BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Sustainable Design and Construction
This article is part of the Research TopicAdaptive Building Envelopes and Renewable Energy StrategiesView all 6 articles
Development of EnergySkin: External wall temperature control for renovation
Provisionally accepted
- 1Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- 2Technische Hochschule Koln, Cologne, Germany
- 3University of Applied Sciences,, Colonge, Germany
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Achieving an energy-neutral building stock by 2050 requires sustainable energy-efficient renovation of facades. Conventional renovation with thick insulation reduces heat losses, but demands large material quantities, particularly when meeting high thermal performance and low U-value standards. Sustainable solutions should combine energy efficiency with resource conservation, low-carbon material cycles, and reduced gray energy. Dynamic exterior wall temperature control offers such a solution by active heat flow management. The EnergySkin project is developing a facade module for energy-efficient renovation. This module will integrate an electrically conductive coating for heating and photovoltaic in an insulating glass unit, which will be mounted on an existing opaque facade as part of a modular system for serial installation. The configuration enables active external wall temperature control whilst generating the necessary electrical power itself, thereby minimizing the heating demand and primary energy consumption of the building without additional CO₂ emissions. The system is being extensively investigated with respect to its thermal and electrical functionality, operating modes, and the integration of an electrical storage unit. Preliminary laboratory and component-scale tests have confirmed the feasibility of coupling transparent conductive coatings with insulating glass to achieve both passive insulation and active heating. Simulations demonstrate that integrated photovoltaic can cover the overall operational energy demand, enabling energy self-sufficiency. These findings highlight the potential of dynamic facade systems to surpass conventional insulation approaches by incorporating adaptability, renewable heat generation and circular design principles. Consequently, the project contributes to sustainable refurbishment strategies and supports climate-neutral building targets.
Keywords: Active facade, Dynamic system, Energy-efficient renovation, external wall temperature control, photovoltaic
Received: 20 Oct 2025; Accepted: 28 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Uhlig, Stoppel, Engelmann and Di Biase. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Clara Uhlig
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