from the acoustic properties
to easing the process of installation and transportation. In addition
to these properties, this wall has a satisfactory thermal perfor-
mance. Literature reviews indicate the promising capability of AAC
walls for mitigating the energy demand in buildings.
3.3. Double skin façades
3.3.1. Overview of double skin façades
Double-skin façade (DSF) can be defined as ‘a special type of
envelope, where a second skin, usually a transparent glazing is placed
in front of a regular building façade’ [40]. The cavity space between
the external and internal skin is called ‘channel’. In general, the
channel is ventilated (naturally, mechanically, or using a hybrid
system) in order to diminish overheating issues in summer and
contribute to energy savings in winter. This concept was initially
introduced in early 1900s but, little progress was made until the
1990s. In recent years, application of DSFs in building envelope has
become more widespread.
DSF refers to a building façade covering one or more levels with
multiple glazed skins. The cavity between the skins of the façade
can be airtight or naturally/mechanically ventilated [41]. DSFs may
be equipped either with forced ventilation in the cavity or natural
ventilation (stack effect). The outer skin is usually a hardened
single glazed panel and can be fully glazed. The inner skin can be
an insulating double-glazing though not necessarily fully glazed in
most applications. The optimum width determined for the gap
between the two skins ranges between 200 mm to more than 2 m
[41]. Application of an air-tightened DSF increases the building
thermal insulation while reducing the heat loss during winter. Use
of DSFs offers various advantages [42,43,131] including (see also
Table 4):

Transparent properties of DSF can provide a sufficient visual
connection with the surroundings.
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DSFs admit a large amount of daylight to enter the building
without glare.

DSFs offer attractive esthetic values.

DSFs promote natural ventilation resulting in pleasing indoor air
quality while improving thermal comfort without any elec-
tricity demand.
On the other side, application of DSFs has some disadvantages
such as:

DSFs have higher costs of designing, constructing and main-
taining compared to the traditional single façade.

Application of DSFs increases the overall weight of the build-
ing's structure.

Transparent properties of DSF can increase the risk of over-
heating during sunny days as leading to a higher cooling
demand.

