Conference Paper

Proceedings of Building Simulation 2019: 16th Conference of IBPSA

Simulation based Indoor Environmental Quality Analysis Of Existing Windows Used In Tropical Office Space

Kwabena Abrokwa Gyimah, Samuel Amos-Abanyie, Christian Koranteng
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2019.211390
Abstract: The importance of windows to Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) cannot be disputed, as it is one of the key building elements that contribute to achieving all the 4 variables of IEQ (sound quality, lighting quality, air quality and thermal quality). Window as a member of the building fabric has received a lot of attention over the years due to its high U-values as compared to the other members of the building fabric. The focus on the thermal performance of windows has led to the development of different forms of glazing. However to achieve total Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), sound quality, lighting quality and air quality must also be attained in addition to thermal quality. This raises a question, which needs to be addressed; do current windows used in tropical office spaces achieve IEQ? This study probes this question using Contam, Soundflow, Radiance and Ecotect as simulation softwares to analyse the performance of a window in a case study office space. Quantitative methods were mainly used with the case study approach to achieve results. Results show that the existing window, which is sliding, performed well with air quality, partially good with visual quality but was not good with both thermal and sound quality. Sliding window, which is the predominant office window, thus needs improvement for better IEQ. Study paves the way for further development and improvement of windows used in tropical office spaces. Keywords: Windows, Tropics, Indoor environmental quality, Simulation, Contam, Ecotect, Radiance, Soundflow
Keywords: Windows, Tropics, Indoor environmental quality, Simulation, Contam, Ecotect
Pages: 2569 - 2574
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