The impact of glazing characteristics, orientation and wall reflectance on energy, daylighting, visual comfort and environmental performance in patient rooms

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of glazing characteristics, window orientation and different wall reflectance on the energy use and cost, daylighting, visual comfort and environmental performance in patient rooms. The methodology combines dynamic energy simulations, dynamic visual comfort and daylight analysis and integrates these in a life cycle assessment of the patient rooms, covering a wide range of environmental indicators. The results show that the wall reflectance has a major impact on the daylighting levels especially for glazing with lower light transmission. The findings indicate that the most significant environmental impacts are associated with global warming, human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects), particulate matter formation and eutrophication. The major drivers behind these impacts are energy use and production processes.