Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725

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Building and Environment

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Effect of installing a venetian blind to a glass window on human

thermal comfort
Nopparat Khamporn b, Somsak Chaiyapinunt a, *
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Siam University, Petkasem, Bangkok 10160, Thailand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper studies the effect on the thermal environment caused by installing a curved venetian blind to
Received 9 July 2014 a glass window in a building located in a tropical climate. A mathematical model was developed to
Received in revised form determine the mean radiant temperature affected by solar radiation on a person sitting near a glass
10 October 2014
window with a venetian blind. The concept of shading fraction of the surface temperature of the glass
Accepted 23 October 2014
Available online 31 October 2014
window and blind is introduced. The predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) was chosen as the
thermal comfort index for this study. The experiment was performed in a test room with a 6 mm clear
glass window to which a curved venetian blind was attached. The test was performed with blind settings
Keywords:
Glass window
at three different slat angles: 0
, 45
and 45
. The accuracy of the mathematical model was verified by
Venetian blind comparing experimental results with predicted results. Agreement between experimental and predicted
Thermal comfort results was good. The effect of surface temperature and the effect of solar radiation on the mean radiant
Mean radiant temperature temperature and PPD were also studied. The discomfort of the person sitting near the glass window with
Predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) a venetian blind is dependent on the level of solar radiation striking the body. The slat angle adjustment
does affect the amount of solar radiation striking the person and hence, dictate the thermal environment
of the space.
© 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction
Glass windows are a common type of building envelope for
most commercial buildings. The benefits they provide are visual
connection to the exterior and natural light for the interior, thus
reducing the need for artificial light. However, glass windows in
buildings located in tropical countries near the equator, also allow a
high degree of heat gain because of incident solar radiation. To
reduce this solar heat gain and maintain thermal comfort for the
occupants, air conditioning systems are required. A considerable
amount of research has been conducted on thermal performance of
glass windows in terms of heat transmission and thermal comfort:
Athienitis and Haghighat [1]; Gan [2]; Chaiyapinunt et al. [3]; La
Gennusa et al. [4]; La Gennusa et al. [5]; Singh et al. [6]; Chaiya-
pinunt and Khamporn [7]; Dong et al. [8]; Hwang and Shu [9] and
Khamporn and Chaiyapinunt [10]. However, when a building is
actually used, occupants often install venetian blinds as an indoor
shading device to reduce glare and maintain privacy. The building
envelope to be analyzed should thus be the combination of glass
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ66 22186631; fax: þ66 22522889.
E-mail address: somsak.ch@chula.ac.th (S. Chaiyapinunt).
window and venetian blind instead of only the glass window. As a
venetian blind can be set at different slat angles, it will have
different optical properties dependent on the slat angle and its
optical properties.
To study the thermal environment of a space installed with a
glass window and venetian blind is very complex. Some work has
been done to develop a mathematical model to predict the thermal
performance of a glass window with a venetian blind, as the
venetian blind is considered diathermanous (i.e. transmits both
shortwave and longwave radiation) and nonspecular. The follow-
ings studies considered the heat transmission through the glass
window with an attached venetian blind: Klems [11,12]; Klems
et al. [13]; Klems and Warner [14]; Pfrommer et al. [15]; Collins and
Harrison [16]; Chantrasrisalai and Fisher [17]; EnergyPlus [18];
Yahoda and Wright [19]; Khun [20,21]; Wright et al. [22]; Chaiya-
pinunt and Worasinchai [23,24], and Chaiyapinunt and Khamporn
[25]. Only a very limited number of studies have considered ther-
mal comfort aspects as part of the thermal performance of the glass
window with the venetian blind. Bessoudo et al. [26] performed
experiments and developed a building thermal model for indoor
thermal environmental conditions near glazed facades with
shading devices (fabric roller shade and venetian blind). The ex-
periments were performed on the perimeter zone of a new 16 story

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.10.022
0360-1323/© 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
714 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725

(

office building in Montreal (latitude 44
N, longitude 74
W) during 1:00 þ 1:290Icl for Icl  0:078 m2  K =W
winter on both cold sunny days and cold overcast days. A building fcl ¼
 (5)
thermal model was developed and verified for glass windows with 1:05 þ 0:645Icl for Icl 〉0:078 m2  K =W
and without a roller shade; however, no verification was performed
for a glass widow with an attached venetian blind. This article where var ¼ relative air velocity (air velocity relative to occupant,
examines the effect of installing a curved venetian blind to a glass including body movements), (m/s).
window on the indoor thermal environment of a building located in
a tropical zone near the equator. Icl ¼ clothing insulation, ((m2-K)/W).

