Effect of Building Orientation and Window Glazing on the Energy Consumption of HVAC System of an Office Building for Different Climate Zones

Abstract

Building orientation, i.e the positioning of building on site, is an important and foremost step during the construction of building. The orientation decides the amount of daylight and natural ventilation which can enter the building. As these days, most of the office space is centrally air conditioned, this paper explores the role of building orientation and window glazing, on the energy consumption of HVAC system of an office building. This paper considers a mid-rise four floor office building in Bangalore, models the building in various geographical orientations and through simulations, and determines the best orientation of the building such that the energy expenditure in terms of cooling and ventilation is minimal. Further simulations are carried out in different temperature zones in India by simulating the same office space in different locations, across India vis New Delhi, Chennai and Ahmedabad and the best orientation for placing the building is found. On realizing the best orientation, the window glazing values are varied for four suitable values of glazing and the most energy efficient glazing providing the least load on the HVAC system is found. The paper concludes with recommendations to reduce the energy consumption of the HVAC system in different zone.