Analysis of shading devices impact on building envelope. Case study

Abstract

2010 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive require a continued reduction of energy consumption in buildings. Although consumption minimization methods are generally available, country-specific aspects have to be analyzed for different climates. In Romania, the climate is temperate (Köppen climate - type D) and it is characterized by extreme temperatures with hot summers and cold winters. Although heating consumption represents the principal component of the total energy consumption, special attention should be paid to the cooling consumption in this kind of climate. Summer shading devices impact on building envelope is studied in this paper. For this purpose, an office building with curtain walls, located in Bucharest, was chosen. The curtain wall on South façade is shaded with an exterior blades metallic system. The behavior of the glazed shaded area was analyzed in summer time, even for a bigger period, between the spring equinox and the autumn one. Three significant days were chosen for this purpose and the shaded area was computed hour by hour for each day. At the end, the cooling energy load decreasing realized by the shading devices was determined. Also, the optimal distance between two blades was calculated, in terms of energy efficiency.