Designing DSFs can be complicated as several factors namely;
geometric parameters, glass selection, ventilation strategy,
shading, daylighting, esthetics, wind loads, maintenance and
cleaning cost expectations are involved.
3.3.2. Effects of double skin walls on the building energy
performance
Previous researchers have addressed various aspects of DSFs
such as advancements made in its design [44,45] and evaluation of
DSFs behavior in heating and cooling seasons [46–48]. Other stu-
dies investigated specific aspects of DSFs namely daylighting
characteristics [49,50], the effects of cavity depth on spreading fire
in DSFs [51,52], measurements of airflow inside the DSF [53] and
the effect of plants used in the cavity on the performance of DSFs
[54]. Chan [41] studied the energy performance of DSF applied to a
typical office in Hong Kong. They established an experimental
setup and the collected data were further used to verify the the-
oretical model developed via EnergyPlus simulation software. The
validated model was then used to evaluate the energy perfor-
mance of DSF with various configurations including glazing type,
glazing position, and glazing layers. Results indicated that a DSF
system with single clear glazing as the inner pane and double
reflective glazing as the outer pane can provide an annual saving
of approximately 26% in building cooling energy, as compared to a
conventional single skin façade with single absorptive glazing.
Ballestini et al. [55] investigated the possibility of using passive
solar systems for a silk factory in a Mediterranean climate. They
used dynamic simulations with the aid of TRNSYS software and
LOOPDA simulation models. Their results indicated that use of DSF
is a promising solution for building renovation as it can save up to
12% of energy consumption. Xu et al. [56] proposed a DSF for a
double-story residential building in Kitakyushu, Japan. They stu-
died different parameters such as the stack effects on the DSF
during summer, the greenhouse effects during winter and avail-
ability of free air-conditioning during autumn. Temperature dis-
tribution, thermal performance in the double skin space and its
impacts on air-conditioning load in rooms were measured. Results
demonstrated that; the DSF led to approximately 10–15% energy
saving for cooling during the peak in summer due to heat
exhaustion through natural ventilation. Furthermore, 20–30%
energy for heating in winter was also saved due to the greenhouse
effects. Therefore; DSF system was proven to be an effective
solution to conserve energy in residential buildings.
Factors affecting the energy performance of DSFs should be
taken into consideration during initial design stages. Joe et al. [57]
quantitatively analyzed the impact of initial DSF design factors,
regarding window glazing type and cavity depth on the energy
consumption of adjacent conditioned zones. They conducted
parametric and optimization studies on the DSF design through
validating a proposed model. Results of their study indicated that
the largest variation of energy consumption occurred when the
window glazing type on the outside surface of the inner layer
changed. Moreover, energy consumption decreased when low-
ering the cavity depth of the DSF. Eventually, application of opti-
mal DSF design provided a further 5.62% reduction in energy
consumption. Charron et al. [58] theoretically investigated the
performance of DSF integrated with Photovoltaic (PV) and
motorized blinds. They examined two configurations of the façade
with the lower section integrated with PV and the upper vision
section with motorized blinds. Results showed that; placing the
blind in the middle of the cavity can increase the efficiency of
vision section by 5%. In addition, it was also concluded that the
optimized performance of façade through this approach can lead
to an efficiency in electricity by over 60%. Pappas et al. [59] also
tested the energy performance of DSF through utilizing the DOE
2.2 and EnergyPlus software. It was found that less than 1% annual
cooling energy and 3% heating energy was saved comparing the
DSF to a conventional air distribution system. Energy Plus pre-
dicted a 3% reduction in cooling and heating loads with DSF as
compared to a triple-glazed façade with no air flow between the
glazings.
Application of DSFs in building envelope delivers various
advantages such as permitting radiation to pass through the
building due to its transparent characteristics, as well as providing
visual connection with the surrounding. In terms of energy pre-
servation, reviewed papers confirmed that using DSFs is a pro-
mising solution towards optimizing the energy consumption in
buildings. Recent studies indicated that disadvantages related to
energy performance of DSFs can be improved through taking cri-
tical factors into consideration. These factors include the optimum
depth of cavity, using glazing system in DSFs and the integration of
DSFs and PV systems.
3.4. Application of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in wall systems
Phase Change Materials (PCMs) have attracted significant
attention due to their capability of materializing the objective of
heating control over the last decade. Functionality of PCMs is lar-
gely based on absorbing the surplus energy when there is plenty
available and subsequently releasing the absorbed energy when
there is an energy deficit. Considerate use of this technology
reduces the building energy consumption while maintaining the
indoor environment level of comfort due to marginal temperature
fluctuations. PCMs are most commonly used in buildings for
installation of PCM-based wallboard towards the interior side of
the building envelope. High thermal storage capacity of these
wallboards absorbs and releases the heat in the building for a
significant part of the day when placed inwards. Based on the
sufficient thermal storage capacity of these wallboards, their
application in lightweight building structures that commonly have
a low thermal inertia is promising. PCMs can be generally cate-
gorized into two groups, namely organic and inorganic [60,61].
Organic compounds used for PCM include paraffin waxes, esters,
acids and alcohols; inorganic materials include salt hydrates,
eutectics of inorganic salts, and metals and their eutectics [60].
PCMs from organic compounds generally have low melting points,
and can only be used for room-heating thermal storage. For high
temperature thermal storage, inorganic compounds can be used
[62]. Several investigations attempted to find out the impacts of
PCMs-based materials used in the building envelope on the overall
indoor temperature and energy consumption.
Lee et al. [63] evaluated the thermal performance of South and
West facing walls (northern hemisphere) outfitted with a thin
layer of PCM. ‘PCM thermal shield (PCMTS)’ was integrated into the
wall through a thermal shield, whereby the PCM was contained in
 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
thin sealed polymer pouches, arranged in sheets laminated with
aluminum foil on both sides. The PCMTSs were installed at five
locations, one at a time, at various depths within the wall cavities
of the South and West facing walls. The thermal performance of
South and West facing walls with and without PCMTS was eval-
uated experimentally using two identical test cases. Results
revealed that; at the optimal location of PCMTS, the peak heat flux
reductions were 51.3% and 29.7% for the South and the West walls,
respectively. Evola et al. [64] investigated the effects of using PCM-
based wallboards in existing buildings with lightweight structures
