Effects of Window Films in Thermo-Solar Properties of Office Buildings in Hot-Arid Climates

Abstract

The electricity consumption in residential/office buildings corresponded to 45% of the total annual electricity demand in hot-arid climates. This accounted for 27.2 TWh of electricity consumption with 14.2 MWh/capita/year in Kuwait. In this research, four offices in an educational building were equipped with a meteorological data logging system using temperature, humidity, and illuminance sensors. All four offices had double-glazed windows. Moreover, two offices were equipped with two types of commercially available window films. Two million data were stored in iCloud using Wi-Fi and an Internet of Things (IoT) system for the 3 months of June, July, and August 2019. Here, histograms and the kernel density estimation (KDE) of temperature/humidity were analyzed and compared for the two offices with/without 3M Neutral 20 window films. Two floors of the same building consisting of 31 offices were also modeled and simulated to study energy saving and CO2 footprint reduction using various window films. The results of simulations for the month of July 2019 using SOL 101 and SOL 102 window films, respectively, showed that about 250 kg and 255 kg of production of CO2 could be reduced and energy saving counted for 416 and 422 kWh. Measurements from offices with 3M Neutral 20% and 3M Neutral 70% window films for the month of July 2019 indicated that the carbon footprint could be reduced by about 82 kg and 0.43 kg and energy saving counted for 147.11 and 0.71 kWh, respectively. It was observed that an annual energy saving and CO2 footprint reduction of 2.76% could be achieved using window films in a hot-arid climate.

Renewable Energy: Sources, Integration and Application: Review Article

“…Fuel cells are precious as a power source in remote or isolated locales such as spacecraft and rural areas. Electric and hybrid automobiles and off-grid energygenerating are only a few of the other uses for them [23].…”

“…It's possible to boost the winter solar heat gains with passive solar techniques. For solar energy to be used for heating, the building's roof, walls, and floor must be well-insulated to make use of solar radiation as much as feasible [23].…”

“…For SHPP operation and maintenance, the authors found that power generation forecasting is necessary. They also concluded that power plant maintenance schedules and bid proposals on the market are dependent on power generation projections [23].…”

Implementing Cool Roof and Bio-PCM in Portable Cabins to Create Low-Energy Buildings Suitable for Different Climates

“…Houses in Australia contribute 30% to total CO 2 emissions [4], making it urgent to develop low-energy sustainable buildings in both Kuwait and Australia [5,6]. Solar window films were analyzed in [7][8][9], but these only saved 1-3% of energy in office buildings of Kuwait [10]. Sustainable green rooftops and bio-phase change materials (Bio-PCM) have shown a higher potential of up to 20% in a container without insulation in Australia [11,12].…”

The Potential of Static and Thermochromic Window Films for Energy Efficient Building Renovations

“…These films are designed and optimized for various climates around the world. For instance, a warm and sunny climate requires a film with more tinting and near-IR reflection, whereas a colder and less sunny climate requires more visible light transmission and less near-IR reflection, in order to optimize the balance between solar heat gains in winter and rejection in summer (Hui & Kwok, 2006;Li et al, 2015;Sedaghat et al, 2021). As such films are fabricated in a cost-effective way and can be applied to existing window panes, they are an appealing and easy-to-install renovation option.…”