Design and Methodology for Automated Intelli-Smart Shading Apparatus for Commercial Building Fenestrations in India

Kinetic facades with automated shading mechanism are becoming increasingly popular for optimizing daylighting and energy efficiency performance in buildings. While there are several such buildings, dynamic shading systems that are affordable and easily retrofittable for both new and existing fenestrations can foster the transition of building industry toward low carbon ambition. The current paper discusses about the design and methodology applied in developing an automated intelli-smart shading apparatus, Shade Smart-Commercial bespoke to commercial (predominantly office) building fenestrations in India. The apparatus design features the elimination of glare through windows for all occupied hours in a typical office building and reduces direct solar heat gain through windows by more than 75% while meeting the daylight requirements. Software-based simulation studies were conducted to establish the visual and thermal performance. A prototype is being fabricated to validate the software simulation studies through performance monitoring. The application of Shade Smart-Commercial shall help in direct savings in the cooling and lighting energy demand of an office building by reducing solar heat ingress while providing effective natural daylighting.