World Renewable Energy Congress XI 25-30 September 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Impact of glazing on total energy consumption of commercial building in hot and humid climate
1

Vishal Garg , Jyotirmay Mathur , Srishti Srivastava and Surekha Tetali Centre for IT in Building Science, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, India. 2 Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India * Corresponding author: vishal@iiit.ac.in

1*

Abstract
The effect of eight commercially available glazing materials on energy consumption has been analyzed for different window wall ratios (WWRs) and four scenarios with/without shading and with/without daylight sensor. Simulations were performed over a simple perimeter and core model, for a hot and humid climate - Chennai, India. The total energy consumption in the four scenarios with varying WWRs (5%-95%) for all the glazing materials was compared with the energy consumption of the base case model as defined in Appendix G of ASHRAE 90.1-2007. Analysis performed show that solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), visible light transmittance (Vlt), and external shading play a major role in this climate. Results show that, a building with good external shading and daylight sensors, a high SHGC and high Vlt glazing with more than 40% WWR can also outperform the base case with low SHGC glazing and 40% WWR. This paper aims in providing a design aid for selection of glazing based on various design strategies considered. Keywords: Glazing, Window Wall Ratio, Energy Consumption, Energy Simulation, Efficiency

1. Introduction
The building facade design plays a key role in determining the energy demand. The decisions taken by the design team in early stages of design is very critical to the performance of the building envelope, amongst which the decisions for the transparent surface is the most important. The analysis of the performance of transparent materials as related with heat transfer is very critical in terms of efficient building envelope design. The fenestration or glazed surfaces contribute a major part of cooling load in a building. Window provides daylight which acts as a positive character in reducing the artificial lighting demand during the daytime, and also bigger WWR helps in saving lighting energy but at the same time it increases the air conditioning loads which have been increased due to ingress of heat along with lighting. In hot climatic conditions, any Window opening brings in heat along with Daylight which in turn increases the load on HVAC thus increasing the Energy Consumption. To address the issues related to faade designing, various authors take up the issues related to faade designing in different ways. Windows are responsible for 1.1 quads of energy for heating and cooling commercial buildings, while lighting accounts for 3.83 quads. It is assumed that 25 percent of lighting energy use could be affected by day lighting(about 0.96 quads), then windows in commercial buildings account for about 2 quads total per year, or over 2 percent of the total energy consumption[1]. Athanassios T. et al. discusses the simultaneous impact of glazing area, shading device properties and shading control on building cooling and lighting demand by coupled daylighting and thermal simulation and found out performances of glazing systems based on integrated simulations[2]. Athanassios T. et al. give guidelines on how to select glass ratio of the faade, shading device properties and control has been provided. It represents results about fenestration and shading analysis and design at the early stage [3]. Sanyogita M. et al. place the study in local context of Ahmadabad with hot-dry climate by relating it to the local building regulations in India [4]. Xing Sua and Xu Zhang have quantified the difference between the life cycle environmental performances of 63 different cases (3 types of window x 3 window orientations x 7 WWRs), and thus found out a suited limited value for WWR of different window materials of a typical office building [5].

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World Renewable Energy Congress XI 25-30 September 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE

In this study, eight commercially available glazing types are considered for Chennai, the city that lies in hot and humid climatic zone. The considered glazings are studied with different strategies with regard to day lighting control and shading over a range of WWR (5%-95%). The purpose of this study is to provide the designers, architects and researchers with a unified approach to address issues related to energy performance of different types of glazing in commercial buildings. In this paper the simultaneous impact of window-wall-ratios, glazing properties such as SHGC, Vlt, U-value and shading of glazing on the building energy consumption is studied. The aim is to understand the behaviour of different glazing for different type of strategies and WWR. It aims at providing recommendation to designers for the type of glass which could be used. The three variables are Strategy, WWR and Glazing type. If the designer is aware of the type of strategy he would be following and what is the WWR of proposed building he can work out the third variable very easily by looking at the graphs which are explained later. As the comparison is drawn with the ASHRAE- Base Case Window, the designer would be able to locate a window, the LSG (Light-to-solar gain) of which is close to the proposed glazing. On the other hand if the designer is aware of the WWR and Glazing type he can find out the strategy which suits best to his needs and similarly, if the designer knows which strategy suits best for him and the glazing type he can find out the WWR for best performance.