2. Mathematical model for the glass window with an

attached curved venetian blind
2.2. Mean radiant temperature

In this section, a mathematical model is developed to calculate

the thermal comfort condition for a person sitting near a glass
window with an attached curved venetian blind.
2.1. Thermal comfort indices
Thermal comfort is defined as the condition of mind that ex-
presses satisfaction with the thermal environment (ISO 7730 [27]
and ASHRAE Standard 55 [28]). The predicted mean vote (PMV)
and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) are two indices
commonly employed to describe the thermal environmental con-
dition. According to ISO 7730 [27] and Fanger [29], PMV and PPD
can be expressed as.
Chaiyapinunt et al. [3] have shown that for a space with a glass
window under solar radiation, the PPD can be divided into two
components: PPD due to the effect of surface temperature and PPD
due to the effect of solar radiation. Therefore, the mean radiant
temperature in Eq. (1) can also be expressed as the mean radiant
temperature due to surface temperature and mean radiant tem-
perature due to surface temperature and solar radiation (striking
the person). For the case of a space with a glass window with an
attached venetian blind, the mean radiant temperature due to
surface temperature can be calculated from the values of the sur-
face temperature of the surrounding walls and venetian blind and
their positions with respect to the person in the space. Since the slat
angle of the venetian blind can be set at different positions, the

 h


 
PMV ¼ 0:303e0:036$M þ 0:028 $ M 1  h  3:05  103 $ 5733  6:99$M 1  h  Pa


 

 0:42$ M 1  h  58:15  1:7  105 $M$ 5867  Pa


(1)
 0:0014$M$ 34  Ta  3:96  108 fcl $ ðTcl þ 273Þ4

i
 ðTmrt þ 273Þ4  fcl $hc Tcl  Ta

surface temperature of the venetian blind as seen by the person in

ð0:03353PMV4 þ0:2179PMV2 Þ the enclosure can be modeled as an effective blind surface tem-
PPD ¼ 100  95$e (2)
perature, which is the weighted sum of the slat surface temperature
and glass window surface temperature. The effective blind surface
where M ¼ metabolic rate per unit body, (W/m2).
temperature can be written as.
Pa ¼ vapor partial pressure, (Pa). h
  4 i0:25
fcl ¼ clothing area factor. tb;eff ¼ Fsb ðtb þ 273Þ4 þ 1  Fsb $ tg þ 273  273 (6)
Tmrt ¼ mean radiant temperature, (
C).
Ta ¼ air temperature, (
C).
Tcl ¼ clothing surface temperature, (
C). Apb
Fsb ¼ (7)
hc ¼ convective heat transfer coefficient, (W/(m2-K)). Apbg
h ¼ mechanical efficiency.
Apbg ¼ Apb þ Apg (8)
Clothing surface temperature can be evaluated by an iteration
process shown below:
where tb,eff ¼ effective blind surface temperature of glass window

 and venetian blind, (
C).
Tcl ¼ 35:7  0:028M 1  h
n h i
 Icl 3:96  108 $fcl $ ðTcl þ 273Þ4  ðTmrt þ 273Þ4 (3) tb ¼ surface temperature of venetian blind, (
C).
o tg ¼ surface temperature of glass window, (
C).
þ fcl $hc $ðTcl  Ta Þ Fsb ¼ shading fraction.
Apb ¼ projected area of venetian blind slat on vertical plane, m2.
( pffiffiffiffiffiffi Apg ¼ area of glass window not blocked by blind slat, m2.
2:38ðTcl  Ta Þ0:25 for 2:38ðTcl  Ta Þ0:25 〉12:1 var
hc ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffi 0:25 pffiffiffiffiffiffi Apbg ¼ sum of the projected area of venetian blind slat on ver-
12:1 var for 2:38ðTcl  Ta Þ 〈12:1 var tical plane and area of glass window not blocked by venetian
(4) blind slat, m2.
 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725 715

ap ¼ absorptance of outer surface of person (standard

value ¼ 0.6).
εp ¼ emittance of outer surface of person (standard
value ¼ 0.97).
s ¼ Stefan Boltzmann constant, (W/(m2-K4)).
Itr,dirdir ¼ transmitted direct solar radiation passing directly
through the blind and striking the person without touching the
slat, (W/m2).
Itr,dirdif ¼ transmitted direct solar radiation striking the person
reflected by the blind, (W/m2).
Itr.difdif ¼ transmitted diffuse solar radiation striking the person,
(W/m2).

