Influence of glass properties on the performance of double-glazed facades Isabel Pe ´rez-Grande * , Jose ´ Meseguer, Gustavo Alonso IDR/UPM, Escuela Te ´cnica Superior de Ingenieros Aerona ´ uticos, Universidad Polite ´cnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain Received 2 October 2004; accepted 11 April 2005 Available online 4 June 2005 Abstract In this work the influence of the glass properties on the performance of double-glazed facades has been studied. The total heat rate into the building has been calculated for ten different facades formed by differ- ent glass combinations. To obtain this thermal load into the building it has been necessary to solve the fluid field within the channel formed by the two layers of glass. The mass flow rate in the channel as well as the mean temperature increase of the air passing through the channel have also been obtained. In order to reduce the thermal loads into the building, the cooling effect resulting of blowing the air through the chan- nel has also been analysed. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Double-glazed facades; Building thermal performance 1359-4311/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2005.04.004 * Corresponding author. Address: Pza. Cardenal Cisneros 3, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Tel.: +34 91 3366353; fax: +34 91 3366363. E-mail address: iperez@idr.upm.es (I. Pe ´rez-Grande). www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng Applied Thermal Engineering 25 (2005) 3163–3175