Experimental Study of Window Shading Effect on Building Thermal-Visual Comfort in a Tropical Region

Abstract

Thermal-visual comfort are important aspects of building design. Indoor thermal and daylight conditions in buildings are strongly affected by the amount of solar heat gain transmitted by windows. This experimental study aims to analyze the impact of window internal shading on the thermal-visual comfort of a residential building. The measurement is carried out on two building prototypes with a size of 80 cm × 60 cm and a height of 50 cm. The building roof is made of zinc-coated steel with a 30 0 -degree slope. The walls of the prototypes are 9 mm thick plywood boards. 40 cm × 30 cm glass windows are installed on the front and backside of the building. Thermal and visual effects of windows are analyzed by comparing the indoor temperature and daylight illuminance for two cases; building with and without shading devices. Indoor temperature and daylight illuminance are measured for three different degrees of slat angles of shading device; (a) 90 0 (vertical slat position, no solar irradiation enter in the room), (b) 45 0 , and (c) 0 0 (horizontal slat position). The measurement results shows that the change in the angle of the shading slats affects the thermal-visual conditions of the room.