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Author
Treado, S. | Barnett, J. | Remmert, W.
Title
Effectiveness of Solar Shading for an Office Building. Final Report.
Coporate
National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
Sponsor
General Services Administration, Washington, DC U.S. Navy, Washington, DC U.S. Air Force, Washington, DC U.S. Army, Washington, DC
Report
NBS BSS 161
May 1984
Distribution
Available from National Technical Information Service
Keywords
shades; commercial buildings; cooling; solar radiation; windows; cost effectiveness; savings; computerized simulation; heating; performance evaluation; climate; United States | solar radiation
Identifiers
solar screens; energy consumption
Abstract
The impact of solar shading of windows on building energy consumption, energy costs and occupant comfort is examined for a typical office building. Measurements of the solar and thermal performance characteristics of three solar screens are reported. Using the DOE-2 computer program, annual building energy simulations were performed for seven climatic locations in the United States. Thirteen combinations of window thermal transmittance and shading coefficient are examined for each location. The analysis includes separate evaluations for buildings with all-year cooling and summer-only cooling. The results indicate that solar shading can reduce building energy consumption and improve comfort conditions in buildings with significant cooling loads. The optimum shading device characteristics vary with climatic location.