Low-cost smart solutions for daylight and electric lighting integration in historical buildings

Research have shown that the correct integration of daylight and electric lighting reduces the energy use in buildings, while improving visual comfort. Smart shading systems, especially those electrically controlled, play an important role to control solar radiation. Similarly, smart and dimmable/tunable lighting can help to adjust the artificial light to the real users' needs. This paper presents preliminary results of an ongoing living lab study investigating how artificial lighting systems can be integrated with shading systems, placing human comfort at the heart of the study and yet saving energy. A manually controlled, commercial and low-cost smart system integrating two motorized shading devices and six dimmable LED luminaires with a different selection of CCT were installed in a private office in a historical building. Indoor and outdoor lighting conditions and energy consumption associated to the lighting system are constantly monitored to assess how the people use shading and lighting upon varying the boundary conditions.. Preliminary results highlight that users prefer to maximise daylight on the work plane as well as they generally use both shading and electric lighting systems in response to boundary conditions that cause serious discomfort

Immersive virtual reality as a tool for lighting design: Applications and opportunities

Immersive virtual reality offers a wide range of applications. Immersive virtual reality in particular can play an important role in lighting design, thanks to its ability to allow a quick assessment between different design choices based on spaces, colours and light. However, immersive virtual reality has to guarantee a correct reproduction of light behaviour from photometric and visual points of view, in order to be effectively used for lighting analysis. This paper presents a literature review aimed to analyse the activities of the research groups operating in this field that have addressed, with different approaches and points of view, the issue of iVR applications in the reproduction of environments illuminated by either daylight or electric lighting, as well as a combination of them

Energy performances assessment of extruded and 3d printed polymers integrated into building envelopes for a south Italian case study

Plastic materials are increasingly becoming used in the building envelope, despite a lack of investigation on their effects. In this work, an extruded Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene panel has been tested as a second-skin layer in a ventilated facade system using a full-scale facility. The experimental results show that it is possible to achieve performances very similar to conventional materials. A numerical model has then been developed and used to investigate the performances of plastic and composite polymer panels as second-skin layers. The experimental data has been used to verify the behavior of the numerical model, from a thermal point of view, showing good reliability, with a root mean square error lower than 0.40◦C. This model has then been applied in different refurbishment cases upon varying: The polymer and the manufacturing technology (extruded or 3D-printed panels). Eight refurbishment case studies have been carried out on a typical office building located in Napoli (Italy), by means of a dynamic simulation software. The simulation results show that the proposed actions allow the reduction of the thermal and cooling energy demand (up to 6.9% and 3.1%, respectively), as well as the non-renewable primary energy consumption (up to 2.6%), in comparison to the reference case study

Passive Strategies for Building Retrofitting: Performances Analysis and Incentive Policies for the Iranian Scenario

A large amount of the Iranian energy demand is related to the building sector, mainly due to its obsolescence. In this paper, a second-skin system has been implemented as a retrofit action for an office building, evaluating the effect of a tensile material as second-skin in terms of primary energy saving, carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and simple payback period. The analysis was carried out through numerical simulations across a whole year and for four Iranian cities (Tabriz, Teheran, Yazd, and Bandar Abbas) in four different climates (cold, temperate, hot-dry, and hot-wet), and with the building aligned at either north-south or east-west. Moreover, an economic analysis was carried out suggesting different incentive policies to promote building energy refurbishment. The simulation results highlighted a favorable orientation for buildings in Iran, suggesting a guideline for new constructions. Indeed, the best results were achieved for an east-west orientation of the building (up to a primary energy saving of 13.6% and reduction of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of 45.5 MgCO2,eq, in Yazd), with a decrease of the annual specific total (cooling and thermal) energy demand of 37.9 kWh/m2 /year. The simple payback period values were also lower in the east-west orientation than the north-south one

Development of an Electric-Driven Smart Window Model for Visual Comfort Assessment

Smart windows, especially those electric-driven, represent one of the most advanced technologies for controlling solar radiation. For a correct use, it is necessary to understand their real behaviour through in-situ measurements on full-scale application as well as calibrating and validating visual simulation models capable of predicting their performances. In this paper, the preliminary results of current research activities aimed at developing simulation models of electric-driven full-scale glazing are presented. The research activities started with the assessment of the visible solar transmittance as a function of light incident angle through in-situ measurements; different models, with related values, of the visible solar transmittance were considered. For each simulation model, the corresponding transmittance value was set in the RADIANCE ?trans? material model and the simulated illuminance values, for a defined acquisition point of a test-facility, were then compared with the experimental data. Finally, for each model, indoor luminance distributions were reported considering a typical office seating position. Preliminary results, based on the in-situ measurements approach, highlighted a sufficient accuracy for one of the models adopted; further analyses are needed in order to upgrade the simulation models available and assess the effective performances of these windows.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Simulation models of an electric-driven smart window: energy and visual performances

 The ?in-situ? measurements acquired to characterize full-scale electric-driven glasses, able to dynamically switch from opaque to transparent state, were used to develop, calibrate and validate thermal and visual simulation models of these devices. The validated models were then used, in the simulation software TRNSYS, to assess the ability of these dynamic glasses to control the indoor conditions and reduce cooling load. The analysis was conducted for an office in a historical building, comparing the simulation results associated with the electric-driven glasses with those of the conventional double-glazing ones, from energy and visual points of view. Two different switching strategies were considered: i) Daylight strategy and ii) Thermal strategy. The use of electric-driven glasses allows from the thermal point of view to reduce about 12.5% of the cooling load, while from a visual point of view, to reach the highest values of Useful Daylight Illuminance, if controlled following the Daylight strategy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of integrated daylighting and electric lighting design projects: Lessons learned from international case studies

This article presents and discusses the lessons learned from the monitoring of 25 integrated daylighting and electric lighting international case study projects. The case studies consist of real occupied buildings that have been monitored as part of the International Energy Agency (IEA) SHC Task 61/EBC Annex 77 Programme. The general goal of the case studies was to balance lighting energy use with occupants’ visual and non-visual requirements. This was achieved using innovative solutions for daylighting and electric lighting with advanced controls, but also implementing simple and out-of-the-box strategies. The findings suggest that energy demands for lighting can significantly be reduced by combining sensible daylight provision, efficient lighting sources, and advances in controls. Yet, the effective achievement of project goals requires adequate monitoring, fine-tuning, and verification. The findings also suggest that the adoption of “integrative” lighting – that is, lighting systems that address both visual and non-visual responses – is getting increasingly popular. Catering to non-visual requirements will likely drive further innovation in lighting technology. Currently, there is limited investment available for developing daylighting systems for integrative lighting, and the current related electric strategies often come at the risk of energy rebound effects. Overall, providing daylighting and understanding user requirements are fundamental steps towards achieving quality projects, with potential benefits beyond saving energy