Small-scale Field Study of Window Films’ Impact on Daylight Availability under Clear Sky Conditions

Authors

  • Júlia Oliveira Pereira CERIS, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georresources (DECivil), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Maria Glória Gomes CERIS, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georresources (DECivil), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
  • António Moret Rodrigues CERIS, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georresources (DECivil), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Henriqueta Teixeira CERIS, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georresources (DECivil), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Manuela Almeida CTAC, Department of Civil Engineering (DEC), Escola de Engenharia da Universidade do Minho, Campus de Azurém, Guimarães, Portugal

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7480/jfde.2020.1.4785

Keywords:

Daylighting, Glazing system, Window films, Visual comfort, Scale-model

Abstract

Daylight illuminance levels and their spatial distribution are important design elements to achieve indoor visual comfort conditions and sustainability in buildings during the operation stage. While a proper daylighting scheme increases the efficiency of the building, the excessive use of glazed surfaces can contribute to thermal and visual discomfort, hence increasing the cooling demand and use of artificial lighting. Solar control film (SCF) is a self-adhesive thin film that can be applied on glazing systems of existing buildings for retrofitting purposes to modify thermal and optical properties of the glass substrate. This paper analyses experimentally the impact of single glazing with different SCFs on the indoor illuminance levels and respective distribution on horizontal work plane by comparing the measured absolute values and the useful daylight illuminance metric. Field experiments using a small scale model with the glazing oriented to the south, in Lisbon, were performed for a 6 mm clear glass and four different SCFs applied on the external surface of the glass, under clear sky conditions during summer and winter solstice at 9h00, 12h00, and 15h00. The results show that all SCFs reduced the indoor illuminance, which demonstrate their potential for glazing refurbishment when indoor visual discomfort occurs in buildings.

How to Cite

Pereira, J. O., Gomes, M. G., Rodrigues, A. M., Teixeira, H., & Almeida, M. (2020). Small-scale Field Study of Window Films’ Impact on Daylight Availability under Clear Sky Conditions. Journal of Facade Design and Engineering, 8(1), 65–84. https://doi.org/10.7480/jfde.2020.1.4785

Published

2020-11-06

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