Technical Report snippets

This post encapsulates several information from the technical report project that my team and I had done together this trimester.

This is a brief overview of the content below: 

• Background
• Problem & Purpose statement
• Proposed solution
• Benefits
• Methods/Procedure
• Concluding statement

Background 

This proposal has been developed in response to the request of developing solutions for an engineering/architectural problem which is to help increase cooling efficiency in office buildings.

Due to the increasing trend of the impact of global warming on the world, the weather is and will be expected to get warmer which results in the increment of warmer days (Atkin, O. K., Edwards, E. J., & Loveys, B. R., 2008). There are predictions that there will be an increase of an estimated 3 - 5 degrees in temperature over the next century (Cullen, 1993). With the increase of warmer weather, it will affect occupants working on a higher altitude. In an urban setting like Singapore, where high-rise buildings are a norm, it is evident that there will be a rise in heat absorption on the higher levels. Furthermore, windows are a prominent facade feature which makes up the majority of the exterior faces of such buildings, which contributes to a larger contact surface area. By having windows that make up the majority of the exterior, glass is responsible for 48% of the heat entering the building (UniteGlass, 2020).

According to Zhai et al. (2019), windows have a considerable effect on buildings such as energy consumption, indoor thermal environment, and visual comfort. Sizeable windows expose more daylight into rooms which improves indoor visual comfort. This results in excessive heat gains or losses, which will affect indoor thermal environments and ultimately, energy consumption. Building owners face this challenge when trying to keep up with the whopping cost of keeping the interior cool and comfortable for its occupants in the tropical climate here in Singapore. The air conditioning accounts for 40-50% of all energy used by buildings (Energy Studies Institute, n.d.). The challenge is more apparent with the proliferation of glass-clad buildings today. 

There are also other factors that help in the increase of cooling efficiency in buildings which can be done through setting optimum cooling loads required at different areas of a building. Instead of relying solely on optimizing cooling loads through air-conditioning, external factors of the architectural design and structure of a building plays a huge role in the amount of heat and sunlight that will get into the building. One example would be the direction of the building that faces either east and west will get the most amount of sunlight. Another example would be the window-to-window ratio (WWR) of the buildings which will affect the amount of heat entering the building (Building and Construction Authority (BCA), 2010). More explanation is shown in Appendix A under the appendix.

With this current and potential long term issue, this proposal will aid in increasing cooling efficiency specifically in office buildings. We have chosen office buildings as our main focus due to the fact that the majority of the high rise buildings with a large number of windows are mainly offices. These offices have cooling loads that are usually evenly distributed in a controlled manner (central unit). We will be opting to help by implementing the addition of systems for windows that will reduce the heat absorption into the office buildings.

Problem statement 

Ideally, window systems in office buildings should aid or increase the cooling efficiency within the building. This can be done by external changes in the design or opting for materials that will help prevent a large amount of heat absorption within office buildings. However, most office buildings are heavily reliant on overloading their cooling units to help achieve thermal comfort, which results in increased costs of electricity bills. 

Purpose statement 

The purpose of this report is to propose to the relevant departments in Building and Construction Authority (BCA), namely the Building Control and Industry Development department, to implement more effective systems for windows that enhance better cooling efficiency and significantly reduce high energy consumption in office buildings. This report may also have relevance to building owners who might be interested in improving their current or old window systems that may need refurbishing. Providing a reliable and environmentally friendly option that will reduce the time spent on looking for alternatives.

Proposed Solution

The proposed solution consists of three methods to help improve the cooling efficiency of the building. There are smart photochromic films, electrochromic glass, and overhangs. Online resources were referenced for the research regarding the proposed solution which is to implement a better system for the windows in the office buildings.

Benefits

The proposed solution can help office buildings in Singapore to not only reduce the amount of heat being absorbed into the offices but can also help building owners to reduce their monthly expenses for electricity.

The main benefit is the seamless transition and installation process of our proposed idea. Instead of having to remove and reinstall the window itself, the windows will now have “accessories” that aid in improving the cooling efficiency within the building. The “accessories” in this sense consists of the option of either film to adhere to the windows or the installation of overhangs on the facade of the building. As a result, our solutions provide a much more feasible and budget-friendly option with long term savings in mind.

Methods/Procedure

The vision for the topic is to be able to help improve the cooling efficiency of office buildings by improving the current window systems. Although we did not come across many relevant articles to help us, we managed to arrange for an interview via email with someone working in the industrial workforce. The interview gave us valuable insight into learning and understanding more about the current situation of office buildings. 

Concluding Statement 

Global Warming is an ongoing phenomenon that is happening around the world, it is a dire issue that is increasing the average global temperature at a steady rate. Although the effects of climate change are irreversible, it is not too late to take action to avoid some of the worst effects that may follow in the future. 

With the implementation of our window systems, it reinforces the purpose of being environmentally friendly, while enhancing the cooling efficiency within a building. Better efficiency can be derived without having to demolish or remove the current window structure of buildings, making it a simple and feasible option by avoiding material wastage.