Energy savings and environmental benefits from solar window film for buildings in Kurdistan of Iraq

Abstract

The advances in thin film coatings for window glass products provide a means of substantially reducing heat gain without proportionally reducing daylight transmittance. Households in Kurdistan of Iraq pay rather high electricity bills in summer due to the excessive use of fans, evaporative coolers and air-conditioners, since the solar radiation intensity in Kurdistan of Iraq (e.g. Duhok city) at midnoon in summer season exceeds 1000 W/m2, and the air temperature goes as high as 45 °C. this leads to, the rise in the use of air-conditioning in residential buildings with the associated serious impact on the environment. This could lead to high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As environmental concern grows, a more-efficient energy conversion and utilization technologies become cost-effective. Saving money on energy bills is attractive to businesses, industries and individuals alike. Regulations and standards worldwide tend to embody detailed energy analysis of buildings. In this chapter, two wooden cabinets were built as a building simulation. Measurements were made for two wooden cabinets, one with solar control film coating on the window glass and the other without. The results of an experimental investigation aimed at assessing the performance of thin film windows in the wooden cabinets are presented. The work is performed under real weather conditions. The data are integrated with spectrophotometric measurements. In order to decrease the solar heat gain, window films may be a good choice against the solar heat gain caused by the windows in the building. The findings showed that the solar film coating could cut down energy expenditures for air-conditioned buildings. Concerning the environmental benefits, the reduction of CO2 emission by reducing the electrical energy consumption using window film was calculated. Briefly, in this study, it was found that, the window film works smarter and greener to save energy costs.