Dynamic Shading and Glazing Technologies: Improve Energy, Visual, and Thermal Performance

Conventional static glazing sometimes has poor performance in energy, visual, and thermal aspects. In this thesis, a series of simulations of an office building were done to compare the performance of conventional static glazing, exterior static and kinetic shades, dynamic glazing, and dynamic glazing working together with static or kinetic shades as a combinatorial system. This thesis introduced a method for designers to make decisions among multiple shading and glazing options. A scoring system was developed to evaluate the overall performance. Energy, visual and thermal performance all had the same weight. Energy uses included annual Energy Use Intensity (EUI) and peak cooling loads of the hottest day of the year. Visual performance included maximizing daylight and minimizing glare on the fall equinox day. Thermal performance included Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) Index which determined thermal comfort based on occupants’ sensations and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) which indicated the levels of thermal discomfort situations. The prediction was that the combination of dynamic glazing and kinetic shade would have better comprehensive performance and earn higher scores than other options.