USE OF BIM AS A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS TOOL OF THE THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF GREEN CURTAINS IN EXISTING BUILDINGS

Abstract

In regions with very hot climates such as Votuporanga-SP, a common practice to ensure indoor thermal comfort is the use of mechanical cooling systems, which may result in unnecessary expenses and resource waste. Considering the number of existing buildings designed without concern for improving and/or ensuring thermal comfort for occupants during the project stage, it becomes necessary to seek low-cost, sustainable solutions that can be implemented by the residents themselves in order to ensure hygrothermal comfort. In this context, the present research aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the green curtain applied to the western façade of IFSP – Votuporanga campus, as well as to verify the adherence of the BIM platform to real conditions of thermal behavior simulation. The results were obtained through dataloggers and sensors installed in situ, and simulations with the Revit® software, considering the physical properties and climatic conditions in the building’s surroundings. For the simulations, two models of the library were developed: one including the green curtain as a barrier against direct solar incidence on the western façade, and another without it. The results demonstrate a reduction in indoor temperature, an increase in humidity, a decrease in the thermal load of the zone, and a close correlation between measured and simulated values. This reaffirms the thermal efficiency of the green curtain as a passive strategy for improving thermal performance and demonstrates that the use of the BIM platform proved to be accurate for thermal analyses, highlighting its suitability as a decision-support tool for sustainable design strategies.