Use of Different Complex Fenestration Systems in Office Spaces in Chile: Analysis of the Energy Consumption and Visual Comfort of Occupants at the Early Stages of Their Design Process.

Abstract

Office buildings around the world are mostly designed with high window-to-wall (WWR) facades, regardless of the type of climate where they are located. Chile, a country with a high climate diversity from north to south and from the coast to the Andes, is no exception to this situation. In order to improve the thermal and visual performance of office buildings, it has been shown that complex fenestration systems (SFC), which include an external solar protection system, are effective to control the incident solar radiation and lighting transmission. However, the effectiveness of these systems depends to a large extent on an appropriate CFS design. Some studies of office buildings in Chile show that a high percentage of CFS has not been designed correctly. To support the early stages of the design process of office buildings in Chile and to assist in the design of solar protection systems as part of a CFS, oficity, an easy-to-use tool was designed. In an office space and considering different facades of solar protection systems, the tool allows the development of simultaneous simulations of its total energy consumption (heating, cooling, and artificial lighting), together with the evaluation of the occupants’ visual comfort. The tool performs the simulations in just a few seconds, which makes it appropriate to support the preliminary stages of the building’s design process. The tool is compatible with PCs, smartphones, and tablets. The back end of oficity uses EnergyPlus for annual energy simulation and Radiance for annual lighting simulation. The use of these validated software makes the results of the simulations highly reliable. The tool considers 23 different climates of Chile. This research shows the analysis of an office space in different cities of the country, with variations in its orientation and the protection systems that are recommended for different climates.