Optimization of Solar Shading Control Strategies in Terms of User Behavior, Visual and Thermal Comfort

Occupants have a significant impact on the energy performance of buildings. Despite the active role of occupants on building performance, designers usually treat them as passive agents in the design process. Therefore, these assumptions increase the gap between the real and predicted building performance, and could mislead the designers to make sub-optimal design decisions.
To this contribution, studies investigating the user interaction and satisfaction with automated solar shading systems in office buildings are conducted. The main objective of this research is to find the optimal set points for activation of solar shading in terms of user behaviour, thermal and visual comfort, as well as energy use. The current research methodology includes experimental field study alongside with simulation to show the impact of user-shade interventions on comfort and energy use.


Related Publication
- Day, Julia K., et al. "A review of select human-building interfaces and their relationship to human behavior, energy use and occupant comfort." Building and Environment (2020): 106920.