on improving the summer thermal comfort. They selected two
different PCM walls. One included an aluminum honeycomb
matrix, filled with a compound containing 60 wt% of a paraffin
wax, encapsulated within polymeric microspheres with a diameter
of approximately 5 μm. The wallboard was sealed by two thin
aluminum sheets and its overall thickness was 20 mm. The weight
of the wallboards was around 11 kg m  2. The second one was
made of a micro-encapsulated paraffin. The final form of this
wallboard was a flexible panel with a thickness of 5.26 mm, cov-
ered on both sides with a very thin aluminum sheet. The final
weight was 4.5 kg m  2. The analysis was carried out by dynamic
simulations on a sample office building using EnergyPlus software.
The analysis was repeated in four different locations ‘Catania and
Milan, Italy’, ‘Madrid, Spain’, and ‘Paris, France’ with diverse cli-
matic conditions. Results confirmed that; the use of wallboards
made of micro-encapsulated paraffinic PCMs was a promising and
effective solution for the energy refurbishment of existing light-
weight buildings. Soares et al. [65] also evaluated the impacts of
PCM-drywalls on the annual and monthly heating and cooling
energy savings of an air-conditioned lightweight steel-framed
(LSF) residential building. Real-life conditions and several Eur-
opean climates were considered in this study. A multi-dimensional
optimization study was carried out by combining EnergyPlus and
GenOpt tools. Different variables were considered such as the
thermophysical properties of the PCM, solar absorbance of the
inner surfaces, thickness and location of the PCM-drywalls. It was
concluded that the PCM-based drywalls can make a considerable
contribution to heating and cooling energy savings. PCM-drywalls
were particularly determined to be suitable for Mediterranean
climates, with a promised energy efficiency gain of about 62% for
the Coimbra, Portugal climate. Seville, Spain also had the second
largest energy efficiency gain by 46%. Mandilaras et al. [66]
Fig. 4. Classification of green walls according to their construction characteristics [68].
1259
analyzed a typical double-storey family house located in Greece.
Walls consisted of multiple layers of insulation materials and
gypsum plasterboard panels containing PCMs (BASF – MicronalR
PCM melting point 23 °C) [67] for thermal energy storage purposes.
Sensors were installed in different locations of all external walls in
order to provide detailed temperature measurements. In order to
only focus on thermal characterization of the walling system, the
building was left closed, unoccupied, and no energy systems were
installed. It is shown that within the predicated conditions, the
thermal mass of the walling system was enhanced during late
spring, early summer and autumn, due to the PCM implementa-
tion, resulting also in a decrease of the decrement factor by a
further 30–40% and an increase in the time lag of approximately
100 min.
3.5. Green walls/systems
Green walls, also known as ‘vertical gardens’, ‘vertical greening
systems’, ‘green vertical systems’, ‘vertical greenery systems
(VGSs)’ or ‘Biowalls’ [68], are not novel concepts. Primary usage of
this idea can be dated back to the fifth century CE, growing in use
through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries mostly in the
UK and Central Europe [69]. Nowadays, application of green wall
systems is spread worldwide and is being used in various coun-
tries. One in every ten flat roofs in German cities was reported to
be green by 1996 [70]. 70% of flat roofed inner city buildings in
Swiss cities were reported to have roof gardens [70]. In Asia, the
use of green systems is being increasingly developed with coun-
tries such as Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. In Tokyo, the
Japanese government passed a decree in April 2000 requiring all
new buildings with a gross floor area of 41000 m2 to plant trees
(namely, conifers and cedars) on rooftops [71]. Nowadays, Ger-
many is known as one of the pioneer countries in applying the
green systems [70,72].
Green systems (green roofs and green walls) are considered as
sustainable strategies for rehabilitating urban spaces due to their
great environmental advantages. Emergence of vegetation in the
city context can have therapeutic effects. These effects can further
result in psychological wellbeing, improving the city image [73],
enhancing the property values [74] and acoustic protections
[75,76]. Urban buildings vertically dressed with green plants help
1260 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
Fig. 5. Direct green façade [68].
Fig. 6. Technical scheme for indirect green façade. [83].
insertion of vegetation into the urban context without occupying
the horizontal spaces such as streets (see Table 4) [77].
Several researchers studied the impacts of vertical green sys-
tems on urban temperature reduction. Akbari et al. [78] analyzed
the temperature trends for the last 100 years in several large U.S.
cities. They found that the urban temperature has been increased
by approximately 0.5–3.0 °C since 1940. The study suggested that;
electricity demand in cities will be increased by 2– 4% for every
1 °C increase in temperature. Estimation showed; 5–10% of the
current urban electricity demand spent on cooling buildings is just
to compensate for the increased 0.5–3 °C in urban temperatures.
Price [79] also investigated the cooling effects of a green façade on
the Southern and Western walls. Results showed that; the ambient
air temperature, exterior surface temperature, interior air tem-
perature and heat flux were reduced by using vertical green sys-
tems. It was also demonstrated that; reduction in cooling loads,
ranging from 1.4% to 28.4%, is dependent on the building con-
struction, green façade placement, and employment of window
coverage.
Fig. 7. Continuous living wall system, Caixa Forum, Madrid [68].
Fig. 8. Modular living wall system, Natura Towers, Lisbon [68].
At the building scale, application of vegetation on the building
envelope can improve the overall thermal performance. Wong
et al. [80] simulated the effects of vertical green systems on the
temperature and energy consumption of buildings. They used TAS
software to simulate a ten-story hypothetically designed building
in three scenarios: (i) with opaque walls, (ii) with seven windows
in each story and (iii) with full glass cover. These scenarios were
compared to similar situations by adding vertical greenery sys-
tems. Indoor mean radiant temperature and the cooling energy
load were measured. Based on a hypothetical designed building in
tropical climate it was found that; heat transfer through concrete
walls was reduced by using a cover of plants. It was also found that
100% coverage of vertical greenery systems could be an effective
measure in lowering the mean radiant temperature of a glass
façade building.
Eumorfopoulou et al. [81] made a thermal comparison between
a bare wall and a wall covered with a green façade in Greece
during the cooling period. The main aim of this study was to show
the dynamic thermal characteristics and temperature variation.
Results of this study revealed that; covering the wall surface with
plants had thermal benefits for both exterior and interior surfaces.
It also reduced the heat flow losses. Azkorra et al. [82] evaluated
the use of green wall systems as a passive acoustic insulation
system for buildings. Two different standardized laboratory tests
were performed during this study. The main results were a
weighted sound reduction index (Rw) of 15 dB and a weighted
 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269 1261

