Viability of exterior shading devices for high-rise residential buildings: Case study for cooling energy saving and economic feasibility analysis

• The sun-shading/daylighting performance of the 48 exterior shading devices was measured.
• The cooling energy saving potential was conducted by energy simulation.
• Economic feasibility was also analyzed depending on the shading type.
• The possibility of installing of exterior shading device was evaluated.
• The field mock-up test was done for the vibration impact due to wind.

Proper use of building shading devices can only improve the thermal comfort in indoor environment, but also reduce cooling energy consumption effectively. Researches on this topic have been mostly conducted for office buildings, but were limited for exterior shading devices of high-rise buildings, where cooling is a major energy consumer. This paper presents an integrated approach for exterior shading design analysis about energy performance and economic feasibility in a high-rise residential building (Seoul, Korea) by both numerical simulations and field mock-up test for possibility of installing. The sun-shading/daylighting performance analysis of the 48 exterior shading devices was measured with 4.0 m × 3.2 m window module size during the period of May–September. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of the cooling energy saving potential of solar radiation controls was conducted with DOE-2.1E simulation program. The cooling energy saving potential was about 20%, while the reducing of solar heat gain by the two exterior shading devices (the horizontal overhang and the vertical panel) would lead to a decrease of the cooling energy demand 19.7% and 17.3%, respectively. Cost benefit and economic feasibility was also analyzed, in consideration of the OPEX and CAPEX, depending on the shading type. The significance of this study lies in providing basic information for rational exterior shading planning, when designing high-rise residential buildings.

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