The shortwave transmittance of the blind (developed by

Chaiyapinunt and Worasinchai [23]), dependent on the solar profile
angle (angle of incidence in a plane perpendicular to the window
and slat direction, fs), can be written as

f f f f
tblct ¼ tblct;dir;dir þ tblct;dir;dif þ tblct;dif ;dif (11)
Fig. 1. Projected area of venetian blind slat and area of glass window not blocked by
f
blind slat. where tblct ¼ front total transmittance of a curved venetian blind
with thickness.

Fig. 1 shows the definition of shading fraction of glass window tfblct;dir;dir ¼ front direct-to-direct transmittance (transmittance
with an attached venetian blind. of direct solar radiation that passes directly through blind
The mean radiant temperature due to the surface temperature without touching slat surfaces) of a curved venetian blind with
of the enclosure with the glass window and venetian blind can be thickness.
calculated from the following equation: tfblct;dir;dif ¼ front direct-to-diffuse transmittance (trans-
mittance of direct solar radiation inter-reflected between two

4 adjacent slats) of a curved venetian blind with thickness.
Ttmrt ¼ tb;eff þ 273 $Fp1 þ ðts2 þ 273Þ4 $Fp2 f
tblct;dif ;dif ¼ front diffuse-to-diffuse transmittance (trans-
0:25 mittance of diffuse solar radiation) of a curved venetian blind
þ:::::::::: þ ðtsn þ 273Þ4 $Fpn 273 (9) with thickness.

Chaiyapinunt and Khamporn [25] have shown that the trans-

where Ttmrt ¼ mean radiant temperature due to surface tempera- mitted solar radiation through a glass window with an attached
ture, (
C). venetian blind can be calculated by combining the optical proper-
ties of the glass window and venetian blind using the matrix layer
tb,eff ¼ effective blind surface temperature of glass window and calculation suggested by Klems [11,12]:
venetian blind, (
C).
tsj ¼ surface temperature of enclosure wall number j, j ¼ 2 to n,
Itr;dirdir ¼ Idir $tfblct;dir;dir $Tg ðqÞ (12)
(
C).
P
Fpi ¼ angle factor between person and surface i ( ni Fpi ¼ 1)
(surface 1 ¼ glass window and blind). fH
Itr;dirdif ¼ Idir $Tf1;Mg;dir;dif (13)

La Gennusa et al. [4] have developed a calculation for mean

fH fH
radiant temperature that includes the effect of surface temperature Itr;dif dif ¼ Idif ;sky $Tf1;Mg;dif ;sky
þ Idif ;grn $Tf1;Mg;dif ;grn
(14)
and solar radiation for a person in an enclosure installed with a
glass window. However, when there is a venetian blind installed where Idir ¼ direct solar radiation incident on external glass win-
over the glass window, some direct solar radiation that passes dow surface, (W/m2).
through the glass window will be blocked by the blind. Therefore,
the mean radiant temperature that includes the effect of surface Idif,sky ¼ diffuse solar radiation from sky incident on external
temperature and solar radiation can be rewritten as. glass window surface, (W/m2).
Idif,grn ¼ diffuse solar radiation reflected from ground incident on
 external glass window surface, (W/m2).
ap

Tsmrt ¼ ðTtmrt þ 273Þ4 þ F I Tg(q) ¼ glass transmittance dependent on incident angle.
εp s pwin tr;dif dif fH
Tf1;Mg;dir;dif ¼ front hemisphere total transmittance for glass
0:25
window and venetian blind of M layers of direct to diffuse solar
þFpwin Itr;dirdif þ fp Itr;dirdir 273 (10)
radiation.
fH
Tf1;Mg;dif ;sky
¼ front hemisphere total transmittance for glass
where Tsmrt ¼ mean radiant temperature due to surface tempera- window and venetian blind of M layers of diffuse solar radiation
ture and solar radiation, (
C). from the sky.
fH
Tf1;Mg;dif ;grn ¼ front hemisphere total transmittance for glass
Fpwin ¼ angle factor between person and glass window surface. window and venetian blind of M layers of diffuse solar radiation
fp ¼ projected area factor. reflected from the ground.
716 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725

Direct solar radiation can be calculated from the value of the where Tsmrto ¼ mean radiant temperature due to surface temper-
global solar radiation and diffuse solar radiation as. ature and solar radiation evaluated from the value of operative
temperature, (
C).
Idir ¼ Iglob  Idiff (15)
To ¼ operative temperature, (
C).
where Iglob ¼ global solar radiation incident on external glass Ta ¼ air temperature, (
C).
window surface, (W/m2). va ¼ air velocity, (m/s).
εp ¼ emittance of exterior surface of person (standard
Idiff ¼ diffuse solar radiation incident on external glass window value ¼ 0.97).
surface, (W/m2). s ¼ Stefan Boltzmann constant, (W/(m2-K4)).

