Multi-criteria energy and daylighting optimization for an office with fixed and moveable shading devices

This paper presents an optimization approach to design an external fixed shading device protecting an energy efficient office from high sun loads. The developed methodology takes into account heating, cooling and energy required for lighting appliances, along with the interaction with an internal moveable venetian blind for direct sunlight protection. The optimization process considers whole-year simulations performed with different software codes, specifically ESP-r for energy calculation and DAYSIM® for daylighting analysis, while the modeFRONTIER® tool synchronizes the simulations and drives the optimization for searching optimal solutions. The fixed shading device is a flat panel positioned parallel to the window and inclined by its horizontal axis and the optimization variables change the size, inclination and position of the device with respect to the building façade. Two exposures are considered, south and south-west, and the optimized results are reported as a Pareto front highlighting the performance of different solutions, comparing the energy and daylighting performance of the office