An analysis of daylighting and solar heat for cooling-dominated office buildings

Computer simulation techniques were used to assess the energy performance o f a generic commercial office building in Hong Kong. The simulation tool wa s DOE-2.1E. The thermal and energy performance of daylighting schemes were analysed in terms of the reduction in electric lighting requirement and the cooling penalty due to solar heat. Regression analysis was conducted to co rrelate the peak electricity demand and annual incremental electricity use with two fenestration variables, namely the solar aperture and the daylight ing aperture. Contours of equal annual incremental electricity use were sho wn to be a function of the solar and daylighting apertures. It is envisaged that these simple charts can be a useful design tool for architects and en gineers to assess the relative energy performance of different fenestration designs, particularly during the initial design stage when different build ing design schemes and concepts are being considered and developed. (C) 199 9 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.