Since the pyranometer used in this study is installed in the

vertical plane, the measured data of the diffuse solar radiation will
be the summation of the diffuse solar radiation from the sky and
ground.
2.3. Mean radiant temperature evaluated from the operative
temperature
The mean radiant temperature, one of the important parameters
required to calculate thermal comfort indices, can be obtained from
the expression described in Eq. (10) which includes all surface
temperatures and transmitted solar radiation. Another way to
obtain the mean radiant temperature is to convert the value of the
measured operative temperature (temperature of an imaginary
environment that transfers dry heat at the same rate as the actual
environment) into the mean radiant temperature using the
following equations [30]:
2.4. Predicted percentage of dissatisfied
The effects of surface temperature and solar radiation have been
taken into account in the above formulation of PPD (using mean
radiant temperature that includes the effect of surface temperature
and solar radiation in Eq. (10) and substituting this into the
expression described in Eq. (2)). Therefore, it can be referred to as
the total PPD which includes contributions from both surface
temperature and solar radiation, and can be expressed as.
PPDðtotalÞ ¼ PPDðsurface tempþsolar radiationÞ (18)
where PPD(total) ¼ total PPD which is PPD that accounts for the ef-
fect of surface temperature and solar radiation, (%).
PPD(surface tempþsolar radiation) ¼ PPD that accounts for the effect of
surface temperature and solar radiation, (%).

 0:25 The PPD that only accounts for the effect of surface temperature
hcg
Tsmrto ¼ ðTo þ 273Þ4 þ ðTo  Ta Þ  273 (16) can also be calculated from the above PPD formulation using mean
εp s radiant temperature due to surface temperature in Eq. (9). Therefore,
the effect of the solar radiation on PPD can be calculated as follows:
18  v0:55 Forced convection
hcg ¼ max of a (17) PPDðsolar radiaitonÞ ¼ PPDðtotalÞ  PPDðsurface tempÞ (19)
3  ðjTo  Ta jÞ0:25 Free convection

Fig. 2. Test room layout and dimensions.

 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725 717

Table 1
Some specifications of experimental devices.

Item Qty Brand Model Range Accuracy

Pyranometer 2 Kipp&Zonen CM6B 0e2000 W/m2 Sensitivity 5e20 mV/W/m2

Pyranometer 1 Kipp&Zonen CMP6 0e2000 W/m2 Sensitivity 5e20 mV/W/m2
Operative temperature transducer 1 Innova MM0060 20e50
C 20 to 50
C range: ±0.5
C
Air velocity transducer 1 Innova MM0038 0e10 m/s 1 < va < 10 m/s:typically
better than ±0.1 va m/s
Air temperature transducer 1 Innova MM0034 20e50
C 20 to 50
C range: ±0.5
C
Air humidity transducer 1 Innova MM0037 tatd<25
C 10 K < ta-td <25 K: ±0.1 kPa
Thermal comfort data logger 1 Innova 1221 20e100
C Resolution ±0.1
C
Data logger 1 National Instrument NI9211 40e70
C ADC resolution 24 bit

va ¼ air velocity.
ta ¼ air temperature, td ¼ dew-point temperature.
ADC ¼ analog-to-digital converter.

