Parametric optimization of daylight and thermal performance through louvers in hot and dry climate of Tehran

This article describes a parametric research simulated different louver conditions performance under given climate. The DIVA (Design, Iterate, Validate and Adapt) plug-in for Rhinoceros/Grasshopper software is used as the main tool, given its ability to effectively calculate daylight metrics (using the Radiance/Daysim engine) and energy consumption (using the EnergyPlus engine). The optimization process is carried out parametrically controlling the shadings’ geometries. Genetic Algorithms (GA) embedded in the evolutionary solver Octopus is adopted in order to achieve close to optimum results by controlling iteration parameters. The results of the paper show that there are meaningful optimum parameters which may help for better thermal performance through louvers in hot and dry climate of Tehran. The results indicate impressive efficiency in building industry in contemporary architecture of developing countries especially in Iran and west of Asia.Keywords: Daylight, Thermal, louver, Shading, Optimizatio

High-Performance Integrated Window and Façade Solutions for California

The researchers developed a new generation of high-performance façade systems and supporting design and management tools to support industry in meeting California’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, reduce energy consumption, and enable an adaptable response to minimize real-time demands on the electricity grid. The project resulted in five outcomes: (1) The research team developed an R-5, 1-inch thick, triplepane, insulating glass unit with a novel low-conductance aluminum frame. This technology can help significantly reduce residential cooling and heating loads, particularly during the evening. (2) The team developed a prototype of a windowintegrated local ventilation and energy recovery device that provides clean, dry fresh air through the façade with minimal energy requirements. (3) A daylight-redirecting louver system was prototyped to redirect sunlight 15–40 feet from the window. Simulations estimated that lighting energy use could be reduced by 35–54 percent without glare. (4) A control system incorporating physics-based equations and a mathematical solver was prototyped and field tested to demonstrate feasibility. Simulations estimated that total electricity costs could be reduced by 9-28 percent on sunny summer days through adaptive control of operable shading and daylighting components and the thermostat compared to state-of-the-art automatic façade controls in commercial building perimeter zones. (5) Supporting models and tools needed by industry for technology R&D and market transformation activities were validated. Attaining California’s clean energy goals require making a fundamental shift from today’s ad-hoc assemblages of static components to turnkey, intelligent, responsive, integrated building façade systems. These systems offered significant reductions in energy use, peak demand, and operating cost in California

Climate adaptive building shells for office buildings in Egypt: a parametric and algorithmic daylight tool

There is an emerging need to include sustainability–related performance features within the conceptual design stages of a building, especially for parameters such as daylighting and energy usage. Advances in digital architectural design now mean there are innovative possibilities for designing and evaluating dynamic façades capable of generating predetermined environmental performance criteria within a space. It is possible to update the traditional concept of the building envelope from acting not as a passive barrier but as an active negotiator with the surrounding environment. A framework is introduced in which the interdisciplinary integration and performance optimization of climate adaptive building shells (CABS), inspired by traditional Egyptian patterns, were synthesized to evaluate a wide range of façade design alternatives. A multi-objective optimization model for shape exploration is presented to assist designers in creating performance-driven forms at the early design stages. Daylighting was the key performance criterion used to design a CABS system using parametric design and optimization tools for an office space in Cairo, Egypt. The results demonstrated that the CABS system could achieve the desired daylight criteria using its own predefined capabilities

A PARAMETRIC STUDY OF WINDOW, ORIENTATION AND SHADING TO MINIMIZE ENERGY CONSUPTION IN MECHANICALLY VENTILATED HIGH RISE OFFICE BUILDINGS IN DHAKA, BANGLADESH

Vital statistics of a building, meaning geometric attributes, are very important design tool to manipulate energy performance of a building which is often neglected. Though a lot of recent researches focused on increasing capabilities of material and technology to build energy efficient buildings, design elements such as form, shape, window, orientation, etc. can play a very important and effective role to increase energy efficiency. The strategic design decisions about geometric attributes in the design phase costs almost nothing and can save energy bills through lifetime of the building, which is yet be specified in particular climatic region and particular building types where energy consumption matters in national scale. This paper investigates the critical proportion of façade glazing through parametric study by simulation to obtain optimum balance between luminous and thermal behavior as well as energy consumption. The context of the study is Dhaka, with tropical monsoon climate where heat and humidity is a big concern. The experiment is carried out and hence relevant to highrise office building due to its large vertical surface compared to insignificant roof area. The outcomes indicate that significant harvesting of daylight and reduction of total energy consumption by 50% comes with proper shading on large glazing on East and West facade; and 30% on South facade.VLIR-UO

Evaluation of Static Horizontal Louvers on Annual Daylighting Performance in Classrooms

Daylighting has a great impact on students’ health, learning performance, and productivity. The goal of this paper is to enhance daylighting performance by examining year-round daylighting performance of Southern facades in the case of one central window in a classroom located in Cairo, Egypt by using static external horizontal shading devices during the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters The scope of the study is to evaluate and assess the effect of the window-to-wall ratio (WWR) in addition to the louvers’ configurations of depth and count parameters of the classroom on annual daylighting performance metrics for classrooms’ southern facades by using Rhinoceros, Grasshopper interface and Honeybee Plus plugin which uses the Radiance engine for annual daylighting Simulations. Annual Sunlight Exposure, Spatial Daylight Autonomy and upper and lower limits of useful daylight illuminance are incorporated for an efficient annual daylighting performance. Based on geographical location and sun altitude angles that is gathered from ladybug tools, three alternative configurations of fixed horizontal louvers were investigated to evaluate the difference between them. Results show a low difference with the proposed louver configurations cases and a high reduction in annual sunlight exposure by 78% which complies with LEED v4 and IES-LM-83-12 criteria

