2015/03/24 by Ana Rita Amaral, Eugénio Rodrigues, Amaral, Ana Rita +5
Engineering · Environmental Science · #68U20 #Building Energy and Comfort Optimization #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Impact of Light on Environment and Health #Other Computer Science (cs.OH) #Urban Heat Island Mitigation
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1503.07016
openalex publication_date 2015/03/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The windows can be responsible for unnecessary energy consumption in a building, if incorrectly designed, shadowed or oriented. Considering an annual thermal comfort assessment of a space, if windows are over-dimensioned, they can contribute to the increase of the heating needs due to heat losses, and also to the increase of cooling needs due to over-exposure to solar radiation. When under-dimensioned, the same space may benefit from reduced heat losses through the glazing surface but does not benefit from solar radiation gains. Therefore, it is important to find the optimum design that minimizes both the heating and cooling needs. This paper presents a parametric study of window type (single, double and triple glazing), orientation and opening size, located in the city of Coimbra, Portugal. An annual and a seasonal assessment were done, in order to obtain the set of optimum values around 360 degree orientation.