engleski

Energy efficiency and fire safety of high-rise buildings

Design of sustainable buildings is nowadays in the focus of interest of the entire professional and general public worldwide. Energy efficiency and the need for sustainable buildings have significantly increased the use of different thermal insulation systems, together with increasing their thickness. ETICS systems are just one of the possible solutions for reducing energy requirements of buildings, while at the same time ensuring satisfactory climate conditions within the building. The facade constructed with ETICS system reduces the heating and cooling energy needs, and additionally gives the new look to the existing buildings that have gone through the refurbishment process. However, it should be noted that the same concept and the design elements that are being used sustainability requirements are often in conflict with the requirements of safety regulations. One example relates to the use of combustible materials as a part of ETICS and other facade systems. The new approach to the design of the building's envelope is to prescribe the required properties of the facade system depending on the specific use for which it is intended for. This especially applies to fire safety in high-rise buildings, where there is a risk of fire spread on the facade. Engineers educated and trained in the field of fire protection should definitely be part of the teams designing the new and/or retrofit of existing building's in terms of energy efficiency. This paper presents an example of testing of three different types of ETICS system regarding their fire resistance according to the BS 8414 standard.

Energy efficienc; fire safety; high rise buildings; full scale testing; ETICS systems

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