For layman, the word 'Façade' itself is New. Many people pronounce it as differently. Professionals associated with Façade work know its meaning. Let us understand what a is Façade and let us know what benefits one can get after installing Façade.
WHAT IS FACADE?
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| Glass Façade |
What Is Façade?
‘Façade’ is the French Word. It means ‘frontage’ or
‘face of the building. A dictionary meaning is the front wall of a large
building that you see from outside. 'Building Envelopes' or 'Building Enclosures' are the terminologies used to denote the physical
separator between the exterior and environments of the building. The
building section visible to the public is referred to as the Façade. Façade is
also an era of engineering itself. The building envelope consists of walls,
windows, doors, skylight as a roof.
Façade i.e. building envelope mainly
consists of Glass and aluminum which are lighter in weight than other materials. In civil
construction, the openings left after constructing RCC columns, beams, and slabs can be closed with Glasses instead of bricks. Since bricks or blocks cover the
Daylight and vision, those can be replaced with glasses supported with Aluminium
Frames, Brackets, and fasteners. Surfaces that of bricks or RCC blocks, RCC
columns, beams, front of a slab can be covered either with glass or with
different metal sheets.
For residential buildings, the entire surface area of the building may not have a Façade. Windows, Doors exposed to the outside, railings in the Balcony, and Fins at the Duct area come under the Façade for residential buildings. In the case of commercial buildings client may choose to have a Façade to all elevations or only the front elevation of the building to have Façade. In commercial buildings, though the building is covered with such an envelope it allows natural ventilation of air. Vision area which has fixed glasses acts as a wall and also consists of Openable Windows. But in most of the Buildings, Air conditioners are used as a source of supply for air.
Façade is a growing business in India, especially in cities. Following are the different segments in which various companies are doing business.
- Supplying Façade Material,
- Façade Consultancy,
- designing and making Shop drawings,
- Fabrication, Installation,
- Façade Testing, Inspection
- Repair, and Maintenance
- Façade Cleaning
Most
of the officers from the new generation want to work in offices which are in a
commercial park or beautiful commercial buildings. The owner/developer of most
of the commercial buildings is choosing to have a Façade. For residential
buildings developers want to give better products than others and different
than what is given him in his earlier projects.
It is assumed that the Façade is used only for beautification of construction and hence it should be installed only at the front face or only in the area of the building visible to the people looking from outside. But that is not its first benefit. An advantage of Façade is, it allows maximum usage of natural daylight and reduces the consumption of electricity. With an effective selection of Façade Material, heat transfer can be lowered which can be increased with incident rays. It acts as a barrier to unwanted elements entering from outside.
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| Image Source: Wikipedia |
Advantages
of Façade:
- The façade protects the building, occupants, and objects from Natural elements including Wind, Rain, Storm, Temperature, Heat, High Wind Pressure, Ultraviolet rays, etc.
- The Façade protects the wall, column, and beam from being exposed to Heavy rain and keeps them away from water leakage since water splashed on the Façade Element.
- It can reduce or eliminate the entry of birds inside the building and also keep insects away.
- It protects the machinery inside the building from corrosion due to moisture in the air and also keeps dust away
- Maximum reduction in Energy Demand by Shading Devices
- Lowers the energy use and running cost, optimum reduction in energy can be achieved
- Increase in Productivity and Comfort of occupants
- Façade has the potential to redirect and filter daylight
- Save money by reducing heating bills with thermal reflection properties
- Reduce outer Noise
- Complete protection in extreme weather
- Cooling in summer and heating in winter
- Improves lifestyle
- Security against intruder
- Converts property into a known Landmark
Why Façade is needed?
According to
statistics, India is the world’s sixth largest energy consumer, accounting for
4% of Global energy consumption. Due to rapid economic development, energy demand has grown rapidly. India’s annual electricity consumption was 676.8
billion kWh in 2006-07. Of this, approximately 209.8 billion kWh was by
residential and commercial buildings
It was 1738.828 billion in 2023-24 which is an increase of 7.04% increase from the previous year. In India, the majority of electricity consumption is due to cooling and lighting costs. HVAC and artificial lighting together constitute 75%-80% of electricity consumption. Higher HVAC costs are due to high heat gain and poor insulation. Artificial lighting costs are a result of poor daylighting. In India commercial buildings spend more than 20% energy on lighting. And 60% on Air Conditioning. Residential building spends 28 % and 45 % on the same purposes respectively.
The Indian construction sector is growing at a rate of 9%. It has led to a rapid rise in energy demand in urban areas. Urban areas emerging as one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, buildings contribute 40% of Total GHG emissions. Green buildings address the above concerns and save energy by 40%.
Façade helps to reduce the load on Energy demands. For Green Building certification developer can choose to have a Façade for his construction. In the case of residential, an individual should go for Coated glass for Windows at his home to reduce the load on Air conditioners.
Director,
Landscape Wall Systems
9819 663 630
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