Energy and Buildings, Vol.41, No.6, 654-661, 2009
Heat transfer modelling on windows and glazing under the exposure of solar radiation
Due to the effect of solar radiation on windows and glazing system the evaluation of heat flow is of primary importance in modeling the thermal performance within building interiors to account thermal comfort and overall energy consumption of a building. In this context the optical properties of window glazing are measured to determine the percentage absorption of incident solar radiation. An experimental study was performed in a room to measure the glazing surface temperature due to the global radiation on it. The corresponding window plane global radiation and horizontal global radiation were measured outside for simulation. Mathematical models have been developed to simulate the window plane solar radiation and corresponding glazing surface temperature aiming at validating the measured values. The thermal model is concerned with laminar heat transfer for natural and forced convection process according to the ambient conditions. The estimated errors between experimental and simulated values of window plane radiation and glazing temperature are shown to be within +/-5%. Using the developed thermal model the heat flow inside the room through windows is determined. Thus overall heat transfer coefficient of glazing (U-factor) and the Solar Heat Gain (SHG) of building interior have been predicted from the simulation. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.