Potential of horizontal louvers in increased energy savings in a commercial building in Dubai
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Date
2018-10
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Publisher
The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
Building façade contributes to a major share of energy expenditure in residential as well as commercial buildings. There is a need to look for alternate options of façade design, in order to replace the glazing option contributing to greenhouse gases and global warming. This dissertation investigates the use of horizontal louvers in increasing the energy efficiency of an office cabin in Dubai, facing south direction.
The base case is simulated for further comparative simulations. Fixed and variable parameters of the simulation are investigated and simulation matrix is made for 1) Variation in Angle, 2) Variation in Width, 3) Variation in CC, 4) Variation in PV types. Each parameter is simulated with its variable options, and results are tabulated. The configuration for louvers with and without PV cells are noted separately. The artificial lighting in the cabin is linked to the dimmer sensors to a configuration that the lights will dim to 0.4% its original power if the lux level in the room is more than 500 Lux. Effect of dimmer sensor on and off is investigated in each simulation.
The dissertation creates a correlation link between the simulation results and changes in parameters. Dimmer sensor configuration shows about 10-15 % increase in energy savings than the configuration with sensor off. The most efficient case is the configuration of 50 degree louver angle, 90mm width, 90mm center to center and mono crystalline PV cells. Comparative analysis of 90mm and 150mm dimensions for both louver width and CC, highlights that if the dimensions of the two are equal, energy savings in more. This is because the louver dimensions give an optimum solution for shading profile of the horizontal louvers used on south direction.
Efficient case shows 28% more savings than base case for louvers without PV, and 40% more savings for louvers with PV. Economic case is also configured, which gives the best possible solution considering the justification of cost for the efficient case. This case configures thin film type of PV cells and shows a result of 27.88% and 34.92% more savings than base case for louvers without and with PV respectively. Payback period for efficient and economic case is 18 years and 12 years respectively.
The result highlights that using the dimmer sensors can considerably add to energy efficiency in the most economical way. After this, the priority can be given to change in optimum configuration of louver parameters. Integration of photovoltaic cells is the last option to be recommended. The payback period of this is considerably more due to the highly subsidized rates of electricity tariff in UAE. The dissertation creates a benchmark for horizontal louver configuration and its role in increasing the energy savings. This can be used as a module to recreate horizontal louvered façade on the whole building and create an impact in reducing energy expenditure of office buildings in Dubai.
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Keywords
horizontal louvers, energy efficiency, commercial building, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Building facade