sound absorption coefficient (a) of 0.40. Results indicated that;

application of green vertical systems in the building envelope can
be used as a sound insulation tool however, design adjustments
should be implemented namely; enhancing the efficiency of
sealing the joints between the modular pieces. Green walls can
also be classified into two groups based on their construction
characteristics as represented in Fig. 4.

3.5.1. Green façades

Green façades are the plants that grow up vertically upwards or
downwards the buildings through climbing or hanging along the
walls [68]. This system can be classified into two clusters; direct
and indirect systems. Direct systems use the wall as a support in
which they attach directly to in order to grow up (Fig. 5). On the
other hand, indirect systems use a structural support for growing
the vegetation. In the indirect system, roots of vegetation pene-
trate into the ground or a facilitator such as a planter so that plants
would grow by following the supporting structure in a favorable
direction (Fig. 6). Indirect solution can be further classified into
continuous and modular solutions. The difference between these
two solutions is pertained to the number of structures that can be
used to develop the planting. In the continuous solution, a single
Fig. 10. New house wall construction and materials’ sequence [90].
structure will be used, however, in the modular solution, several
modular elements along the surface can be used.
The created gap between building façade and the living wall
can perform as an extra insulation layer for the building envelope
3.5.2. Living walls
resulting in reduction of heat gains and losses [84]. The use of LWS
Living walls system (LWS) is an innovative solution in the field
can offer a good thermal insulation to the building as only a small
of cladding walls. Living walls are able to integrate green walls in
portion of the solar radiations can get the chance to pass through
high-rise buildings allowing to vertically cover a large area of the
the building envelope. In general, out of the overall received solar
building surface by different plant species [68]. Based on the
radiations by the living wall, ‘5–30% is reflected’, ‘5–20% is used for
applied method, LWS can be classified into two groups;
photosynthesis’, ‘10–50% is transformed into heat’, ‘20–40% is used
for evapotranspiration’, and only ‘5–30%’ will get the chance to

Continuous systems; based on the application of lightweight
penetrate the envelope [85,86].
and permeable screens in which plants are individually inserted
Mazzali et al. [87] conducted an experimental study on the
(Fig. 7).
energy performance of living walls in three different locations in

