Study of Energy Saving Potential of Solar Shading Devices in Various Climates

Research studies previously performed using a singular climate had shown that certain solar shading devices have the potential for energy savings for buildings. In this paper, a commercial building was studied using the DesignBuilder programme to identify the solar performance of the building. The model represented a typical commercial building with standard properties. This study allowed for comparison for horizontal louvre, overhang and vertical shading types in various climates (Florida, Cairo, Leeds and Reykjavik) for a year presented in terms of monthly energy demand. Comparative analysis identified that the horizontal louvre type, which consisted of 5-louvre with 400 mm spacing between the adjacent louvres, performed best to reduce the annual energy usage for Florida (4191 kWh), Cairo (5194 kWh), Leeds (1882 kWh) and Reykjavik (957 kWh). In general, all environments showed increases through heating and lighting, but proportionally cooling reduction was higher annually.