Assessment of Dynamic Photovoltaic Shading Systems on Energy Performance of Commercial Buildings

Abstract

In this paper, the energy benefits of dynamic photovoltaic (PV)integrated overhang systems are evaluated for office buildings. The benefits of dynamic PVintegrated overhangs combined energy efficiency by decreasing both heating and cooling energy demand and onsite renewable power generation by deploying tracking PV panels. The energy performance of dynamic PVintegrated overhangs is considered for various design and operation conditions. Specifically, the impacts of various design features are considered such as overhang depth, window size, glazing type, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system type. Moreover, the effects of operating conditions are assessed including the location of the building and the control strategy of the dynamic PVintegrated systems such as loadtracking, demandtracking, and PVtracking. The results of the various analyses indicate that the heating and cooling energy demands of the dynamic overhangs are mostly affected by the window glazing type and window overhang depths. The analysis shows that the use of demandtracking maximizes the energy performance of the dynamic PVintegrated overhangs when deployed to US office buildings.