Optimizing daylight, energy and occupant comfort performance of classrooms with photovoltaic integrated vertical shading devices

ABSTRACT This work proposes a multi-objective approach for optimizing the design of fixed vertical, parametrically modeled PV integrated shading devices to achieve their highest benefits to the indoor environment and residents in a classroom. Since the geometric design of conventional shading devices, whether in real-world applications or the literature, is usually restricted to non-amorphous and rectangular shapes, our goal is to gain insight into the likely advantages of employing panels with novel design alternatives. To this end, we initially developed a parametric model of shading devices containing planar PV panels utilizing the Grasshopper program. Next, the environmental plugins of Honeybee and Ladybug were used to assess daylight and energy operations along with occupants’ thermal and visual comfort. Moreover, to lessen the required lighting energy and enhance users’ visual convenience by providing appropriate illuminance levels required for a specific task, we divided the classroom into adjustable lighting zones. The last step was performing the optimization process via the Octopus plugin for Grasshopper and determining the optimal solutions. The numerical results of the annual simulations show that we reached considerable energy saving up to 20% while enhancing occupants’ thermal and visual comfort.