A full 3(4) factorial experimental design for the low energy building's external wall

Abstract

The low energy building concept is based on improving the building envelope to reduce heating and cooling loads. Improvements in building envelopes depend not only on climatic conditions but also on insulation. In this study, the thermal performance of external walls was studied by using a three-level full factorial statistical experimental design. An opaque wall in low energy buildings was chosen in order to study the effect of selected factors of city (A), orientation (B), insulation location (C), and month of the year (D) on heat loss or gain. A software was used to calculate the ANOVA table. As a result, all three factors of months of the year, city and orientation of the building facade were found to be significant factor effects for heat transfer. Two-factor interactions of AB, AD, BD, and CD were found to be significant. Therefore, the effects of season, location and orientation were successfully shown to be effective parameters.