A review of daylighting strategies in schools: state of the art and expected future trends

The study of daylight conditions within educational buildings has been a topic of interest since the nineteenth century in western countries, and European ones in particular. Although it has been argued that providing a view outside—or even using daylight instead of more stable and manageable artificial light—could reduce students’ performance without providing a pleasant and healthy environment, nowadays it seems that a large consensus upon the need to design well daylit spaces is being reached. This paper reviews how the research community has tackled the task of understanding and solving the complex relationships amongst local climate, users’ needs and design constraints in school buildings by showing the different approaches used and technological solutions suggested. The reported case studies, based either on experimental measurements or on simulations, highlight the need of a comprehensive approach to the topic to fully understand the non‐trivial requirements of a daylit educational environment

Integrated Daylight and Energy Evaluation of Passive Solar Shadings in a Nordic Climate

Modern well-insulated and highly glazed buildings experience increased overheating, even in cold climates. The study focused on external and internal passive solar shadings on a south-oriented façade, having predetermined that external and internal shadings’ main function is solar heat gain and glare protection, respectively. A daytime-occupied office space with several external shading geometry variations was simulated using an integrated daylight and energy approach aided by Radiance, Daysim, and EnergyPlus within Grasshopper. The method involved preparation of daylight-driven lighting schedules, and glare-driven internal blinds operation schedules for each design scenario, which were further applied to annual energy simulations. The interdependence of light in visible and thermal form, its impact on the building performance, and the resulting occupant response to the changing indoor conditions are core to this study. The comparative nature of the study allowed to evaluate thermal and visual performance of fixed external shadings in Nordic climates. The chief study findings highlight the gross impact of internal shading operation on overall building performance and indoor comfort, and the holistic benefit of external solar protection that includes reduction of total energy use and improvement of occupants’ thermal and visual comfort

Energy Efficient Glazed Office Building Envelope Solutions for Different European Climates

The aim of this study is to show the critical aspects of a completely glazed high rise office building from an energy efficiency point of view in different European climates. The achievable consumptions and the most influential parameters such as glazing U-value, VT/SHGC and shading and their optimal values were investigated. The study has been carried out for a theoretical office building in Italy and Lithuania, representatively of a southern and northern EU climate. The building chosen is representative of all the glazed-simple shape buildings and the analysis of the entirety of the building enables a clear and im-mediate outcome of global consumptions. Number of DesignBuilder simulations were performed and the annual consumptions are summed with the primary energy criteria. Results show the critical aspects of 100% WWR buildings: in the coldest climate the main problem is the huge surface of relatively high glass U-value compared with standard walls, while in the warmer one the main efforts need to be done to avoid the summer overheating caused by incoming solar radiation. Finally, it is shown that it is difficult to lower the overall primary energy consumptions below 130 and 140 kWh/m2a for North-Italy and Lithuania locations respectively. The analysis is focused only in the envelope parameter, thus it is not included renewable energy systems, which can generate higher energy efficiencies

Glazing Performance in the Patient Care Setting

Windows can have positive effects on hospital staff and patient health and well-being. Proper window design can also significantly benefit hospital energy conservation, consequentially reducing environmental impact. However, often the glazing and fenestration design of the hospital envelope can be heavily impacted by building components like structural and mechanical systems. The location of these building components at the exterior wall can lead to a reduction of glazing area, increase the use of electric lighting, and limit the potential benefits that glazing design can provide to occupants. The health benefits of glazing for building occupants have been well documented. Natural daylight and views to the outdoors have shown benefits to hospital patients and staff. The application of glazing in the hospital can have effects on patient well-being, reducing recovery time, length of stay, stress, depression, and medication use, improving patient satisfaction. Likewise, access to windows in the workplace improves staff well-being, increasing productivity, and job satisfaction, while reducing staff absenteeism, and turnover. Hospital occupants are involved in various types of activity resulting in a wide range of preferred lighting and thermal conditions. This makes it challenging to maintain ideal occupant lighting and thermal comfort levels and leads to a dependence on electric lighting and mechanical air conditioning. Hospitals have a high-energy intensity due to their complexity, density, and continuous occupancy. This energy intensity is further compounded by the size and scale of these buildings. The layout of glazing effects energy consumption for electric lighting and mechanical air conditioning, emissions and the resulting impact on the environment. This research will study the design factors effecting the application of glazing and their impact on the conditions within the patient room. An in-depth literature review studying the effects of glazing design on patient, staff, and environmental outcomes, along with documentation of established benchmarks and best practices will inform and quantify lighting, thermal, and energy metrics. A comparative case study research and analysis of three different approaches to glazing design in the patient room will evaluate varying built design factors and their impact on lighting, thermal, and energy performance. Using building information modelling alongside energy simulation and analysis software, it is possible to weigh the effects of various physical design considerations. Analyzing the lighting and thermal characteristics of three different approaches to window design in the patient room, this research will document the relationships between built features that impact fenestration design and the lighting and thermal metrics which are found to affect occupant health outcomes and building energy performance