Window design tables for optimum daylighting distribution for office spaces in Kuala Lumpur / Abdolhamid Mahdavi

Mahdavi, Abdolhamid (2015) Window design tables for optimum daylighting distribution for office spaces in Kuala Lumpur / Abdolhamid Mahdavi. PhD thesis, University of Malaya.

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Abstract

Energy reductions in high-rise office buildings are possible when the interrelationship between building design considerations and regional character is well understood and integrated. The major part of energy consumption in buildings is directly related to architectural aspects and the use of the space. Artificial lighting is one of the major electricity-consuming items in non-domestic buildings. Therefore, a challenging task for architects and other building professionals is to design and promote low energy buildings in a cost effective and environmentally responsive way. Daylight is the primary source of light, and has an important role in office buildings which are mostly used in the daytime. The main purpose of office lighting is to provide a comfortable and an efficient working environment. Daylighting, as a passive energy efficiency strategy is more relevant in tropical country like Malaysia due to its long hours of sunshine over the whole year. Many researches on daylighting in this region were focused on overcast sky or intermediate sky conditions. Also, the most common method of daylight analysis is the daylight factor approach, that by its definition, sunlight is excluded from the daylight factor calculation and is independent of orientation. Optimization under sunny sky as well as cloudy sky is the main task of this research. The aim of this research is to enhance the energy savings by passive design strategies in high-rise office buildings in tropical regions with dynamic sky conditions. This study demonstrates the applicable method of using the passive design, independent of physical or mathematical equations that are not of interest to architects. Therefore, this study established a new index method of Suitable Area Zone (SAZ) value to evaluate the design process free of complexity. SAZ is those areas of the room with appropriate daylight (300-2000 lux) distribution as a percentage of the floor area. This method will be able to conduct the research to determine the appropriate options of window systems as one of the passive elements. Simulation studies have a high potential for a large investigation of different design variables such as location, orientation, window size, window form, glazing, sky types, date and time etc. Verification and reliability of software by software validation is an important part of the study process. This has been achieved by long term precision measurements in a test-room under different sky conditions. IES-VE (Virtual Environment) has been utilised in this study. All variables were investigated in the two conditions of sunny and cloudy skies in order to determine the optimized daylight distribution, utilising the Malaysian Sun path diagram during working hours in the office buildings for the whole year. The study considered variations in window design for passive mode such as: window orientation, solar gains, window size and area, window form, window-to-wall ratios (WWR), shading devices, window position, and glazing. Results showed the different impact of daylight on interior light distribution due to the window system selection. This study proves that the passive design strategies of daylighting have a good potential to reduce the artificial lighting usage.

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