Modular system; where a complementary structure or fixed
Italy. Different parameters had been recorded in this study such as
structure will be directly combined to the wall with a growing
‘surface temperatures’, ‘external air temperatures and relative
media enabling plants to grow in a specific direction (Fig. 8).
humidity’, ‘air velocity’, ‘heat flux and solar radiation’. It was
Modular systems are classified with respect to their differences
concluded that; the application of green architectural wall can
in ‘composition, weight and assembly’ into trays, vessels,
significantly contribute to the reduction of cooling energy demand
planter tiles and flexible bags [68].
and offer a valuable solution for retrofitting existing buildings.
Chen et al. [88] carried out an experimental investigation on the
living wall system located in the Wuhan, China with hot and
humid climate. They selected six different plant types to be used in
construction of the green wall. Parameters measured by the study
were the ‘interior wall surface’, ‘exterior wall surface’, ‘air gap’,
‘interior back panels surface and exterior temperatures’, ‘air gap
and exterior relative humidity’, ‘the wind speed’ and ‘the solar
radiation’. It was concluded that as the result of using living walls,
a temperature reduction by 20.8 °C was achieved at the exterior
wall surface. Interior temperature of wall surfaces was also
reduced by 7.7 °C, and an indoor temperature reduction was
reported to be achieved by 1.1 °C. In addition to the thermal
improvement, enhancing the air quality is considered as another
advantage of using green walls. Ottelé et al. [89] stated that;
application of vegetation in the building envelope can reduce the
number of particulates ( o10 mm) in the air as they can be
hazardous for the human health.
In summary, application of green walls in building envelope
influences both the indoor air temperature and the outdoor
environment. Green wall systems are considered as effective
alternatives to be utilized in exterior building configurations in
order to improve the psychological wellbeing of users. Further
essential benefits are delivered through using such systems
Fig. 9. Conventional house wall construction and materials’ sequence [90]. namely; increasing the property value, acoustic protection and
1262 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
Fig. 11. Working principle of WIHP [91].
improving the city image. These benefits promote green wall
systems as an operative alternative in both new constructions and
retrofitting buildings.
3.6. Innovative wall system solutions
Aldawi et al. [90] evaluated the thermal performance of two
house wall systems under different climatic conditions in Aus-
tralia. In this study, a proposed wall system with new configura-
tion was compared to a wall system constructed by conventional
method. Technical details of these walls are shown in Table 4. The
external wall of the conventional house consisted of 110 mm brick
veneer, 50 mm air gap, 90 mm timber frame structure with
2.5 mm thick insulation foil, and 10 mm plaster (Gypsum) board
on the inside (Fig. 9). The new house wall system was made of
reinforced concrete with double-sided insulation panels. The wall
was constructed of 10 mm render, 118 mm (59 mm and 59 mm)
polystyrene as insulation materials, 150 mm reinforced concrete
panel and 10 mm plaster board on the inside (Fig. 10). Two types of
standard windows, single glazed and double glazed, with alumi-
num frames were used in this study as outlined in the Building
Code of Australia (BCA). AccuRates software was used to simulate
the thermal performance of the two house wall systems. It was
found that the new wall system with single glazed windows per-
formed significantly better compared to the conventional wall
system as it required less heating and cooling energy demand. This
improvement in the performance of new wall system was related
to the combined use of insulation and thermal mass materials. The
energy saving by the new wall system was reported to be between
22% and 44%. However, the new design with double glazed win-
dows showed energy savings between 1% and 37%. It was con-
cluded that; the new design with single and double glazed win-
dows had superior thermal performances (37% and 20%) compared
to the conventional case with similar window configurations.
Zhang et al. [91] investigated the thermal performance and
energy-saving characteristics of a new wall system. A ‘Wall
Implanted with Heat Pipes’ (WIHP) was proposed as a new type of
passive solar energy utilization technology. In order to construct
the WIHP, microgravity heat pipes in millimeter level were
implanted in the crack of plastering mortar at the outside of the
insulation board. The condensing section (or evaporating section)
was implanted in the cement mortar of the inner surface. Using
the microgravity heat pipes did not affect neither the thickness of
the proposed wall nor its structural strength. Working principles
of this wall is illustrated in Fig. 11. Experimental results indicated
that; heat transferring performance of the WIHP was better than
the wall without heat pipes. Moreover, WIHP improved the
capacity of heat transfer and the inside surface temperature
compared to the wall without heat pipes. Moreover, the WIHP had
excellent feasibility and energy saving. During winter in a typical
year in Jinan, China, the heating loss of the Southern external wall
was reduced by 14.47%. The WIHP reduced the building heating
load effectively and had a high application value.
The pipe-embedded structure uses water conduits to circulate
water inside the mass of the structure permitting the heat to be
transferred. In this system water acts similar to a heat exchanger.
The mass structure can be floor, ceiling or wall. This system is
popular for the ceiling and floor, such as chilled ceiling systems
and under-floor heating systems [92]. Various energy sources may
be used by the pipe-embedded structures in order for heating or
cooling water such as chillers or heat pumps, groundwater, cooling
towers, and geothermal energy produced by the ground coupled
heat exchanger systems [92]. Pipe-embedded structures can use
different energy sources to supply the required water heating or
cooling such as; ‘chillers or heat pumps groundwater’, ‘cooling
towers’, and ‘geothermal energy produced by the ground coupled
heat exchanger systems’ [92]. Quality of the pipe material used in
this system must be extremely durable enabling water to be cir-
culated throughout the system [93]. Furthermore, the pipe loops
must be leak resistant as less consistent attentions would be
required for a long period. The high-density polyethylene or
polybutylene are the most common types of pipes which can be
used in this system. However, copper pipes and steel pipes may
also be used but measures must be taken to prevent corrosion.
Another important criterion for using the pipe is the diameter of
the pipe must be large enough to keep the pump power small
[93] – usually in the range of 20 mm and 40 mm [93].
D'Antoni and Saro [94] studied the possibility of using exposed
concrete structures as solar energy absorbers in order to be uti-
lized as a low cost solar–thermal collector in residential buildings.
The proposed concrete solar collector consisted of a vertical con-
crete slab embedding a pipe coil. This proposed system was cap-
able of extracting heat from the environment. Xie et al. [95]
inspected the thermal performance of an active pipe-embedded
 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
building envelope under typical hot summer climatic conditions
while comparing it with the performance of conventional external
walls/roofs through numerical simulation. Results indicated that
the pipe-embedded structure can reduce the external heat transfer
significantly and decrease internal wall surface temperature – thus
eventually improving overall thermal comfort. Ibrahim et al. [92]
presented a novel closed wall-loop system aimed at capturing the
wasted energy during non-cloudy winter days on the Southern
facade and transferring it to the Northern façade (in northern
hemisphere buildings). The water pipes were embedded in an
exterior wall and coated by aerogel-based insulation. Five cities
had been selected in France in which they represented three dif-
ferent climates, Mediterranean, Oceanic, and Semi-Continental.
They developed a MATLAB numerical model coupled with the
whole building energy simulation program EnergyPlus through
co-simulation. The simulations were carried out for two types of
houses, the old house with no internal insulation and the new
house adopting the exterior thermal insulation. Afterwards the
simulation results were compared against a house without the
proposed system. Results indicated that; significant reduction in
energy consumption was achieved for both old and new houses
that applied the system in all three climates compared to the case
without the system.
4. Future trends of building façade
4.1. Intelligent façades
‘Intelligent façade’ refers to ‘those façades that are responsive
dynamically to demands posed by outside environment and inside
occupancy by following the energy-conscious principles and main-
taining user comfort’ [96]. These façades have been developed with
the aim of rectifying all the drawbacks of current façades (see
Table 3) [97], improving the indoor comfort level and fulfilling the
future energy requirements [98,130]. In this regard, Inkarojrit [99]
states that; application of intelligent façades delivers two sig-
nificant advantages namely; improving the thermal comfort sen-
sation and the building energy reduction. Skelly [100] investigated
the contributing parameters associated with the effective perfor-
mance of intelligent façades. Accordingly, intelligent façades must
be responsive to three main parameters:

Weather; façades should be responsive to unpredictable outdoor
temperature.

Context; façades should be responsive to the context.

Occupants; façades should be responsive to the wide variety of
individuals’ preferences.
Moreover, the interactions between aforementioned para-
meters must be:
Table 5
Conventional and new house wall components and their thicknesses [90].
No. Items Conventional house envelope
1 External wall Brick veneer (single)
Air gap
Insulation foil
Timber structure
Single glaze window
2 Internal wall Plaster board
3 Ground/floor Reinforced concrete slab
Roof Timber with concrete tiles (20°)
Insulation batts þplaster board
5 Internal door Timber (mountain ash)
6 External door Timber (hard)
1263

Dynamic: Many parameters change over time and at
different rates.

