Impact of bi-directional PV blind control method on lighting, heating and cooling energy consumption in mock-up rooms

Abstract

As interest in the generation of renewable energy in buildings increases, shading devices do not limit its role in blocking the sunlight, but attach PV (photovoltaic) to blind slats for power generation. With this, there is also growing interest in how PV blind control can yield effective results on power generation and building energy consumption. The bi-directional control differed considerably from uni-directional control in the amount of PV power generation and inflow of skylight. However, the impact of lighting and air-conditioning energy consumptions by bi-directional PV blind control has not been evaluated. In this study, to identify the impact on energy performance of lighting, heating and cooling using bi-directional PV blind control, comparative measurement over the different seasons in two mock-up rooms was conducted. The energy consumptions of lighting and heating system using the bi-directional PV control were reduced by 4.62–35.50% and 2.10–11.46%, respectively, compared with those using the uni-directional PV blind control. In contrast, the energy consumptions of cooling system were increased by 6.25–14.29% due to the inflow of solar radiation. The bi-directional PV blind control can be mostly recommended throughout the year, except for clear and partly cloudy sky conditions during the summer, in the aspects of both PV power generation and energy consumption.