Impact of perforated solar screens on daylight availability and low energy use in offices

ABSTRACTIn this paper, daylighting and thermal analysis are carried out in synergy to ensure the best overall performance of perforated solar screens (PSS) used on fully glazed offices facing towards South, East, West and North, placed in Seville. The study has been conceived by applying multiple orthogonal arrays to account oriented transverse comparisons of several PSS design variables, with respect to their impact on the Daylight Availability (DAv) and the annual energy demand (lighting plus cooling and heating). Daylighting and irradiation calculations are carried out with DIVA-for-Grasshopper. The irradiation simulations are needed for simplifying the PSS complex geometries in order to perform thermal calculations with EnergyPlus. The results revealed that the use of PSS on facades is effective for enhancing DAv at the four orientations, in terms of the actual fully daylit area and the useful daylight illuminances. In comparison with fully and partly glazed facades, PSS increased the electrical light...