2. Methodology for analysis of glazing with different shading strategies

Building energy simulations were performed using the Visual DOE 4.0 simulation program. For the purpose of this study a commercial office building with perimeter zoning is considered at Chennai in southern India. The Building description is as mentioned in the table below. The building description is as mentioned in the Table1. The building material properties are according to ASHRAE recommendations, WWR is limited to 40 percent for the aid to designers. This gives facility to analyse how the particular window performance with respect to base case window which has SHGC of 0.25, VlT of 0.39 and U-value of 6.9. Table 1 Input Parameters
Geometry Dimension (ft) Perimeter depth (ft) Floor to floor height (ft) Floor to ceiling height (ft) Number of floors WWR Self shading Material Roof U value (Btu/sq ft h F) Wall U value (Btu/sq ft h F) Floor U value (Btu/sq ft h F) Glass U value (Btu/sq ft h F) Glass SHGC HVAC System type Supply fan type Static pressure (inch in water) Fan control Supply fan off hours control Cooling EER 130 x 130 15 12 2 1 Varies Yes 0.063 0.124 0.35 Varies Varies Packaged single zone Constant 2" high efficiency 2 Constant Stay off 10.239

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World Renewable Energy Congress XI 25-30 September 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE Heating type Day lighting Daylight control Number Control fraction Iluminance Minimum power fraction Minimum light fraction Default Dimming 1 1 50 fc 0.1 0.1

In this paper the simultaneous impact of window-wall-ratios, Glazing properties such as SHGC, Vlt, U-value , shading and daylight controls, on building cooling and lighting demand is studied. The interactions between cooling and lighting energy use in perimeter spaces have been evaluated as a function of window-to-wall ratios. For the purpose of analysis eight different types of glass are considered, the details of which are mentioned in Table 2. The coding for the glass has been done as follows: The first letter which is either 'S' or 'D' reflects the type of window construction whether single or double. After that the first two numbers represent the SHGC of the window which is followed by the next two numbers representing the Vlt of the glazing type and the last three numbers are the U-Value for that particular glass type. Thus the eight types of glass which have been modelled are: D224116, D253918, D250428, S281352, D366217, S475556, S858569, and S253969. The energy consumption of each glass has been plotted to understand the effect of different variables on total energy consumption. The Base Case Window values are taken according to ASHRAE in order to understand the performance of the other types of glazing when compared with the Base Case. The intent is to understand the performance of each of this glass in different strategies. Table 2 Types of Glazing
Window code D224116 D253918 D250428 S281352 D366217 S475556 S858569 S253969 SHGC 0.22 0.25 0.25 0.28 0.36 0.47 0.85 0.25 Vlt 0.41 0.39 0.04 0.13 0.62 0.55 0.85 0.39 U value 1.6 1.8 2.8 5.2 1.7 5.6 6.9 6.9 Glazing commercial name Stop Ray SG Olive SG Dark Grey Tranquil Blue Mint Green SG Emerald Glaze General Clear Base case

There are four different types of strategies which are considered (refer Table 3), to understand the behaviour of the glass under different circumstances. In the Stratergy1 the building envelope has no shading and is not equipped with any daylight controls. For the second strategy the building is modelled with shading the width of which is equal to the width of the window with the depth of the overhang being equal to half of the height of the window. In the Strategy3 the shading has been removed from the building facade and the daylight controls are added to the perimeter zone of the building. Whereas in the fourth Strategy both shading and controls are employed thus showing the best performance. All the eight different glazing types are plotted for each of the four cases in order to understand their comparative performance for the same set of parametric values.

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World Renewable Energy Congress XI 25-30 September 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Table 3 Different Strategies

Strategy 1 Strategy 2 Strategy 3 Strategy 4 Without Controls, Without Shading Without Controls, With Shading With Controls, Without Shading With Controls, With Shading

3. Results
Strategy 1- Without Controls, Without Shading: As observed from the graph in Figure 1, the minimum energy consumption is for 0WWR. Till 40WWR energy consumption for S858569, Window3 S4755556, D366217 and S281352 is more than Base Case. After 40 WWR Energy Consumption is more than the Base Case for all the Windows. Strategy 2- Without Controls, With Shading: As observed from the graph in Figure 2, the minimum energy consumption is for 0WWR. The slope of the lines has reduced as compared to Strategy 1.
Effect of WWR on Energy Consumption in Chennai
340,000 330,000 S253969 BaseCase S281352

Energy Consumption (kWh)

320,000
310,000 300,000 290,000 280,000

S475556
S858569 D224116 D253918 D250428 D366217

CASE1

Window-Wall-Ratio (%)

Figure 1 Strategy 1: Without Controls, Without Shading

Effect of WWR on Energy Consumption in Chennai
340,000 330,000 S253969 BaseCase S281352

Energy Consumption (kWh)

320,000
310,000 300,000 290,000 280,000

S475556
S858569 D224116 D253918 D250428 D366217

CASE2
Window-Wall-Ratio (%)

Figure 2 Strategy 2: Without Controls, With Shading Strategy 3- With Controls, Without Shading: (refer Figure 3)All glazing types are performing in a similar manner as all of them showing a dip and then rising up again except D250428. Since the Vlt for D250428 is very low thus less light is penetrating inside through the glazing, resulting in no reduction in Lighting Consumption due to presence of the sensor. D366217 is getting the min consumption at 10 WWR since the Vlt is 62 but at the same time as we increase the WWR there is a steady increase in the consumption since the SHGC of this glazing type is 36 as compared to D250428 which has comparatively lower SHGC of 25. There is a huge difference in their LSG ratios which is 0.16 for D250428 whereas it is 1.72 for D366217 thus reducing the Lighting Consumption which is

