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Design and optimization of thermally responsive autonomous dynamic glazed attachment systems for building solar heat gain control

  • Research Article
  • Building Systems and Components
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Abstract

Windows, as transparent intermediaries between the indoors and outdoors, have a significant impact on building energy consumption and indoor visual and thermal comfort. With the recent development of dynamic window structures, especially various attachment technologies, the thermal, visual, and energy performances of windows have been significantly improved. In this research, a new dynamic transparent louver structure sandwiched within conventional double-pane windows is proposed, designed, optimized, and examined in terms of energy savings in different climates. The uniqueness of the proposed design is that it autonomously responds to the seasonal needs prompted by solar heat gain through the use of thermally deflected bimetallic elements. Moreover, by integrating spectral selective louvers into the system design, the dynamic structure enables strong solar infrared modulation with a little visible variation. The optical and thermal properties of the dynamic glazing structure support about 30% and 16% seasonal variations in solar heat gains and visible transmittance, respectively. Furthermore, the potential energy savings were explored via parametric energy simulations, which showed significant potential for heating and cooling energy savings. This proposed design demonstrates a simple smart dynamic glazing structure driven by seasonal temperature differences, with significant solar heat control capabilities and minor effects on the visible or visual quality of the glazing system.

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Abbreviations

B :

deflection of bimetal

E1:

emissivity — front

E2:

emissivity — back

EMS:

energy management system

GHG:

greenhouse gas

IGDB:

International Glazing Database

L :

length of bimetal

LSG:

light to solar gain

Rsol1:

solar reflectance — front

Rsol2:

solar reflectance — back

Rvis1:

visible reflectance — front

Rvis2:

visible reflectance — back

SHGC:

solar heat gain coefficient

t :

thickness of bimetal

T opening :

transmittance passed through opening

Tsol:

solar transmittance

Tvis:

visible transmittance

α :

transmittance factors through the strips attached to the deflecting frame during winter

α′:

transmittance factors through the strips attached to the deflecting frame during summer

β :

transmittance factors through the strips attached to the fixed frame

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Acknowledgements

This project is supported by the NSF award: # 2001207: CAREER: Understanding the Thermal and Optical Behaviors of the Near Infrared (NIR)-Selective Dynamic Glazing Structures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Neda Ghaeili Ardabili, Yanxiao Feng & Julian Wang

Authors
  1. Neda Ghaeili Ardabili
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  2. Yanxiao Feng
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  3. Julian Wang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Design, modeling, simulation, and analysis were performed by Neda Ghaeili Ardabili and Julian Wang. The data collection and curation were completed by Yanxiao Feng. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”

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Correspondence to Julian Wang.

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Declaration of competing interest The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Ethical approval This study does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Ardabili, N.G., Feng, Y. & Wang, J. Design and optimization of thermally responsive autonomous dynamic glazed attachment systems for building solar heat gain control. Build. Simul. 16, 1971–1986 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-023-0993-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-023-0993-5

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