Non-linear: Some parameters exhibit different types of behavior
in different regions.

Stochastic: Some parameters are subject to large unpredictable/
chaotic environmental disturbances.

Multi-dimensional: Many different mechanisms interact in a
complex manner.
Different studies investigated the challenges and possibilities of
utilizing intelligent façades in the building sector [108–110]. It is
concluded that; ‘the reduction of energy consumption’ and
‘enhancing the indoor comfort’ are the two most important goals
that are necessary to be realized as the result of smart building
performance. Furthermore, controlling systems need to integrate
strategies that support all aspects of whole façade functions (see
Table 3). Various researchers assessed the potential of using con-
trolling systems in increasing the building energy efficiency.
Nielsen et al. [111] quantified the potential of employing dynamic
solar shading in decreasing the building energy demands by
simulating three different solar shading types. The research indi-
cated that the annual energy demand can be reduced by 16% for a
room with a South-facing façade using dynamic shading. In
another study, the differences between static and dynamic control
of interior and exterior blind systems in office buildings were
evaluated by Kim and Park [112]. It was found that; optimal uti-
lization of dynamic control blind system can result in realizing
energy savings by 7–17% compared to manual control and without
blind control. Moreover, energy performance of blind systems can
be significantly improved by applying daylighting control. Liu et al.
[98] developed control strategies for intelligent glazed façades and
investigated the effects of different control strategies on energy
and comfort performance in office buildings. They numerically
utilized a simplified hourly calculation method developed to cal-
culate yearly energy and comfort performance of an office room
equipped with an intelligent façade. The numerical method was
validated by the Danish dynamic building simulation tool BSim
and experimental tests in a full scale test facility at Aalborg Uni-
versity. Results indicated that; as a result of utilizing an intelligent
façade, a reduction by approximately 60% was achieved compared
to the same building with a static façade (Table 5).
4.2. Kinetic façades
Designing a building façade with the capability of being
responsive and interactive to the versatile climates is considered
to be significant in terms of enhancing the building energy per-
formance [113]. Kinetic façades, as intelligent façades, are able to
adopt their shape, form, orientation or openings to automatically
respond to the environmental parameters including the tem-
perature, humidity, wind, etc. (see Table 6) [113]. The effective use
Thickness (mm) New house envelope Thickness (mm)
110.0 Render 10.0
50.0 Insulation polystyrene 59.0
5.0 Reinforced concrete panel 150.0
90.0 Insulation polystyrene 59.0
3.0 Single glaze window 3.0 and 12.0
10.0 Plaster board 10.0
100.0 Reinforced concrete slab 100.0
90.0 and 20.0 Timber with concrete tiles (20°) 90.0 and 20.0
20.0 and 10.0 Insulation batts þplaster board 20.0 and 10.0
30.0 Timber (mountain ash) 30.0
50.0 Timber (hard) 50.0
1264 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269

of kinetic façades is dependent on controlling four major variables:

Identification of factors reflecting human affinity with

control, to produce a suitable energy efficient control
solar thermal control, daylighting control, ventilation control, and

Integration of users’ priorities with energy efficient

Maintenance issues. Inherent economic, social and

energy generation [114].

Ingress of solar irradiation can be controlled by different devices

coupled with a kinetic façade, ranging from automated louvers

Development of controlling systems

to adjustable overhangs.

Daylight can be controlled by kinetic façades. Systems such as
Improvement of user interface.

occurrence of nature in modern practice of building the nature in Biophilic design

blinds and shades can intercept unwelcome daylighting without
compromising the benefits of receiving necessary radiations.

psychological barriers
Louver systems, overhang systems, and electrochromic win-
Atheistic nature dows are other alternatives that are applicable to be used for
distracting the incoming radiations.

Ventilation control by kinetic façades offers great potential for
Challenge

strategy

naturally ventilated buildings. Two systems capable of being

coupled with kinetic façades in order to control the ventilation
are; louver systems and double-skinned envelopes utilizing the
stack effect.

Another important aspect of kinetic façade can be related to the
Improvement of human well-beings, increasing the Establishment of an intimate connection Initiation of a new framework for beneficial

energy generation. The integration of this façade with the

building integrated photovoltaic systems (BIPV) can offer the
Integration with controlling systems

Integration with controlling systems

advantage of producing energy in the building.

Integration with new technologies

Beside the great advantages offered by the kinetic façades (i.e.

responsiveness to the changing climates), integration of this sys-
tem with other external devices can improve system performance
further. Kensek and Hansanuwat [114] showed that application of
properly designed kinetic façades significantly mitigates the
Requirements

building energy use. Kinetic façades were able to decrease energy

consumption for both heating and cooling situations by 30%, over
design

the non-shaded system. Fig. 12 illustrates the final model proposed

by Kensek and Hansanuwat in which overhang, vertical louvers
and photovoltaic system were integrated with the kinetic façades.
Responsiveness to the weather, context,

Improvement of the building energy performance Responsiveness to versatile climates