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World Renewable Energy Congress XI 25-30 September 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE

responsible for the dip. In this case, once the savings achieved by the daylight sensor freezes and the SHGC acts upon, the slope of each window with increasing WWR is similar to that of windows in Strategy 1. The saving clearly depends on the LSG ratio, as this ratio increases the savings too increase. For smaller window wall ratios, the effect of sensor is more than the effect of SHGC and hence smaller the WWR, more is the decrease in consumption. D224116 is performing best since it has a low SHGC of 22 and high Vlt of 41. This glass can be used for higher WWR as the SHGC is low therefore resulting in less energy consumption. Strategy 4- With Controls, With Shading: (refer Figure 4) In Strategy 4 all the windows except S858569 (where Consumption is higher after 30 % WWR) perform better than the Base Case window for all WWR. D224116 performs the best after 20 WWR since the LSG ratio for this glazing type is 1.86 which is the best, thus the amount of light coming in is more and the amount of heat coming inside is comparatively less.
Effect of WWR on Energy Consumption in Chennai
340,000 330,000 S253969 BaseCase S281352

Energy Consumption (kWh)

320,000
310,000 300,000 290,000 280,000

S475556
S858569 D224116 D253918 D250428 D366217

CASE3
Window-Wall-Ratio (%)

Figure 3 Strategy 3: With Controls, Without Shading D366217 having LSG ratio of 1.72 performs best for 10WWR since the Vlt is 62(enables in getting in more light resulting in lower Lighting Consumption) as compared to D224116 having LSG ratio of 1.86 and Vlt of 41 but as we proceed for higher WWR. D224116 performs best as SHGC plays important role here. It enables D224116 to perform best as it has SHGC of 22 as compared to D366217 which has a higher SHGC of 36. From this case we understand that diffused lighting which is coming in after the building is shaded is more effective than the direct sunlight penetrating into the building through the windows.
Effect of WWR on Energy Consumption in Chennai
340,000 330,000 S253969 BaseCase S281352

Energy Consumption (kWh)

320,000
310,000 300,000 290,000 280,000

S475556
S858569 D224116 D253918 D250428 D366217

CASE4
Window-Wall-Ratio (%)

Figure 4 Strategy 4: With Controls, With Shading U-value is the major factor for S253969 as SHGC is 0.25 but still when WWR increases Energy Consumption also increases. U-value does not affect the graph too much for S281352 thus any

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World Renewable Energy Congress XI 25-30 September 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE

strategy can work out fine for this window as there is not much of a difference between the different strategies. SHGC plays important role for S475556 as all the lines for all strategies take a much steeper slope. Moreover, for S858569 the graph shows a much steeper rise in the values for consumption thus emphasizing the role of SHGC as compared to any other factor.

4. Conclusions
The simulation results indicate that, if an integrated approach for providing shading is used in conjunction with controllable electric lighting systems, substantial reduction of energy demand for cooling and lighting could be achieved in perimeter spaces, depending on Climatic conditions and orientation. When there is good daylight coming into the room, there are savings in artificial lighting consumption, day light is more effective (lumen/watt) than the artificial lighting. It is better to have controls as it gives more savings when compared to having shading. Due to decrease in the heat generated by the artificial lighting systems, the cooling load also decreases. However, if more daylight enters into the room than the required, the cooling consumption starts increasing. Analysis performed show that solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), visible light transmittance (Vlt), and external shading play a major role in the performance of glazing in this climate. Results show that, a building with good external shading and daylight sensors, a high SHGC and high Vlt glazing with much more than 40% window to wall ratio can also outperform the base case of ASHRAE 90.1 with 40% WWR. It has therefore been concluded that buildings with glazed facades can also meet ASHRAE 90.1 requirements without use of high performance glazing and with use of shading strategy. The developed graphs can be used by designers for comparing performance of buildings with glazed facades with ASHRAE 90.1 base case requirements.

4. References
[1] J. Carmody, S. Selkowitz, E.S. Lee, D. Arasteh and T. Wallmert (2004) Window Systems for High performance buildings, W. W. Norton & Company, New York. [2] A. Tzempelikos, and A.K. Athienitis, (2007) The impact of shading design and control on building cooling and lighting demand, Solar Energy 81 (2007),pp. 369382. [3] A. Tzempelikos, and A.K. Athienitis, (2003) Simulation of faade options and impact on HVAC system design, Proceedings of Eighth International IBPSA Conference, Eindhoven, Netherlands, August 11-14, 2003, pp.1301-1308. [4] S. Manu and R. Rawal Impact of window design variants on lighting and cooling loads: clues for revisiting local building regulations. Proceedings of Eleventh International IBPSA Conference, Glasgow, Scotland, July 27-30, 2009, pp. 286-293. [5] S. Xing and X. Zhang. (2010) Environmental performance optimization of windowwall ratio for different window type in hot summer and cold winter zone in China based on life cycle assessment, Energy and Buildings 42(2010), pp. 198202. [6] ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007 (2007) American Society for Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers, Inc., Atlanta, GA, USA, 2007.

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