Lean Strategies for Window Retrofit of Italian Office Buildings: Impact on Energy Use, Thermal and Visual Comfort

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore lean retrofit strategies for transparent envelope of existing Italian office buildings, to improve their performance and to ensure low energy use and a good thermal and visual comfort.Solar and light control is necessary to prevent overheating in office buildings those generally present high internal loads. The effectiveness of solar window films use in Italian buildings context is here investigated, in comparison with other strategies like the use of internal roller blinds and the substitution of the existing window panes with high performance ones. A sensitivity analysis was assessed to evaluate the office unit primary energy use under different retrofit solution, weather conditions and window to wall ratio. A conventional existing office unit was modeled in EnergyPlus and LBNL Radiance to assess heating, cooling and lighting energy demand coupled with visual comfort parameters. Thermal comfort was evaluated hourly in accordance with ISO 7730. The results are presented with a cost - benefit analysis to understand the best retrofit solution.