ENERGY-EFFICIENCY OF TIMBER BUILDINGS
Our partner, the University of Maribor, Faculty of Civil engineering is conducting research in the field of energy efficiency regarding the impact of type, size and position of glazing and shape of the building on the energy balance of timber frame structures. We continuously strive to achieve connectivity between those research results and specific technological issues to ensure their applicability in practice. Therefore, for example, we developed a functional dependency of optimum proportion of the glazing on the south façade depending on the heat transfer of the outer wall of the building, Figure 1. Link: University of Maribor Faculty of Civil Engineering
Figure 1: The optimum proportion of three-layer glazing on the south façade, depending on the heat transfer of the exterior wall.
LOAD-BEARING CAPACITY OF TIMBER STRUCTURES
Faculty of Civil Engineering of the UM has been researching load-bearing capacity of prefabricated timber structures ever since 1999. In all those researches we were constantly oriented to the needs of the wood industry and the use value based on our experiments of developed wall elements. Recently, growing attention is given to research of the load-bearing capacity of timber-glass supporting wall elements, in which the classical lining is replaced by a glass panel, attached to the wooden frame by an adhesive, Figure 2. This yields a very transparent composite wall element, which provides a considerably higher solar radiation and better natural lighting in the object compared to traditional wall elements.
Link: University of Maribor Faculty of Civil Engineering
Figure 2: Load-bearing wood-glass wall element.
SCIENTIFIC AND PROFESSIONAL MONOGRAPHS
We have also been actively publishing professional articles on the topic of energy efficiency and stability of wood structures with an increased use of glazing. We have published several articles in the most acknowledged international journals (Energy and Buildings, Construction and Building Materials, Engineering Structures, Applied Mathematical Modelling, Advances in Engineering Software, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering), and three significant scientific and professional monographs:
- Žegarac Leskovar V., Premrov M.: Architectural design approach for energy efficient timber frame public buildings. Maribor: Faculty of Civil Engineering, 2011. p. 113, fig. ISBN 978-961-248-282-4. [COBISS.SI-ID 67288065].
- Žegarac Leskovar V., Premrov M.: Educational projects on energy-efficient timber buildings : architectural workshop for the Municipality of Podlehnik. Maribor: Faculty of Civil Engineering, 2013. p. 88, charts, pictures ISBN 978-961-248-369-2. [COBISS.SI-ID 72908801].
- Žegarac Leskovar V., Premrov M.: Energy-efficient timber-glass houses, (Green energy and technology). London: Springer, cop. 2013. VI, p. 178 , pic., charts, figures. ISBN 978-1-4471-5510-2. ISBN 978-1-4471-5511-9, doi: 10.1007/978-1-4471-5511-9. [COBISS.SI-ID 17175062]
