Experimental determination of thermal performance of glazed façades with water film, under direct solar radiation in the tropics

An experimental investigation of a glazed façade oriented west has been conducted utilizing the Sustainable Glazed Water Film (SGWF). The experiments involved the following three parameters namely: the water flow rate, the type of glazing, and the solar radiation intensity. Two full-scale rooms were used, one as a reference room, with a fixed configuration, and the other as a test room, which could be configured in different ways. The ability of the SGWF to reduce the passage of the solar energy during the sunny hours and hence to limit the heat passage through glazing was analyzed. The aim of this paper is to examine the improvement in thermal performance obtained by the flowing water film over glazed façades. It has been found that the flowing water film on the glazed façade lowers the glazing surface temperature by 7.2–14 °C (average) and absorbs a portion of the solar energy resulting in decreasing indoor temperature by 2.2–4.1 °C (average). However, with increased solar radiation intensity, the SGWF provides a better level of efficiency in reducing the heat transfer indoors.