where PPD(surface temp) ¼ PPD that accounts for the effect of surface
temperature, (%).
PPD(solar radiaiton) ¼ PPD that accounts for the effect of solar
radiation, (%).
3. Experimental set up
The experiment was performed to investigate the thermal
comfort of a person sitting by a glass window fitted with a venetian
blind. The test room was located on the fourth floor of Hans Buntli
Building, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engi-
neering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (latitude 13.73
N,
longitude 100.57
E).
3.1. Test room and experimental devices
The test room was constructed of double-walls with a 2-in. fiber
glass insulation placed in between. The west wall, which was
exposed to outside air, was constructed with an aluminum cladding
exterior and gypsum board interior wall with a 2-in. fiber glass
insulation in between. A 0.9  1.1 m glass window was installed in
the west wall. The layout and dimensions of the test room are
shown in Fig. 2.
The test window consisted of a 6 mm clear glass with an
attached 25.4 mm (1 inch) venetian blind. The clear glass had solar
transmittance of 0.80, solar reflectance of 0.08 and solar absorp-
tance of 0.12. The blind chosen had slats 25.4 mm in width and
0.3 mm in thickness. The slats had a radius of curvature of 71.5 mm.
The slats were separated by a pitch of 20 mm. The conductivity of
the slat was 120 W/(m-K). The reflectance of the slat was 0.71 (slat
absorptance of 0.29) and the emittance was 0.87. The blind was
installed 40 mm from the inner glass surface to the center of the
blind. Two pyranometers ((Kipp & Zonen [31]) model CM 6B) and a
shadow ring were used to measure the outside global solar radia-
tion incident and diffuse solar radiation incident on the vertical
surface. A third pyranometer ((Kipp & Zonen) model CMP 6) was
installed inside the test room to measure transmitted solar radia-
tion incident on the vertical plane. The operative temperature
transducer (Innova MM0060) was installed 30
to the vertical to
simulate a person in the sitting position turned sideways to the
glass window. The operative temperature sensor and pyranometer
were installed 200 mm from the inner glass surface and 1300 mm
above the floor. The inside air temperature was kept at 25
C by an
air conditioning system. The inside room conditions: air velocity,
air temperature, air humidity and operative temperature were

Fig. 4. Pyranometer used to measure transmitted solar radiation and transducers used
Fig. 3. Pyranometers and shadow ring. to measure operative temperature and inside air properties.
718 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725

Fig. 5. Incident solar radiation and transmitted solar radiation on glass window and venetian blind with slat angle set at 0
(May 19, 2011).

Fig. 6. Incident solar radiation and transmitted solar radiation on glass window and venetian blind with slat angle set at 45
(May 20, 2011).

Fig. 7. Incident solar radiation and transmitted solar radiation on glass window and venetian blind with slat angle set at 45
(May 21, 2011).
 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725 719

Fig. 8. Outside air temperature, inside glass surface temperature, venetian blind surface temperature and operative temperature of glass window and venetian blind with slat angle
set at 0
.

measured using related transducers (Innova; MM0038, MM0034, from the root mean square of all bias uncertainties associated with
MM0037 and MM0060 [32]). The data measured from the trans- the measurements as follows:
ducers were fed into the thermal comfort data logger (Innova 1221
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
[32]) and were processed using software to obtain the value of
2
2
2
vR vR vR
thermal comfort indices. The surface temperature of the glass UR ¼ U1 þ U2 þ :::::::::::::::::::: Un
vx1 vx2 vxn
window, venetian blind and walls of the test room were measured
using a type J thermocouple. Some specifications of experimental (20)
devices are listed in Table 1. Figs. 3 and 4 show the installation of
the pyranometers and transducers. where R ¼ data which is the function of the independent variables
x1, x2, x3, … ..xn.

3.2. Uncertainty analysis xi ¼ independent variable of the data R (for i ¼ 1 to n).

In this study, uncertainty analysis was performed on measured
data and evaluated data using the value of measured data. The
sources of uncertainty include sensor accuracy and error due to the
sensor set up. Sensor accuracy can be obtained from the manu-
facturers [31,32]. Total uncertainty of the data can be estimated
UR ¼ total uncertainty of the data R.
Ui ¼ total uncertainty of the independent variable (xi) of the data
R.
Chaiyapinunt and Khamporn [25] have estimated the un-
certainties associated with measured solar radiation (i.e. sensor

Fig. 9. Outside air temperature, inside glass surface temperature, venetian blind surface temperature and operative temperature of glass window and venetian blind with slat angle
set at 45
.
720 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725

Fig. 10. Outside air temperature, inside glass surface temperature, venetian blind surface temperature and operative temperature of glass window and venetian blind with slat
angle set at 45
.