Improvement of the building energy performance Immediate environmental adoption

4.3. Biophilic design

aesthetical values, reduction of building energy use between human and nature

Biophilia is a term that stems from Greek roots meaning ‘love of

life’ [115]. It refers to the idea that ‘humans possess an innate ten-
dency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life’ [116].
This term was coined for the first time by Erich Fromm, a German-
and occupants

born American psychoanalyst, in his famous book ‘The Anatomy of

Human Destructiveness’ in 1973. He described Biophilia as ‘the
Method

passionate love of life and of all that is alive’ [116]. This term was
developed by American biologist Edward O. Wilson in 1984
[115,116] in his famous book, Biophilia Hypothesis. He noted that
Improvement of the indoor thermal comfort, and

people need to connect with the nature and with the complex
geometry of natural forms, just as much as they require nutrients
and air for metabolism [117].
Biophilia in architectural design is defined as ‘the inherent
inclination to affiliate with natural systems and processes, especially
reduction of building energy use

life and life-like features of the non-human environment’ [118]. Bio-

philic architecture is a novel concept that paves the way into the
nature-based dialog between architectural spaces and a set of
Comparison of the reviewed building facades.

human inborn affiliations, where natural forms and patterns play

the role of vocabularies and compositional grammar [115]. Stra-
tegies to establish this dialog include, but are not limited to, direct
access to daylight, fresh air, plants and green spaces. Geometric
features of biological forms such as fractals, scale-invariance, as
Aim

well as sophisticated notions of symmetry, self-similarity and

complex hierarchy are proposed as primary formats to indirectly
connect people to patterns and features of natural elements [113].
Biophilic Design
Kinetic Façades

One of the main challenges concerning Biophilic design is to

specifically identify those Biophilic design features that reflect
Intelligent
Façades
Category

human affinity with the natural world and thus to create satisfying
Table 6

CABS

architecture (see Table 6). Table 7 tabulated these features iden-

tified by Heerwagen [119].
 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269 1265

Fig. 12. Final design including overhang, vertical louvers and photovoltaic system (left) and rendering with 30 degree overhang and closed vertical louvers (right) [114].

Table 7
Elements of biophilic design [119].

Elements of biophilic design Characteristics

Prospect (the ability to see into distance) Brightness in the field of view (windows, bright walls)
Ability to get to a distant point for a better view
Horizon/ sky imagery (Sun, mountains, clouds)
Strategic viewing conditions
View corridors
Refuge (sense of enclosure or shelter) Canopy effect (lowered ceiling, screening, branchlike forms overhead)
Water (indoor or inside views) Glimmer or reflective surface (suggests clean water)
Moving water (also suggests clean, aerated water)
Symbolic forms of water
Biodiversity Varied vegetation indoors and outdoors (large trees, plants, and flowers)
Windows designed and placed to incorporate nature views
Outdoor natural areas with rich vegetation and animals
Sensory variability Changes and variability in environment color, temperature, air movement, texture, and light over time and spaces
Natural rhythms and processes (natural ventilation and lighting)
Biomimicry Designs derived from nature
Use of natural patterns, forms, and textures
Fractal characteristics (self-similarity at different levels of scale with random variation in key features rather than exact
repetition)
Sense of playfulness Incorporation of décor, natural materials, artifacts, objects, and spaces whose primary purpose is to delight, surprise and
amuse
Enticement Discovered complexity
Information richness that encourages exploration
Curvilinear surface that gradually open information to view

Fig. 13. Composition of polyvalent wall [124].

Fig. 14. Arab World Institute, Paris [123].

1266 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
Integration of nature into building design is a sound economic
investment in health and productivity. However, the economic
benefits of reconnecting people to nature are often neglected due
to the difficulty of quantifying variables associated with positive
outcomes. In 1984, Ulrich [120] measured the effect of nature on
patients recovering from gallbladder surgery in hospital. Some
patients were provided with views to nature, others had views to
brick walls. The study demonstrated a positive correlation of
patient's recovery rate with access views of nature. On average,
patients whose windows faced nature were released after 7.96
days while it took 8.71 days for other patients Ulrich's study in
economic terms [121] yields huge potential cost reduction to both
the patient and the hospital. It is concluded that Biophilic design
strategies can serve as a catalyst and cost-effective method to
achieve cost savings as well as productivity improvements.
4.4. Climate adaptive building shells (CABS)
Conventional envelopes are unable to respond to the changing
meteorological conditions. Shifting from dynamic envelopes
towards climate adaptive building shells (CABS) is a revolutionary
development offering the possibility to take advantage of versatile
climates. Mike Davies speculated the possibility of using CABS
with his visionary concept of a ‘polyvalent wall’ – wall for all sea-
sons Fig. 13 [122]. Polyvalent walls were expected to control and
regulate energy flows by themselves including the needed energy.
However, this concept had been stagnate because of technological
limitations. Nowadays, with the rapid advancements in technol-
ogy, the primary condition for flourishing CABS is provided [123].
CABS are a new breed of building envelope, capable of altering
its functions, features and behaviors repeatedly and reversibly
over time in order to respond to the changing performance
requirements and variable boundary conditions. CABS mainly aim
to improve the overall building energy performance (see Table 6)
[123]. However, maintenance difficulties are expected to be
addressed in future research. Figs. 13 and 14 represent two iconic
Fig. 15. Heliotrop, Freiburg. [123].
Fig. 16. Bloomframes dynamic balcony [127].
examples of these shells, Jean Nouvel's Arab World Institute in
Paris, France (Fig. 14), and Rolf Disch's Rotating Heliotrop in Frei-
burg, Germany (Fig. 15).
The building has been named after heliotropism which refers to
plants that grow in response to the stimulus of the sun. Via a
powerful engine, the building is able to vary its orientation in
response to the sun. One-half of the building is highly glazed, the
other side is well insulated. A central control system decides
which side will be exposed to the sun.
CABS associated performance benefits are described according
to three main terms of; adaptability, multi-ability and evolvability:

