Evaluating the Effect of Window-to-Wall Ratios on Cooling-Energy Demand on a Typical Summer Day

Jiayu Li, Bohong Zheng, Komi Bernard Bedra, Zhe Li and Xiao Chen
Additional contact information
Jiayu Li: School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Bohong Zheng: School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Komi Bernard Bedra: School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Zhe Li: School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Xiao Chen: College of Landscape Architecture and Art Design, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: The window-to-wall ratio (WWR) significantly affects the indoor thermal environment, causing changes in buildings’ energy demands. This research couples the “Envi-met” model and the “TRNSYS” model to predict the impact of the window-to-wall ratio on indoor cooling energy demands in south Hunan. With the coupled model, “Envi-met + TRNSYS”, fixed meteorological parameters around the exterior walls are replaced by varied data provided by Envi-met. This makes TRNSYS predictions more accurate. Six window-to-wall ratios are considered in this research, and in each scenario, the electricity demand for cooling is predicted using “Envi-met + TRNSYS”. Based on the classification of thermal perception in south Hunan, the TRNSYS predictions of the electricity demand start with 30 °C as the threshold of refrigeration. The analytical results reveal that in a 6-storey residential building with 24 households, in order to maintain the air temperature below 30 °C, the electricity required for cooling buildings with 0% WWR, 20% WWR, 40% WWR, 60% WWR, 80% WWR, and 100% WWR are respectively 0 KW·h, 19.6 KW·h, 133.7 KW·h, 273.1 KW·h, 374.5 KW·h, and 461.9 KW·h. This method considers the influence of microclimate on the exterior wall and improves the accuracy of TRNSYS in predicting the energy demand for indoor cooling.

Keywords: Envi-met; TRNSYS; window-to-wall ratio; energy demand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8411/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8411/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8411-:d:611047

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().