Deducing the Optimal Control Method for Electrochromic Triple Glazing through an Integrated Evaluation of Building Energy and Daylight Performance

Abstract

Electrochromic glass is anticipated as the next generation of solar control glass for construction because it can control the transmittance of the glass itself. This study analyzed building energy and light environment performance by applying electrochromic glass in triple glazing in order to verify both the solar control characteristics of electrochromic glass and its high insulation performance. This paper evaluates the performance of the electrochromic glass developed by our research team in Korea in five control conditions of varying temperatures and solar radiation levels. By analyzing the cooling and heating load, lighting energy, Daylight Glare Index (DGI), and interior illuminance when applying the selected conditions to office buildings, this paper discerns the optimal control conditions for electrochromic glass. To do so, the optical characteristic data of the electrochromic glass was analyzed via an experiment, and the creation of triple glazing for construction was conducted. The performance of electrochromic glass was evaluated by analyzing hourly and yearly data for cooling, heating load, and lighting energy during a typical day in summer and winter. From this analysis, the control condition with an outstanding performance from an energy perspective was identified. The performance of the light environment was assessed, and the EDPI overall evaluation index was used to find the electrochromic glass’ optimum control conditions for integrating energy and light environment.

Evaluation of Energy and Daylight Performance of Old Office Buildings in South Korea with Curtain Walls Remodeled Using Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) Films

“…In this section, the energy and daylight environment analysis result data were unified by one index and integrated performance evaluation was performed. The performance evaluation index is the Integrated Energy and Daylight Performance Index (EDPI), which evaluates the actual value of each component of energy, DGI, and indoor illuminance by converting them into percentiles through comparison of maximum and minimum values [49].…”

Evaluation of Building Energy and Daylight Performance of Electrochromic Glazing for Optimal Control in Three Different Climate Zones

“…The optical properties data used in this study were obtained by analyzing a specimen of the EC glazing developed by the authors of this study. The total spectrum data of the optical properties of EC glazing formed the results of a previous study [20]. The EC glazing that was used in this study consisted of a transparent conductive object, an electrochromic layer, an ion storage layer, and electrolytes.…”

“…We analyzed the extent to which the use of EC glazing to control transmittance, affects variations in building energy and daylight performance. The literature review presented in this section focused on previous studies that proposed optimal conditions for EC glazing control in the Korean climate [20]. Based on these data, this study attempted to derive the optimal conditions for controlling EC glazing in three climatic zones based on solar radiation and temperature control conditions.…”

Smart Electrochromic Windows to Enhance Building Energy Efficiency and Visual Comfort

“…Oh et al [62] used an integrated evaluation of energy and daylight based on the results of a carefully controlled EnergyPlus simulation assuming two different control strategies. One was based on outdoor temperature (with 10 • C as a threshold), and one was based on solar radiation assuming different thresholds (50 W/m 2 , 300 W/m 2 , 500 W/m 2 , and 700 W/m 2 ).…”