Performance evaluation of building integrated solar thermal shading system on building energy consumption, daylight level, and active solar energy

Li Li, Purdue University

Abstract

Building integrated solar thermal shading (BISTS) system is a new type of solar thermal application that potentially replaces traditional building exterior shading devices with small-sized solar thermal panels for hot water generation, solar heat gain reduction, and glare control. In the present research, we evaluated the performance of the BISTS system on building energy consumption, daylight level, and active solar energy gain through energy, daylighting, and system modeling and simulation. A medium office reference building in Los Angeles defined by the DOE was used in the case studies. According to literature and simulation results, horizontal shading was determined to be installed to the south windows while vertical shading was installed to the east and west windows. The final BISTS configuration was achieved by considering the balance between building energy consumption saving and daylight level improvement. The final BISTS configuration was used to predict the solar energy usage for the domestic hot water heating, space heating and cooling. The results revealed that 1) the BISTS system could effectively improve the useful daylight level and reduce glare potential for a single room. For the building energy consumption, the savings were not so significant. 2) The final BISTS design is estimated to reduce 5.3% of total primary energy consumption from the baseline, and provide 85% of domestic hot water and 20% of space heating and cooling. 3) The vertical installation of the BISTS system works better on the east and west facades and it is recommended to cover the entire window. On the other hand, the horizontal installation of the BISTS is preferred for the south façade. West installation typically realizes better results than the east installation. 4) 90° of slat angle should be avoided for both the horizontal and vertical BISTS louvers. Smaller angles—between 0° and 60°—are preferred for the horizontal louver. 0° increases the daylight availability in the deeper room for the vertical BISTS layout.

Degree

M.S.E.

Advisors

Qu, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Architectural|Engineering|Civil engineering

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