L-shaped mini-louvers performance for reducing indoor temperature

Abstract

Cooling energy demand is a global problem, especially in the hot area. According to the International Energy Agency, this problem is driven by complex factors, from economic condition to urbanization. This paper examines the use of simple sun shading design as one of possible solutions to reduce the cooling energy in buildings by lowering indoor temperature. Four south oriented wooden boxes were constructed; three of them have L-shaped mini louvers for sun shading attached while another one without any shading device acted as a base case. Mini-overhangs were also tested under the same conditions. The experiment was conducted in Kitakyushu, Japan for 5 days to show the performance of the sun shading in reducing the indoor temperature. The data were recorded using thermo recorder every 30 minutes. The mini louvers showed better performance than overhang. The mini louvers with gap to size ratio of 1:1 reduced around 12 percentage points of average and 33 percentage points of peak temperature. The overhang with same ratio could reduce around 6 percentage points of average and 28 percentage points of peak temperature. The mini louvers were also tested in east direction and the results were similar.