Adaptability
Adaptability is defined as the ability of a system to perform its
intended functionalities under different conditions by con-
sidering design variables capable of changing their physical
values over time [125]. Building envelopes possessing this
capability are able to deliberately act in response to the changes
in ambient. The possibility of utilizing this system offers
potentials for energy savings compared to the conventional
buildings. Therefore, CABS perform the role of a climate med-
iator enabling interactions among the indoor comfort demands
and outdoor conditions [126]. CABS can also be adjusted
according to individual users, rather than a best average for all
users [123]. CABS can also take advantage of the building
constructions’ thermal storage capability.

Multi-ability
The concept of multi-ability originates from the existence of
non-simultaneous performance requirements, or the need to
fulfill new roles over time [123]. Bloomframes (as an instance
of multi-ability in CABS) is an innovative balcony that can
dynamically change its functions between window and balcony
on-demand, depending on ambient conditions and users’
wishes (Fig. 16) [127]. Bloomframes was designed and patented
by ‘Hofman Dujardin Architects’ in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The
difference between adaptability and multi-ability is that; in
 H. Omrany et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 62 (2016) 1252–1269
multi-ability, multiple objectives can be realized consecutively,
not concurrently [125]. Another application of multi-ability is
the spatial versatility. Properties of building envelope can be
different for various positions of the building shell at the time.
In this manner, different sides of the building envelope can
independently react to the ambient conditions or to distinct
comfort preferences requested by individual users in
separate zones.

Evolvability
Where adaptability and multi-ability mainly deal with respond-
ing to the short- term variations, evolvability is a property of
flexibility which handles changes over a longer period of time
[128]. Evolvability is considered more a positive side effect,
rather than primary design objective; the ability to keep options
open preserves opportunities to react to changes in future.
Concerning the built environment, evolvability can be employed
to deal with changing conditions coming from the outside (e.g.
climate change, changing urban environment, wearing of the
façade) or from the inside (e.g. organizational function changes
of the building, new space layout) [125].
De Boer and Ruijg [129] investigated the energy saving per-
formance of CABS in Netherlands. They used TRNSYS software to
simulate the optimal thermal behavior of CABS. Moreover, daylight
characteristics of the building shell were computed through
Radiance software. Finally, both visual and thermal behaviors were
optimized in an integral way through using a multi objective cri-
teria approach. Results revealed that; optimal adaptive building
shell properties could reduce the total heating and cooling
demand compared to newly built offices. Application of CABS in
building sector is a promising concept recently proposed to
achieve higher levels of sustainability in the built environment.
Compared to the conventional façades, CABS offer potential
opportunities for energy savings as well as improved indoor
environmental quality. The concept of flexibility in CABS enables
building envelopes to respond to the changing climates in order to
use the ambient conditions. CABS provide significant insights for
future trends of energy efficiency in building envelope.
5. Conclusion
This paper presented an extensive technical review of different
passive wall systems and explored their potentials towards
improving the thermal performance and reducing the energy
consumption of buildings. The study concluded that:

Trombe walls have been recognized as a wall system capable of
significantly reducing building energy consumption. Careful
consideration of design parameters in a Trombe wall e.g.
Chimney dimensions, improves the overall energy performance
of the wall. This performance is further enhanced through
integrating other strategies namely BIPV into the Trombe wall
system.

The use of AAC building envelope is recognized as a promising
solution towards improving the building energy consumption.
On top of its satisfying thermal performance, AAC usage offers
alternative advantages e.g. proper acoustic properties as well as
simplified installation and transportation.

DSFs are recognized as promising resolutions towards mini-
mization of the building energy consumption. It is acknowl-
edged that energy performance of DSFs is enhanced through
proper consideration of critical design factors e.g. the optimum
depth of cavity, application of glazing system in DSFs as well as
the integration of PV systems.
1267

It is established that incorporation of green wall systems as an
integrated component of the building envelope influences both
indoor air temperature and the outdoor environment. Green
wall systems are considered as insulators in buildings for
minimizing the penetration of undesired solar radiations into
the building. It is agreed that; proper utilization of green wall
systems significantly decreases the demand for building energy.
Furthermore, alternative advantages of green wall systems e.g.
enhancing the psychological wellbeing of users, increasing the
property value, augmenting the acoustic protection and refining
the city image are acknowledged.
This paper identified and reviewed energy-efficient concepts
with promising potentials for integration in the building envelope.
It is concluded that; the discussed solutions hold promises for the
future trends of energy-efficient buildings. As these concepts are
still under research, future studies are expected to excessively
quantify the corresponding benefits of their application for gen-
eralization purposes.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada. Furthermore, partial
financial support was provided by University of Malaya according
to the research grant "RU025-2015".
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