errors, error from shadow ring and error related to slat angle
adjustment, etc.) as follows: ±8.12% for incident global solar radi-
ation, ±8.20% for diffuse solar radiation and ±9.23% for transmitted
solar radiation. The maximum estimated uncertainty of the pre-
dicted transmitted solar radiation is about ±9% of the predicted
data. The uncertainty of the measured outside air temperature,
inside glass surface temperature, blind temperature and operative
temperature is about ±0.5
C for each. For neglecting errors due to
angle factor and shading fraction, Khamporn and Chaiyapinunt [10]
estimated the uncertainties for the mean radiant temperature
calculated from Eq. (10) and evaluated from the measured opera-
tive temperature to be ±2.5% and ±3.5, respectively. The average
estimated uncertainty of total PPD evaluated from the value of
mean radiant temperature calculated using Eq. (10) is approxi-
mately ±2% (during the times 5.00e14.00 and 18.00e19.00 h) and
approximately ±10% (during the time 14.00e18.00 h). Total PPD's
average estimated uncertainty evaluated using the measured
operative temperature is approximately ±2% (during the times
5.00e14.00 and 18.00e19.00 h) and approximately ±13% (during
the time 14.00e18.00 h).
4. Experimental results and discussion
This study was conducted during the month of May, 2011. Three
different slat angles: 0
, 45
and 45
, were used. The 0
slat angle
refers to the position when each slat is parallel to the ground. The
45
slat angle refers to the position when each slat edge facing the
inner glass window surface points down to the ground, producing
an angle of 45
to the horizontal. The 45
slat angle refers to the
position when slat edge facing the inner glass window surface
points up to the ceiling, producing an angle of 45
to the horizontal.
In the experiment, the metabolic rate of the person is chosen to be
1.2 Met, which corresponds to normal work when sitting in an
office. The cloth insulation is chosen to be 0.5 clo. The mechanical
efficiency of the person is set at 0.
4.1. Measured solar radiation
Figs. 5e7 show the time variation of incident global solar radi-
ation, incident diffuse solar radiation and transmitted solar radia-
tion for the glass window with the attached venetian blind set at 0
,

Fig. 11. Component of transmitted solar radiation striking the person sitting near the glass window and venetian blind with slat angle set at 0
.
 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725 721

Fig. 12. Component of transmitted solar radiation striking the person sitting near the glass window and venetian blind with slat angle set at 45
.

45
and 45
slat angle. The uncertainties associated with
measured data are also presented in the figures. The magnitude of
the incident global solar radiation and incident diffuse solar radi-
ation in the morning are similar as the building faces west. Thus,
only diffuse solar radiation can be measured in the morning. The
direct solar radiation (beam solar radiation) is incident on the glass
window starting at around 13.00 h. Maximum global solar radia-
tion occurs at around 15.00e16.30 h. The time variation of the
transmitted solar radiation has a similar pattern to the incident
global solar radiation, but of a smaller magnitude. It can be seen
that slat angle has a large effect on the magnitude of transmitted
solar radiation into the room. Among the three slat angles (0
, 45

and 45
), the glass window with venetian blind set at 45
slat
angle allows the largest amount of solar radiation to enter the
room, while the glass window with venetian blind set at 45
slat
angle allows the least.
4.2. Measured temperature
Figs. 8e10 show the time variation of the outside air tempera-
ture, glass inside surface temperature, blind surface temperature
and operative temperature for venetian blind slat angle settings of
0
, 45
and 45
. The measured outside air temperature had a
range of 25.5
Ce34.5
C. The maximum outside air temperature
occurred between 14.00 and 17.00 h. The variation of the inside
glass surface temperature had a pattern similar to that of the blind
surface temperature. The venetian blind surface temperature was
always lower than the inside glass surface temperature. Among the
three slat angles, the venetian blind with 45
slat angle showed
the largest difference between the inside glass surface temperature
and venetian blind surface temperature, while the venetian blind
with 45
slat angle had the smallest. The inside glass surface
temperature was lower than the outside air temperature in the
morning at around 5.00e9.00 a.m., after which the inside glass
surface temperature began to rise. The inside glass surface tem-
perature was higher than the outside air temperature due to the
effect of incident diffuse solar radiation on the glass window. In the
afternoon, the inside glass surface temperature was significantly
higher than the outside air temperature due to incident direct solar
radiation. Among the three slat angles considered, the glass win-
dow with the venetian blind set at 45
slat angle had the lowest
blind surface temperature, while the glass window with the
venetian blind set at 45
slat angle had the highest. At 45
slat
angle, most of the incident direct solar radiation (beam solar

Fig. 13. Component of transmitted solar radiation striking the person sitting near the glass window and venetian blind with slat angle set at 45
.
722 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725

Fig. 14. Comparison between mean radiant temperatures obtained from the mathematical model and evaluated from operative temperature for the glass window and venetian
blind set at 0
slat angle.

