Conference Paper
Proceedings of BSA Conference 2024: Sixth Conference of IBPSA-Italy
Automating Solar Shading Control in Residential Buildings Located in a Temperate Climate: A Household-Specific Decision
Automating Solar Shading Control in Residential Buildings Located in a Temperate Climate: A Household-Specific Decision
Lotte Van Thillo, Stijn Verbeke, Amaryllis AudenaertDOI: https://doi.org/10.13124/9788860462022_22Abstract: The implementation of movable solar shading is strongly encouraged in order to reduce the overheating of residential buildings. However, their efficacy is, amongst other factors, determined by the control system employed. Building occupants are often relatively passive in manually operating their shading, leading to suboptimal use, whereas automated control reacts consistently to changes in outdoor and indoor conditions. This study evaluates the impact of automated shading control on annual heating and artificial lighting energy consumption, and thermal comfort compared to manual operation in residential buildings without cooling installations. Building performance simulations are conducted for three building designs in the temperate climate of Belgium using EnergyPlus. Multiple variations are investigated to analyse the sensitivity of the impact of automated control to boundary conditions such as the orientation, reflectance of the solar shading, household composition and manual operation strategy. The results demonstrate that the implementation of automated shading control has the potential to substantially reduce thermal discomfort while exerting a minimal impact on the energy consumption. However, the relative differences in overheating show considerable variation, primarily influenced by the building design and occupant behaviour. These findings emphasise the necessity of considering co-benefits (e.g. thermal comfort) and boundary conditions when evaluating shading control strategies. Pages: 165 - 174 Paper: