Energy and indoor comfort analysis of various window-shading assemblies in a hot and humid climate

Commercial buildings consume nearly 20% of all energy used in the United States, costing more than $200 billion each year. The building envelope plays a key role in determining how much energy is required for the operation of a building. Individual thermal and solar properties of glazing and shading systems only provide information based on static evaluations, but it is very important to assess the efficiency of these systems as a whole assembly under the site specific conditions. With an ever increasing cooling energy demand of buildings in hot and humid climates like in Florida, using a well-designed window-shading system is considered as an efficient strategy that minimizes the direct sunlight reaching indoors and thus reduces the overall energy loads. While reduction in energy loads is important, the indoor comfort of occupants should not be compromised. This research was conducted to analyze the indoor thermal and visual performance of various window-shading assemblies that were selected after their energy performance evaluation