radiation) was transmitted into the room; therefore, there is less
accumulated heat stored in the blind. This causes the venetian blind
surface temperature to be lower than the cases of 0
and 45
slat
angle. At 45
slat angle, the venetian blind will block most of the
incident direct solar radiation; therefore, there is more accumu-
lated heat in the blind, which causes a higher venetian blind surface
temperature. The pattern of the measured operative temperature
was similar to the pattern of measured transmitted solar radiation.
Among the three slat angles, the glass window with the venetian
blind set at 45
slat angle had the highest operative temperature.
4.3. Predicted transmitted solar radiation
between 16.00 and 17.00 h, the transmitted solar radiation had a
direct to direct component (direct solar radiation passing through
the blind without touching slat surfaces) when entering the room.
From Fig. 12, for the case of 45
slat angle, it shows no direct to
direct component of solar radiation, but only direct to diffuse and
diffuse to diffuse components entering the room. For the case of 45

slat angle, the magnitude of the transmitted solar radiation was the
smallest compared to the other two slat angles considered (0

and 45
). From Fig. 13, for the case of 45
slat angle, most of the
transmitted solar radiation entering the room in the afternoon
came from direct to direct solar radiation that occurred around
14.00e18.00 h.

Figs. 11e13 show the predicted transmitted solar radiation in
separate components (diredir, dir-dif and difedif) according to Eqs.
(12)e(14). From Fig. 11, it can be seen that in the case of 0
slat
angle, most of the transmitted solar radiation comes from diffuse
solar radiation. The solar radiation entering the room had a direct to
diffuse component of solar radiation (component of direct solar
radiation that inter-reflected between slats when entering the
room) during time period between 13.00 and 17.00 h. Similarly,
4.4. Comparison of the mean radiant temperature
The accuracy of the developed mathematical model for the
mean radiant temperature that included the effect of solar radia-
tion striking the person sitting behind the glass window with an
attached venetian blind (Eq. (10)) is verified by comparing the
predicted mean radiant temperature due to surface temperature
and solar radiation (Tsmrt) with the mean radiant temperature

Fig. 15. Comparison between mean radiant temperatures obtained from the mathematical model and evaluated from operative temperature for the glass window and venetian
blind set at 45
slat angle.
 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725 723

Fig. 16. Comparison between mean radiant temperatures obtained from the mathematical model and evaluated from operative temperature for the glass window and venetian
blind set at 45
slat angle.

evaluated from the measured operative temperature (Tsmrto).
Figs. 14e16 show the predicted mean radiant temperature calcu-
lated from Eq. (10) (Tsmrt) compared to the mean radiant temper-
ature evaluated from the measured operative temperature (Tsmrto)
for the glass window with a curved venetian blind at 0
, 45

and 45
slat angle. The agreement of the values of predicted mean
radiant temperature and the mean radiant temperature evaluated
from the measured operative temperature is quite good for all three
slat angles (0
, 45
and 45
). They are well within the range of the
estimated uncertainty of the predicted values and the values
evaluated from the measured operative temperature. The com-
parison's results provides a higher level of reliability for the
mathematical model in predicting the mean radiant temperature,
which includes solar radiation effects on the glass window with an
attached curved venetian blind. The predicted mean radiant tem-
perature due to the effect of surface temperature is also shown in
the figures to demonstrate the effect of solar radiation on the mean
radiant temperature. Fig. 14, for the case of 0
slat angle, shows the
mean radiant temperature correlates well with the transmitted
solar radiation. The mean radiant temperature increases to a
maximum value of 38
C at around 17.00 h. The value of the mean
radiant temperature that accounts for solar radiation and surface
temperature is higher than the mean radiant temperature that only
accounts for surface temperature of about 8
C at around 17.00 h.
Fig. 15, for the case of 45
slat angle, shows the mean radiant
temperature increases to a maximum value of 35
C at around
17.00 h. The value of the mean radiant temperature that accounts
for solar radiation and surface temperature is higher than the mean
radiant temperature that only accounts for surface temperature of
about 3
C at around 17.00 h. Fig. 16, for the case of 45
slat angle,
shows the mean radiant temperature increases to a maximum
value of 40
C at around 16.00 h. The value of the mean radiant
temperature that accounts for solar radiation and surface temper-
ature is higher than the mean radiant temperature that only ac-
counts for surface temperature of about 11
C at around 16.00 h.
This demonstrates that when the venetian blind is set at a position
that allows more solar radiation to enter and strike the person
(45
slat angle), a higher mean radiant temperature value is
recorded. The higher mean radiant temperature is a result of the
transmitted solar radiation rather than the effect of surface tem-
perature. When the venetian blind is set at a position that blocks
most of the direct solar radiation (45
slat angle) the mean radiant

