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Global and regional perspectives on optimizing thermo-responsive dynamic windows for energy-efficient buildings
Yuan Gao1, Jacob C Jonsson2, D Charlie Curcija2
1Building Technology & Urban Systems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA. y.gao@lbl.gov.
Thermo-responsive dynamic windows autonomously regulate solar heat, saving energy. They are most effective in climates needing both heating and cooling, not typically in tropical regions.
Area of Science:
- Building Science
- Materials Science
- Sustainable Architecture
Background:
- Thermo-responsive dynamic windows offer autonomous solar heat regulation for energy conservation.
- Previous research focused on hot climates, but this study offers a global perspective.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the global effectiveness of thermo-responsive windows across diverse climates.
- To provide a practical guideline and tool for optimizing thermo-responsive materials for sustainable buildings.
Main Methods:
- Global-scale analysis of over 100 material samples.
- Execution of over 2.8 million simulations across 2,000+ global locations.
- Utilized artificial neural network models for data analysis and heatmap generation.
Main Results:
- Thermo-responsive windows are most beneficial in climates requiring both heating and cooling.
- Optimal transition temperature windows showed limited dynamic performance in low-latitude tropical regions.
- Identified geographical variations in the energy performance of thermo-responsive windows.
Conclusions:
- Thermo-responsive windows are valuable for climate-adaptive building energy efficiency.
- The study provides a data-driven approach to material selection and building design.
- An open-source tool is available for optimizing material properties and evaluating energy performance at scale.
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