Shading and daylight systems

Shading can have an impact on both building’s energy balance affecting not only annual energy consumption but peak loads as well. In addition influences users’ visual and thermal comfort. Proper selection of shading system is a key factor for reducing unwanted solar gains satisfying simultaneously daylight adequacy and aesthetic desires. With today’s pressing problem of global warming, optimization of building façade in terms of daylighting/solar radiation control can be considered as a corner stone strategy for low-energy building design. This chapter present basic information on the parameters that affect the selection of shading & daylighting systems. This includes a review of metrics used to characterize these systems according various European norms and energy codes. Antagonistic phenomena are discussed in detail together with synergies with glazing selection. In addition a number of selected systems are presented along with their operational principles. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Analysis of the greek behavioural pattern in residences and its effect on thermal simulation estimates

Occupants' interaction with the building envelope systems may provide a comfortable indoor environment and lead to a better energy performance of the building. Through questionnaire survey, this study investigates occupant's pattern of use of windows, shading and air conditioning in Greek residences (mostly apartments) during summer. Results suggest that Greek occupants significantly interact with the building envelope of their houses in order to adapt to the changing environmental conditions and meet their comfort needs. The behavioural pattern derived from the questionnaire survey is being implemented in the simulation study of a typical Greek apartment to analyse the effect of the occupant behaviour on cooling load and on natural ventilation efficiency

Impact of climate change on thermal comfort and energy performance in offices - A parametric study

This paper investigates the impact of climate change on comfort and energy performance in offices in relation to the influence of building design and occupants. It focuses on a typical cellular office room in the context of Athens, Greece, as input for a parametric study using the building simulation software EnergyPlus. Three different building design variations are combined with two different occupant scenarios and 4 different weather data sets for IPCC climate change scenario A2. For naturally ventilated buildings adaptive thermal comfort is evaluated according to ASHRAE Standard 55 and EN 15251. For mixed mode context evaluation is focused on greenhouse gas emissions and peak heating / cooling loads. Results indicate significant impact of the climate change on thermal comfort, and deviations between both comfort models. Comparing climate change, building design and occupant scenarios indicates that building design is the predominant influence on thermal comfort, whereas occupants are the predominant influence on greenhouse gas emissions

Comparison of radiosity and ray-tracing techniques with a practical design procedure for the prediction of daylight levels in atria

Designers are often facing prescribed requirements concerning daylight in atria. For the accurate prediction of the illuminances the designers should employ either computer simulations or apply empirical equations. This study compares results obtained by a practical design procedure and simulated results using Radiance and Lightscape 3.2. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Dynamic operation of daylighting and shading systems: A literature review

The primary goal of dynamic building envelopes is to meet and balance antagonistic performance criteria utilizing automatic operation. As opposed to static systems, automated shading and daylighting systems are increasingly being used in façade design with the intent to improve building performance. Taking this into consideration, the question that arises is whether such systems can significantly improve buildings energy performance and occupants' visual and thermal comfort. The present paper is a review of dynamic operation methods of shading/daylighting systems and their associated implications in building energy balance. Based on the subject distribution of the reviewed studies, the majority of the systems examined are versions of motorized blinds while the analysis of new emerging ideas on deployable and foldable façade systems is limited. User acceptance is quite crucial and is strongly dependent on the system's intuitive operation. According to the paper findings, energy savings with automatically controlled blinds depend on the type of control strategy and their connection to dimmable electric lighting systems. Even though control strategies enhance energy performance and occupants' comfort, their level of complexity highly affects their efficiency and therefore influences their performance. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Dynamic Façade Design Studio From sketches to microcontrollers

The paper presents the outcome of two semesters running a dynamic façade design studio (2014 and 2018) to 3rd and 4th year undergraduates, using computational design, simulation and visualization tools in designing environmentally activated building envelopes. The paper discusses the problems faced by the students and the teaching team throughout the design process and finally suggests ways of integrating microcontrollers as a teaching tool enabling students to comprehend the logic, complexities and overall mechanics of responsive environmental design. © 2019, Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe. All rights reserved

Comparison of radiosity and ray-tracing techniques with a practical design procedure for the prediction of daylight levels in atria

Designers are often facing prescribed requirements concerning daylight in atria. For the accurate prediction of the illuminances the designers should employ either computer simulations or apply empirical equations. This study compares results obtained by a practical design procedure and simulated results using Radiance and Lightscape 3.2. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Exploring occupant behaviour in Greek residences during summer

In naturally ventilated buildings, the appropriate use of the building shell components is the key to better energy performance and to a more comfortable indoor environment. Through questionnaire survey, this study investigates occupant's pattern of use of windows, shading and air conditioning in Greek residences (mostly apartments) during summer. It also identifies the factors that shaped this pattern. Results suggest that Greek occupants significantly interact with the building envelope of their houses in order to adapt to the changing environmental conditions and meet their comfort needs

Energy efficient lighting strategies in buildings

[No abstract available