Fig. 17. Comparison between PPD obtained from the mathematical model and evaluated from operative temperature for the glass window and blind set at 0
slat angle.
724 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725

Fig. 18. Comparison between PPD obtained from the mathematical model and evaluated from operative temperature for the glass window and blind set at 45
slat angle.

temperature value is dominated by the effect of surface
temperature.
4.5. Comparison of the predicted percentage of dissatisfied
Figs. 17e19 show the predicted total PPD calculated from the
mean radiant temperature evaluated using Eqs. (9) and (10)
compared to the total PPD calculated from the mean radiant tem-
perature evaluated from the measured operative temperature. It
was found that the predicted total PPD and total PPD evaluated
from measured operative temperature agree well. They are well
within the range of the uncertainty of the predicted values and the
values evaluated from the measured operative temperature. The
time variation of the total PPD (PPD due to surface temperature and
solar radiation) and that of the PPD due to surface temperature is
similar to the time variation of the mean radiant temperature. The
room had a high total PPD value in the afternoon when there was a
high solar radiation incident on the glass window. The total PPD
value is, thus, mainly dependent on the magnitude of the trans-
mitted solar radiation passing through the glass window and
venetian blind. The room with the glass window and venetian blind
set at 45
slat angle had the smallest total PPD compared to the
other blind settings (0
and 45
slat angle). The glass window and
venetian blind set at 45
slat angle had the largest total PPD
compared to the other blind settings (0
and 45
slat angle). The
effect of the PPD due to solar radiation and the PPD due to surface
temperature are shown in Figs. 17e19. The PPD due to solar radi-
ation was obtained by subtracting the PPD due to surface temper-
ature from the total PPD. The PPD due to solar radiation is about
15%e27% at around 14.30e17.30 h for the blind setting at 45
slat
angle. The PPD due to solar radiation is about 30%e45% at around
14.30e17.30 h for the blind setting at 0
slat angle. The PPD due to
solar radiation is about 40%e72% at around 15.00e17.00 h for the
blind setting at 45
slat angle. The PPD due to surface temperature
for the room with the venetian blind setting at 45
slat angle has
the smallest value compared to the other two cases (0
and 45
slat
angle). Thus, it can be concluded that when the venetian blind is set
at a position that allows more solar radiation to enter the room and
strike a person (i.e. 45
slat angle), the discomfort comes mainly
from the effect of solar radiation. When the venetian blind is set at a

Fig. 19. Comparison between PPD obtained from the mathematical model and evaluated from operative temperature for the glass window and blind set at 45
slat angle.
 N. Khamporn, S. Chaiyapinunt / Building and Environment 82 (2014) 713e725
position that blocks most solar radiation from entering the room,
the discomfort from the effect of surface temperature becomes
important.
5. Conclusions
The effect of installing a curved venetian blind to a glass window
on the thermal comfort of a person sitting near the glass window
and venetian blind was investigated using a test room. A mathe-
matical model to for calculate the mean radiant temperature that
included the effect of solar radiation that strikes a person was
developed. The concept of shading fraction on the value of the
surface temperature of the glass window and blind was introduced
in the study. The accuracy of the mathematical model used for
predicting the mean radiant temperature for a room with a glass
window and a curved venetian blind is verified by comparing the
predicted values with the values evaluated from the measured
operative temperature. The comparison shows a good agreement
between the predicted values and the values evaluated from the
measured operative temperature. They are well within the range of
the uncertainty of the predicted values and the values evaluated
from the measured operative temperature. It was found that the
time variation of the mean radiant temperature and total PPD is
similar to the pattern of transmitted solar radiation passing
through the glass window with an attached venetian blind. When
the blind is installed behind the glass window, the adjustment of
the slat angle of the blind affects the thermal environment of the
room. When the blind is at a position that allows more solar radi-
ation to enter the room, the main discomfort is caused by solar
radiation. When setting the slat angle of the blind at a position that
blocks the solar radiation from entering the room, the discomfort
from the surface temperature becomes dominant.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the National Metal and Materials
Technology Center, MT-B-51-ENV-09-021-G, National Science and
Technology Development Agency for their financial support.
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