New multisheet glazing to improve energy savings and indoor comfort: experimantal data, thermal and lighting performances

Research in the field of glazing systems technology received a boost passing from single pane to low-emittance window systems, and still to low thermal transmittance (low-U) and electrochromic windows. It would be anyway an interesting possibility to create ad hoc glazing systems for specific situations improving so far both HVAC energy savings and daylighting. This is the main aim of this research: the paper presents the definition of an experimental method to solve the problem. More, first experimental results and a discussion on the influence of various parameters (such as glazing thickness, kind of coating, angle of incidence) on the thermal and lighting performances of the glazing systems are presented. Optical measurements have been carried out with a spectrophotometer, to define optimal glazing combinations for energy-efficient multi-sheet glazing systems. Transmittance and reflectance measurements have been carried out referring to different angles of incidence of daylight; the main thermal and lighting indexes have been also evaluated