Effects of the use of balconies on thermal, energy and daylight performance of office buildings

• Grant number: 20/16495-2
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2021
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Architecture and Urbanism Technology
• Principal researcher: Leticia de Oliveira Neves
• Grantee: Iris Maria Costa Fajardo Werneck Loche
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FEC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/14680-0 - Decision-making guidelines to design mixed-mode office buildings with balconies based of thermal, energy and daylight performance, BE.EP.DD

Abstract

Shading and natural ventilation are effective bioclimatic strategies to assure thermal comfort in most part of the Brazilian territory. Balconies can be used as solar shading devices that behave as an eave to the lower floor, reducing the incidence of direct solar radiation, while allowing reflected and diffuse daylight and natural ventilation through openings. A systematic literature mapping indicates a gap in the investigation of the effects of balconies on thermal and daylight performance, especially in office buildings. Thus, this study aims to optimize the balcony's design to improve the thermal, energy and daylight performance of mixed-mode office buildings. Reference models representing office buildings and variations of balconies' geometric parameters will be defined based on the analysis of a database of mixed-mode office buildings located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The models will be used to perform wind tunnel experiments and CFD simulations, to define façade wind pressure coefficients, and to perform daylight, thermal and energy simulations. The richness of parametric design possibilities will be explored via simulation-based optimization, sensitivity analysis and the application of a set of datamining techniques to process the simulation results. A parametric library containing a classification system of selected design parameters will be developed, in order to show pathways for successful parametric combinations towards achieving different sets of targets to improve thermal, daylight and energy performance of mixed-mode office rooms with balconies. (AU)