Experimental Investigation of Overall Energy Performance in Algerian Office Building Integrated Photovoltaic Window under Semi-Arid Climate

Abstract

Building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) energy has now become one of the most significant renewable energy alternatives for providing natural daylight and clean energy. As such, this study was conducted for the first time in Algeria to experimentally evaluate the BIPV window energy and lighting energy savings of a typical office building under the semi-arid climate condition. Apart from using the Energy Plus and Integrated Environment Solution-Virtual environment (IES-VE) energy simulation tools in the experimental validation, the daylighting control method and the dynamic Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI) were also utilized to analyse the daylighting performance as well as the lighting energy of BIPV windows with different transparency levels at various cardinal orientations. The field measurements had revealed the overall energy model to be consistent and in good agreement with the EnergyPlus and the IESVE simulation models, where the tested PV module was found to have provided not only a 20% Visible Light Transmittance (VLT) of uniformed daylight with low illuminance level, but also thermal comfort and a considerable amount of clean energy. The simulated results had demonstrated a substantial improvement in cooling energy and glare reduction of the PV modules as compared to the basemodel, where the only BIPV window configuration was achieved good area of UDI 300-700 lux is facing the South orientation and 30% VLT. In conclusion, the application of the thin film BIPV windows with different transparency and orientation levels can thus be regarded as an effective solution for minimizing the lighting energy consumption through its energy production instead of daylighting utilization.

Optimal Window to Wall Ratio Ranges of Photovoltachromic Windows in High-Rise Office Buildings of Iran

“…Qiu et al [27] evaluated a proposed vacuum PV insulated glass unit using various experiments and indicated that this proposed glass unit achieved a very low U-value (around 1.5 W/m 2 .K) and cooling load reduced up to 14.20% [27]. Abdelhakim et al [28] evaluated the effect of BIPV windows on energy consumption of an office building. They indicated that these windows reduced the cooling demand of the building and provided thermal comfort during the summer season.…”

Performance Analysis of Photovoltaic Integrated Shading Devices (PVSDs) and Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic (STPV) Devices Retrofitted to a Prototype Office Building in a Hot Desert Climate

“…The appeal of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems is their ability to generate sustainable electricity simply by retrofitting building envelopes while simultaneously improving visual comfort [7][8][9]. Available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and designs, photovoltaic systems (PVs) blend seamlessly with commonly-used opaque and semi-transparent materials in architecture such as glass or metal, making them easy to integrate into every part of a building's envelope [9].…”

Avaliação Energética Da Integração De Filmes Fotovoltaicos Orgânicos a Fachadas De Edificações Brasileiras

“…However, it also requires more time, since all emissions and costs related to energy and equipment need to be calculated, considering the parameters for reducing energy demand in percent and per square meter of organic photovoltaic cells suitable for the scope this work. Abdelhakim, Kandar and Lim (2019) studied the energy performance of a commercial building in Algeria, combining the simulation method with that of measuring and verifying performance through on-site tests. If, on the one hand, this last step is crucial for the validation of the results obtained, on the other hand the methodology proposed by the authors considers a specific building, being able to provide precise design guidelines for intervention in the existing commercial building.…”

“…If, on the one hand, this last step is crucial for the validation of the results obtained, on the other hand the methodology proposed by the authors considers a specific building, being able to provide precise design guidelines for intervention in the existing commercial building. However, since the method used by Abdelhakim, Kandar and Lim (2019) differs from traditional methods only by performing performance measurement and verification, it is considered unfeasible and insufficient for the scope of this work, where multiple simulation scenarios would have to be performed manually.…”