Thermal Performance of External Roller Blinds Retrofit for Offices in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Fixed external shading devices, such as louvres, are widely used to combat solar gains that can lead to excessive overheating. External roller blinds, common in mainland Europe, are rarities in the UK. External roller blinds are retractable shading devices formed of horizontal slats that roll up into a casing above a window opening. They are a well developed technology with distinct advantages over fixed external shading devices. Appropriate design and applications of external roller blinds have the potential to improve the sustainability of buildings. This paper reports on a proof of concept trial that demonstrates the effect of external roller blinds on the internal thermal environment under UK climate. An external roller blind was installed in a test room and its impact on internal mean radiant temperature was compared to an internal venetian blind in a control room. Real time monitoring was carried out over the summer in 2011. A computer thermal model was established to model the test room and to simulate the impact of the external roller blind on the cooling load. This paper concludes that external roller blinds have the potential to reduce summertime mean temperature by 1.8ºC and lower peak temperature by 3.5ºC. Cooling load can be reduced by 20%. The research to demonstrate their potential is ongoing .

Topology Morphing Insulation: A Review of Technologies and Energy Performance in Dynamic Building Insulation

“…Researchers have conducted LCAs for various static and dynamic insulation materials, including bio-based insulation [200,201], nano-insulation [202], PCMs [203], polyurethane [204], thermochromic materials [205], and XPS [206]. However, there is a noticeable absence of LCAs specific to topology morphing insulation, with the exception of a few studies on blinds [207,208]. This gap in the existing research presents a challenge, as without LCAs dedicated to topology morphing insulation certain potential issues, such as the impact of sun damage on materials such as polystyrene leading to higher water absorption [209], may remain undiscovered in many topology morphing insulation designs.…”

Adapting façade performances to climate change in northern Europe: Analysis of future scenarios for an office building in Stockholm

“…According to Kunwar et al [9], the introduction of external roller shades enables an increase in energy savings, with a cooling demand decrease up to 26 %. While an in-situ study carried out by Ip et al [10] showed an annual energy demand reduction of 16 % and a maximum reduction of the air temperature of 3.5 °C when external roller shades have been implemented instead of internal venetian blinds into an office building in Brighton (U.K.).…”