Contribution of a Passive Dynamic Façade to Energy Reduction, Daylight, and View Quality in a Hot, Arid Climate

Abstract

There has been growing awareness in recent years of the energy consumption and interior environmental comfort of buildings. Substantial evaluation of the building envelope and indoor human experience is required to develop sustainable solutions, create a responsive system that enhances building performance and human comfort in terms of energy consumption and daylight quality. High-tech, dynamic façades have significant impacts on building performance and occupant comfort, but there are negative aspects to the concept of environmental and sustainable design, such as the initial cost, maintenance requirements, and high energy usage. In this paper, a new advanced integrated façade called a passive dynamic shading device (PDSD) is revealed. The system is designed to contribute to energy reduction, daylight availability, and view quality through its ability to change position and placement to respond and adapt to new climate conditions. The thermal expansion phenomenon was used in the actuation process, with heat-activated actuators that correspond to specific dry-bulb temperatures. This paper concisely demonstrates the functional mechanism of the PDSD concept. The focus is on the assessment of energy performance, daylight, and view quality when using PDSD. A numerical simulation was conducted to evaluate and analyze the potential energy savings and daylight control, and to improve the system in terms of material properties. The Energy Plus and Radiance platforms were used during the study to facilitate simulation of a dynamic system. The system is validated by comparing three cases with the same geometry, function, and fenestration. The first case has no shading device, the second has a fixed shading device, and the third has a PDSD. This work presents an example of application of the system in a region with a hot, arid climate that receives an enormous amount of direct solar radiation. The result shows the PDSD can efficiently reduce overall energy consumption by up to 50%, increase the amount and quality of daylight by up to 60% compared to fixed shading devices, and obstruct the view from the interior 22% of the year.