**5.2 Selection of facade materials**

The overheating of facade materials facing East and West mainly occurs in buildings, which form part of wide urban canyons with H/W ratios smaller than 0.5. (Bougiatioti, 2006) In more narrow canyons, the overshadowing of the facades by the opposite buildings prevents the materials from heating to high surface temperatures.

In general, the materials, which form the outer layer of eastern and western facades, may heat up to very high surface temperatures. For the above-mentioned reasons, the choice of materials for eastern and western facades should aim for:


The effect of the overheating of east and west-facing materials on the internal climate of buildings can be minimised with the use of thermal insulation. (Bougiatioti, 2007).
