Designing with respect to climate and sun is fundamental to green buildings. Facade/envelope design has a big impact on building heat transfer, daylight ingress and energy use. Further, the facade is a critical aesthetic element. Therefore, it is important to optimize facade design to synergize energy, comfort and aesthetics.
The software tool — eQUEST was used for comparative analysis of building design parameters such as location, orientation, massing, shading elements, wall and insulation selection, glass area and daylighting on whole building energy use. Further, solar renewable systems such as photovoltaic systems were also discussed in the course. An overview of solar thermal systems was given.
At the end of this course, participants had an understanding of solar design concepts and its synergy with whole building energy efficiency.
The course was designed for architects, engineers, green building consultants, construction industry professionals, glass manufacturers, building facade solution vendors, students and faculty.