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Analysis of the Benefits of Photovoltaic in High Rise Commercial Buildings
Abstract
Energy efficient glazing is necessary to reduce
heat gains or losses that contribute to the high-energy
use of buildings. However, high-rise commercial
buildings that use energy efficient glazing are still
consumptive. To reduce their energy use further,
recent studies have integrated photovoltaic glazed
window systems into the building shell. To
understand the relationship between photovoltaic
windows, energy use and human satisfaction, this
paper presents a study of the effects of photovoltaic
glazed windows on the energy use of large
commercial buildings and includes an assessment of
the overall human satisfaction of the workers within
photovoltaic glazed office spaces. A prototypical
building was used to develop the base case
simulations for the DOE-2 energy simulation
program and the PV F-Chart photovoltaic analysis
program. By substituting the appropriate variables in
the base case simulation for each site, the building
was simulated to evaluate the impact of the PV
glazing on the building's heat loss/gain as well as the
amount of electricity that could be expected from the
PV. To test for human satisfaction, a survey was
performed to assess the overall preference of the
subjects to the office spaces using the photovoltaic
glazed windows. Finally, an overall assessment of
the economic and non-economic impacts is also
discussed.
Citation
Sylvester, K. E.; Haberl, J. S. (2000). Analysis of the Benefits of Photovoltaic in High Rise Commercial Buildings. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6820.