Extract

Semiarid regions, such as Central Chile, are characterized by high solar radiation and temperature. In this climate, current architecture of fully glazed façade office buildings might cause high cooling energy consumption due to high solar heat gains (SHG), even in winter periods. In Chile’s Central region, the implementation of outdoor complex fenestration systems (CFS) is a common practice. However, the impact of CFS on the building thermal performance is usually unknown. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of four outdoor CFS in terms of their capability to control SHG through a window oriented northwest of an office space located in Santiago of Chile. An integrated thermal-lighting analysis tool is used to evaluate the performance of these CFS. The CFS evaluated are undulated horizontal louvers spaced 120 or 240 mm with 0 or 20% of perforations. The main results show that the CFS evaluated significantly reduce SHG over the whole-year compared with SHG through an unshaded clear double glazing window; perforations and spacing of louvers increase SHG substantially in comparison with the CFS without transparency, but they allow outdoor visibility; and the CFS 3, with slats spaced 120 mm and 20% perforations, provides a good balance between the control of SHG and outdoor visibility.

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