An integrated assessment of the high-performance glazing systems in the office buildings

Abstract

The study focuses on comparing between three of the high-performance glazing systems (HPGS) available in the market through a simulation of a case study of an office building which is located in New Cairo City in Egypt as a hot desert climate zone. The paper aims to enable the decision makers to select the most suitable HPGS through an integrated assessment which combines between the energy, environmental and economic performances assessment. A clear double-glazing system is used as a basic scenario for benchmarking and compared to the three HPGS scenarios (Passive, Active and Building Integrated Photovoltaic BIPV). An office building model has been implemented by DesignBuilder software to illustrate how this assessment can be applied on a real architectural project. The results show that considering the three performances (environmental, energy and economic) in the integrated assessment can outweigh a scenario at the expense of another one. Although the BIPV has advantages in the energy performance, it has the highest embodied carbon. The Electro-chromic glass has the worst economic performance, however the building lowest CO2 production. Low-E is the most suitable glazing system for the office buildings in the hot desert climate as it has achieved the highest accumulative points.