Integration of solar thermal collection capability into the building façade

In the last decades of the 20th century، primarily economic crises -caused by security challenges in supplying energy – and many years later، understanding environmental damages due to improper use of energy، sounded the alarms for scientists، planners and governments. Since the building sector owns a large share in total energy use، it has always been in the focal point of attentions. Consequently، national regulation established to reduce energy consumption and environmental concerns and climate aligned construction became the source of inspiration in architecture and the term ‘sustainable architecture’ was coined. Energy conscious architecture encompasses different aspects and a variety of strategies، ranging from conservation in energy use to applying renewable resources of energy. Regardless of the level of technology in a building، the sun can play an effective role in the energy generation/consumption balance. The cities are growing vertically and the façades have found an undeniable importance for solar energy harvesting in buildings. Integrating solar energy devices with building elements such as walls or roofs، increases the homogeneity of the architecture and improves the overall efficiency of building regarding its life-cycle.