Design and Energy Performance of a Buoyancy Driven Exterior Shading Device for Building Application in Taiwan

Kuo-Tsang Huang, Kevin Fong-Rey Liu and Han-Hsi Liang
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Kuo-Tsang Huang: Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Kevin Fong-Rey Liu: Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, No. 84 Gungjuan Rd., Taishan District, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
Han-Hsi Liang: Department of Architecture, National United University, No. 1, Lien-Da, Miaoli 36003, Taiwan

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 4, 1-23

Abstract: Traditional dynamic shading systems are usually driven by electricity for continuously controlling the angle of blind slats to minimize the indoor solar heat gain over times. This paper proposed a novel design of buoyancy driven dynamic shading system, using only minimum amount of electricity. The energy performance and the improved thermal comfort induced by the system were simulated by EnergyPlus for a typical office space under the context of Taiwanese climate. The design processes are composed of three parts: an alterable angle of blind slats that raises the energy performance to be suitable for every orientation, the buoyancy driven transmission mechanism, and a humanized controller that ensures its convenience. The environmental friendly design aspects and control mechanisms to fulfill demands for manufacturing, assembling, maintenance and recycling, etc. , were also presented as readily for building application. Besides, the effectiveness of cooling energy saving and thermal comfort enhancing were compared against the cases without exterior blinds and with traditional fixed blinds installed. The results show that the cooling energy is drastically reduced over times and the blind system is effectively enhancing the indoor thermal comfort.

Keywords: dynamic shading device; buoyancy driven; energy saving; thermal comfort (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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