Green glass space based design for the driven of sustainable cities: A case study

Abstract

• Green glass space was proposed driven by energy efficiency and thermal comfort. • Seasonal operation characteristics and design parameters of GGS were explored. • GGS can decrease heating energy consumption by about 50% compared with N-GGS. • ADPI is above 85% and PD is below 1% at various heights and angles of GGS. • The optimal design parameters of GGS are at a height of 0.9 h and an angle of 90°. Demand for thermal comfort is high in regions characterized by hot summers and cold winters. Active solutions commonly used to improve comfort level in buildings may increase energy consumption, which hinders the sustainable development of cities. It is of great significance to balance the comfort and energy during the building design phase. Passive solutions present the potential in energy saving, such as glass curtain wall. However, it is difficult to ensure thermal stability in building because of the unsteady heat exchange through glass curtain wall, further affecting the balance. In this work, transitional space consisting of glass façade, i.e., green glass space (GGS), between indoor and outdoor environments is proposed to achieve a favorable balance. The impacts of design parameters (i.e., height and angle of green glass space) are investigated on both thermal comfort and energy efficiency, which are carried out in a case study. Numerical simulation is validated by experimental data. Air distribution performance index (ADPI) and percentage of dissatisfied (PD) are used as indicators to evaluate thermal comfort. Energy saving coefficient is put forward as an index for energy efficiency of green glass space. Results showed that (1) green glass space can decrease heating energy consumption by approximately 50% compared with non-green glass spaces, (2) air distribution performance index is above 85% and percentage of dissatisfied is below 1% at various heights and angles, and (3) optimal design parameters of green glass space are achieved at a height of 0.9 H (H is the building height) and an angle of 90° This study can provide an important reference of design strategy for the sustainable development of green building and cities.