Design and Energy Performance of a Buoyancy Driven Exterior Shading Device for Building Application in Taiwan

Kuo-Tsang Huang,Han-Hsi Liang,Kevin Liu

doi:10.3390/en8042358

Kuo-Tsang Huang, Han-Hsi Liang + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/en8042358

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Abstract

Traditional dynamic shading systems are usually driven by electricity for continuously controlling the angle of blind slats to minimize the indoor solar heat gain over times. This paper proposed a novel design of buoyancy driven dynamic shading system, using only minimum amount of electricity. The energy performance and the improved thermal comfort induced by the system were simulated by EnergyPlus for a typical office space under the context of Taiwanese climate. The design processes are composed of three parts: an alterable angle of blind slats that raises the energy performance to be suitable for every orientation, the buoyancy driven transmission mechanism, and a humanized controller that ensures its convenience. The environmental friendly design aspects and control mechanisms to fulfill demands for manufacturing, assembling, maintenance and recycling, etc., were also presented as readily for building application. Besides, the effectiveness of cooling energy saving and thermal comfort enhancing were compared against the cases without exterior blinds and with traditional fixed blinds installed. The results show that the cooling energy is drastically reduced over times and the blind system is effectively enhancing the indoor thermal comfort.

Highlights

Energy saving methods for technical design in buildings are more and more widely used.For instance, the use of shading devices has led to practical applications for improving energy performance
A simulation analysis of a typical office space is conducted in order to understand the impacts of the external shading devices on energy performance and indoor thermal comfort
The solution provided would balance the inefficiency usage of the exterior blind and the energy consumption of the blind system. This system could be customized to respond to the daylighting and energy conservation needs with maximum results without using much electricity as compared to the other automated blind systems

Summary

Introduction

Energy saving methods for technical design in buildings are more and more widely used. The use of shading devices has led to practical applications for improving energy performance. Shading and daylight should always be optimized in order to consider both the energy-saving and environmental aspects of design. This design paradigm accounts for current trends in the design of buildings, especially school buildings that have large glazing areas and superior shading devices. A shading device operates to decrease solar heat gain so that total heat flow is delayed, and reduced. The solar gain constitutes a major portion of the air-conditioning load around the perimeter zone of a building in hot and humid areas.

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