Advanced daylighting strategies and systems can considerably reduce a building’s electricity consumption and also significantly improve the quality of light in an indoor environment. The prediction of these improvements requires good models of glazing pro

Spectral radiative properties of panel glass and coatings are measured, like transmittance and reflectance. The coating influence on the panel behavior is presented. Material properties like index of refraction and the absorption coefficient are determined. Such determination takes place in the visible and near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The property determination is performed with transmittances and reflectances measurements in different wavelengths from 400 to 4000 nanometers. Total visible and solar transmittance is calculated, based on these data.

A common architectural feature of curtain wall facades is constituted by a transparent double-glazing unit mounted in front of a recessed interior metal panel. It is typically installed in spandrel areas, where its required to provide to the faade not only surface consistency but also depth.To evaluate condensation risk on this type of envelope element, an experimental program has being carried out on a typical facade panel (Shadow-box) provided by Permasteelisa.

The EC funded ‘SmartHomes’ project commenced in 2001 as a 3 year programme. The primary objective is to establish Internet-based energy services and test these within field trials in Sweden, Greece, the Czech Republic and the UK. The tasks include the pro

In order to improve the user acceptance of an automatic shading device controller, user wishes concerning the blind position are learned and integrated in the automatic controller through an innovative adaptation system developed with the use of Genetic Algorithms. Simulations with virtual users have shown learning and anticipating capabilities of the system. This paper explains in detail the adaptation process and shows one typical example of simulation results.

Solar shading devices can significantly improve thermal comfort and reduce cooling loads and potential glare problems in highly glazed buildings. This paper describes results from an extensive measurement program that started in 1997, covering external shading devices, products placed between two panes (interpane), and internal shading devices. Measurements of the total solar energy transmittance (g-value) have been performed using a double hot-box arrangement placed in a real climate.

This work is based on an extended research from a doctorate thesis developed in a partnership between Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in Brazil and INSA of Lyon, Thermal Centre of Lyon, Building Physics Team (CETHIL/ETB) in France. The purpose is to examine the envelope building design considering the outside microclimate to achieve a comfortable indoor climate. The context of exterior climatic features and site location are considered, taking in account an indoor discomfort sequence over a typical warm season.

The thermal performance of a building depends on a number of building design parameters. Development of ‘energy efficient building concepts’ therefore requires insight in the here mentioned interrelation. In the recent past many advanced simulation tools

In a building, energy consumption and user’s comfort are directly related to its thermal performance. In early stages of building design, architects do not have enough input data to perform precise calculations. Anyway, due to the importance of the initia

Together with the definition of innovative plant and envelope technological solutions for buildings, many simulation tools (models) have been developed to make the design choices easier. However the definition of analytical structures able to describe the characteristics of building components installed under real conditions is still difficult. The paper presents some experiences made by ITC. They have been carried out by using System Identification techniques to simulate and predict the performances of various components analysed also through experimental campaigns under real conditions.