Impact of Window Systems on Daylighting Performance, Visual Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Patient Rooms (original) (raw)

The Energy Saving Potential of Wide Windows in Hospital Patient Rooms, Optimizing the Type of Glazing and Lighting Control Strategy under Different Climatic Conditions

Energies, 2020

If not properly designed, the adoption of large windows can sometimes have a negative impact on building energy demand. For this reason, aggravated by the outdated building envelope of the healthcare building stock, large fenestration systems are usually avoided in hospitals, especially in old structures. However, with appropriate glazing specifications, the adoption of wider openings can result into significant energy savings, lower costs and strong positive effects on patients and staff well-being. The present study investigates how different window sizes and types of glazing affect heating, cooling and lighting energy demand in a hospital patient room. The objective is to evaluate the energy savings that may be obtained when installing larger windows and to identify the glazing properties allowing one to reach the maximum energy reductions. Simulations were carried out using nine diverse glazing systems, already available on the market, and their energy performance was evaluated ...

Optimisation of a daylight-window: Hospital patient room as a test case

2010

Abstract In a healthcare environment a window is necessary to transmit daylight and provide outside view to enhance therapeutic performance. However, a window impacts on several environmental attributes of the indoor space. Depending on the size, orientation and solar shading configuration, a window influences on visual and thermal comfort, as well as on the energy consumption of the building. It is thus necessary to optimise window design for maximum performance.

Window Design Strategies for Environmentally Friendly and Energy Efficient Patient Rooms: A Case Study in the Belgian Context

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2019

With the increasing awareness of sustainable design “operational energy use”, “life cycle environmental impact” and “comfort” are becoming key considerations for design decisions. These three aspects are usually not explored in an integrated way in the early design stage. During this stage however, most far-reaching design decisions are made and the greatest potential to achieve sustainable building designs in a cost-efficient way exists. Hence energy efficiency, environmental performance and comfort should be considered as a fundamental part of early design stage decisions. This paper investigates the influence of various patient room design options on the energy cost, life cycle environmental impact and daylighting. The design parameters investigated are the room geometry, type of glazing and WWR (Window-to-Wall Ratio). The analysis is performed for a case study in Belgium, more specifically a patient room in a hospital design. The existing design is taken as a baseline scenario a...

Exploring daylighting design optimization and its energy impact in office buildings for different shading systems. Case study: Tirana

1 ABSTRACT The focus of this research is the enhancement of daylighting design in office buildings and the lowering of energy consumption. This study systematically explores and analyzes the visual performance of two different prototypical office layouts through the case studies selected in Tirana. The sensitivity of total energy use due to orientation, window area, glazing properties (U-value, visible transmittance), shading system is described. The research approach is conducted through lighting simulation software and face-to-face questionnaires. For each office building the actual conditions are firstly analyzed, and then, different other options are provided. The findings from this study provide evidence of the problems of daylight and artificial lighting problems and especially workers´performance difficulties related to lighting conditions. Thus, recommended solutions, which try to optimize daylighting design, to enhance workers´productivity and to lower energy consumption, are provided.

Optimizing window size by integrating energy and lighting analyses considering occupants’ visual satisfaction

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the approximate window-to-wall ratio (WWR), window width-to-height ratio (WHR) and sill level for a room in Rasht–Gilan province and to present an optimal window in each of the WWR ranges providing the minimum energy consumption by integrating artificial lighting and thermal analyses, whilst maintaining internal comfort conditions using dynamic evaluation.Design/methodology/approachThe process of modelling has four main steps: 1 – defining the building's features and requirements, 2 – validating input weather file data by on-site measurement, 3 – determining input parameters for the lighting and thermal analysis and 4 – clarifying variable parameters and fitness function for the optimization algorithm. Also, the survey study is performed in a daylit office room, in which 30 employees are employed to answer the questions in three different times of a day. In this process, the impact of daylight on their visual comfort is surveyed i...