Passive Thermal Control for Window Insulation

E. Konroyd-Bolden[1], Dr. Z. Liao[1]
[1]Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada
Veröffentlicht in 2014

A requirement of the building envelope is to act as environmental separator. Energy is one component that we sometimes wish to control. How can this yield passive benefits such as solar heating?

This research focuses on control of thermal radiation energy, and the role windows play as transfer medium between indoor and outdoor environments. A novel concept for passively controlling solar thermal energy with the use of operable insulation is explored during the heating season.

This is done through a combination of simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics® software, experimentation, and theoretical design/modeling. An energy imbalance attributed to unpredictable solar gains was revealed. Simulation results of the concept reveal improvements that translate to reduced heating load requirements over the tested normal static system.