Buildings with jackets: the combination of the façade and the ventilated roof

Sealing is one of the major advancements in the building sector to improve climate control within homes. This way, it is possible to prevent cold or heat from the outside in the worst months of winter and summer from seeping into the interiors. In the context of various construction techniques to achieve improved ventilation, we also find air passage areas so that the building can breathe. Such as the ventilated façade and the ventilated roof, which also achieve the chimney effect. It is as if we were dealing with buildings with jackets.

It should be explained that the chimney effect can be considered as putting a coat on the buildings. It is based on the ventilated façade, which is nothing more than a façade before the façade leaving a space between both to ventilate the place. And we could refer to the ventilated roof as the hat, as it protects from the cold in winter and keeps us sheltered from the sun in summer.

Both techniques, the façade and the ventilated roof, are two of the best ways to favor sealing in buildings. Because they take advantage of the airflow between two spaces to create heat in winter and refresh in summer. What is their operation?

These ventilated passages work as follows:

1. On the roofs, the tiles are mounted on a mounting surface that keeps them from being attached to the interior ceiling, allowing some separation where air can flow between the tiles and the ceiling.
2. On the façade, facing the sun, another façade is created that also does not touch the original, leaving a space with the wall. Air will circulate through there.
3. In both cases, entry and exit air passages are installed for air to circulate both through the ceiling and the roof.

• During the winter months, the exterior façade and the ventilated roof cool down, but do not touch the walls or the ceiling. Instead, air circulates through its interiors and is heated by the friction between both spaces. That hot air causes the interior wall and the lower ceiling to heat up more thanks to the heated air. This makes it less necessary to use heating systems in the home.
• In summer, both solutions are equally beneficial. In the hot months, buildings with jackets protect at the roof and the façade, as they do not get direct sunlight. Furthermore, the air passing through is cooled by being sheltered from the sun. And therefore, the use of air conditioning units is less necessary.

What is better in buildings with jackets, roof or façade?

Their operation is very similar, but buildings with jackets are different from those with ventilated roofs. Both techniques are compatible and very similar, but they have differences in efficiency and costs.

Ventilated roofs are much more economical. The installation cost is lower, since when installing the tiles, it is the same to do it on supports or directly on the interior ceiling. The cost of the supports is also quite economical, which is why its installation is recommended in many situations.

However, the operation of the ventilated roof is more suitable in houses than in large buildings. After all, its effects are only noticeable in the two or at most three floors just below the roof. In tall buildings, they also help for the upper floors, but their effect is smaller.

In the case of chimney effect with ventilated façades, the entire building benefits. It is a perfect solution for much larger buildings. The difference with the ventilated roof, obviously, is the price. In this case, an entire façade in front of the original façade is necessary.

Even so, both solutions are quite economical and easy to install, especially when the building is being constructed. If we also take advantage of the benefits of buildings with jackets in conjunction with the sealing of modern construction, we achieve homes with significantly lower energy consumption. From this point, if one has a mechanical ventilation system, it is possible to forego the use of heating or air conditioning units.