Using smart glazing for reducing energy consumption on existing office building in hot dry climate

Abstract

ABSTRACT Office buildings in Upper Egypt suffer from high temperature in summer due to solar radiation of this extreme hot arid climatic region. The effect of smart glass on reducing energy consumption in office buildings is well studied in temperature climates but rarely addressed for this Region. This paper aims to compare different types of glazing to define which achieves a better balance between reducing cooling energy consumption and daylight saving. Six types of glazing were simulated on the main office building of Sohag governorate – Egypt. The simulation was carried out for all orientations. Energy Plus-Design Builder simulation tool has been used to study the effect of smart glass on increasing energy efficiency. The window area-to-floor ratio was 8%, 16%, 24% and 32%. Simulation results show that smart glazing is more effective than traditional windows. Electro-chromic glass achieved the best results in reducing cooling energy consumption for window area of 32%. Also, achieving a significant reduction in cooling loads up to 43% in East orientation, 46% in South orientation and 45% in West orientation. On the other hand, it reduced glare in the East and West orientation by 64%. And, it reduced consumption of lighting energy by 60%, 61% and 57% in East, South and West, respectively. The effect of Gaso-chromic was increased when the window area ratio increased to 32%. For window area 32%, Gaso-chromic achieved the results of light energy similar to Electro-chromic.