A GUIDELINE FOR EVALUATION OF GLASS FACADE (NON-RESIDENTIAL) IN CONTEXT OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND SOLAR REFLECTIVITY

Abstract

With the tendency of using Glass facades, especially for high-rise non-residential buildings in CBD area, energy consumption of cooling and ventilation is increased tremendous (tropic area). This causes a highly portion of energy cost spending for mechanical system. Besides, high reflectivity glass facades brings side effects to surrounding environments, such as overheating, glare issues, urban heat island effect etc. This paper aims to study how to improve energy performance of glass façade of non-residential building and mitigate the impacts of heat and glare simultaneous. For this purpose, an appropriate guideline is generated to evaluate the glass façade and avoid related issues caused by glass facades in tropic climate, such as Singapore, in context of the energy efficiency and solar reflectivity. Moreover, several simulation and modeling softwares (Revit, Ecotect, Radiance) are introduced in this paper to facilitate the process of evaluation. With the aid of these softwares, calculation of energy consumption process is shortened and they enable us to foresee and mitigate the solar reflectivity issues. In conclusion, the guideline generated in this paper not only guides building professionals to design the energy efficient glass façade, but also helps building professionals design the glass façade in such a way that it does not cause glare discomfort or overheating problems to adjacent environments.