Anothai Thanachareonkit

Empirical Assessment of a Prismatic Daylight-Redirecting Window Film in a Full-Scale Office Testbed

ABSTRACT Daylight-redirecting systems with vertical windows have the potential to offset lighting energy use in deep perimeter zones. Microstructured prismatic window films can be manufactured using low-cost, roll-to-roll fabrication methods and adhered to the inside surface of existing windows as a retrofit measure or installed as a replacement insulating glass unit in the clerestory portion of the window wall. A clear film patterned with linear, 50- to 250-μm-high, four-sided asymmetrical prisms was fabricated and installed in the south-facing, clerestory low-e, clear glazed windows of a full-scale testbed facility. Views through the film were distorted. The film was evaluated in a sunny climate over a 2-year period to gauge daylighting and visual comfort performance. The daylighting aperture was small (window-to-wall ratio of 0.18) and the lower windows were blocked off to isolate the evaluation to the window film. Workplane illuminance measurements were made in the 4.6-m (15-ft)-deep room furnished as a private office. Analysis of discomfort glare was conducted using high dynamic range imaging coupled with the EvalGlare software tool, which computes the daylight glare probability and other metrics used to evaluate visual discomfort. The window film was found to result in perceptible levels of discomfort glare on clear sunny days from the most conservative view point in the rear of the room looking toward the window. Daylight illuminance levels at the rear of the room were significantly increased above the reference window condition, which was defined as the same glazed clerestory window but with an interior Venetian blind (slat angle set to the cut-off angle), for the equinox to winter solstice period on clear sunny days. For partly cloudy and overcast sky conditions, daylight levels were improved slightly. To reduce glare, the daylighting film was coupled with a diffusing film in an insulating glazing unit. The diffusing film retained the directionality of the redirected light spreading it within a small range of outgoing angles. This solution was found to reduce glare to imperceptible levels while retaining for the most part the illuminance levels achieved solely by the daylighting film.

Technology Assessments of High Performance Envelope with Optimized Lighting, Solar Control, and Daylighting

Author(s): Lee, ES; Thanachareonkit, A; Touzani, S; Dutton, S; Shackelford, J; Dickerhoff, D; Selkowitz, S

Electrochromic Window Demonstration at the Donna Land Port of Entry

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Public Buildings Service (PBS) has jurisdiction, custody or control over 105 land ports of entry throughout the United States, 35 of which are located along the southern border. At these facilities, one of the critical functions of windows is to provide border control personnel with direct visual contact with the surrounding environment. This also can be done through surveillance cameras, but the high value that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officers place on direct visual contact can be encapsulated in the following statement by a senior officer regarding this project: “nothing replaces line of sight.” In sunny conditions, however, outdoor visibility can be severely compromised by glare, especially when the orb of the sun is in the field of view. This often leads to the deployment of operable shading devices, such as Venetian blinds. While these devices address the glare, they obstruct the view of the surroundings, negating the visual security benefits of the windows.