Variation of Thermochromic Glazing Systems Transition Temperature, Hysteresis Gradient and Width Effect on Energy Efficiency

Abstract

Due to increasing pressure to reduce the energy demand in buildings, thermochromic thin film based glazing has become a recognized potential solution due to the intrinsic ability to modulate the solar heat gain of a window as a function of the materials temperature. These “intelligent” glazings have been investigated for several years, and it has been found that, through variation of synthetic route, the thermochromic properties (transition temperature, hysteresis gradient and width) can be altered; however, less attention has been applied to how such alterations affect the overall energy savings attributed to the materials. In this study the building simulation software EnergyPlus TM has been used to model a series of idealized thermochromic spectra in a series of different environments to evaluate their energy saving potential against both clear glass systems and industry standards. The idealized spectra are used to see what effect each of the materials thermochromic properties and therefore elucidate which are the most important with respect to the energy saving properties. It was found that the best thermochromic materials were those with a narrow sharp hysteresis and a low transition temperature and result in an increase in energy saving between 30%–45% across the different environments compared to clear glass systems.

Keywords

• energy simulation
• thermochromics
• “intelligent” glazing
• energy demand reduction
• energy plus
• energy efficiency