An Energy Performance Evaluation of Commercially Available Window Glazing in Darwin’s Tropical Climate

Hooman Mehdizadeh-Rad, Taimoor Ahmad Choudhry, Anne W. M. Ng, Zohreh Rajabi, Muhammad Farooq Rais, Asad Zia and Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq
Additional contact information
Hooman Mehdizadeh-Rad: College of Engineering, IT & Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0810, Australia
Taimoor Ahmad Choudhry: College of Engineering, IT & Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0810, Australia
Anne W. M. Ng: College of Engineering, IT & Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0810, Australia
Zohreh Rajabi: College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 8001, Australia
Muhammad Farooq Rais: Cosmos Science Corporation, 5 Sagar Road, Lahore Cantt, Lahore 54810, Pakistan
Asad Zia: School of Civil Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq: College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 8001, Australia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: A total of 40% of the world’s energy produced is utilized to maintain thermal comfort for the occupants of the building. Governments are taking measures collectively to regulate energy efficient buildings to reduce carbon emissions globally. Windows account for more than half of total energy losses in the buildings. The employment of energy efficient glazing in the construction industry is not common in Australia. This paper investigates several types of commercially available windows and their effectiveness in the hot and humid climate of Darwin. Although extensive literature is available for cold regions, these windows have not been studied in hot and humid climates such as the climate in Darwin. Building cooling loads of an academic building were calculated using Autodesk Revit Architecture and Carrier HAP. Double glazed variants offered approximately a 5% reduction in cooling loads and had a payback period of nearly 7 to 9 years, depending on the type of gas used to fill the pane cavity. The results indicate that triple glazed, or aerogel-based windows will provide about 11–12 % of energy saving in cooling loads. These can be a viable alternative and have a payback period of 11 years, while their average service life expectancy is 30 years. It was found that the feasibility of efficient glazing depends on market price, building usage, and energy efficiency of an overall building envelope.

Keywords: cooling loads; Darwin; energy efficiency; solar heat gains; U−value; Autodesk Revit Architecture; Carrier HAP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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