Simulation study of shading design performance in office buildings in cooling-dominant climates

Shading design is a promising way to reduce building energy consumption. In this paper, with the application of EnergyPlus software, a systematic series of simulation is conducted to study the performance of two most popular shading designs, namely interior blind and overhang in office building in cooling-dominant climates. Result shows that a heat gain reduction of at least 20% can be expected from window with shading. Orientations and geographic locations have a significant influence on devices' shading effect. In cooling-dominant climates, shading devices on east and west facades reduce the most solar heat gain, contribution of north facing shading device cannot be ignored. As the latitude rises, interior and exterior shading device on north façade made smaller difference. Occupants' behaviours could significantly affect the performance of blind. When overhang length exceeds half of the window's height, increasing overhang length does not affect the performance of overhang significantly.