Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of energy and visual performances of office building with external venetian blind shading in hot-dry climate

Fenestration has become an integral part of the buildings and has a significant impact on the energy and indoor visual performances. Inappropriate design of the fenestration component may lead to low energy efficiency and visual discomfort as a result of high solar and thermal heat gains, excessive daylight and direct sunlight. External venetian blind has been identified as one of the effective shading devices for controlling the heat gains and daylight through fenestration. This study explores uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to identify and prioritize the most influencing parameters for designing glazed components that include external shading devices for office buildings. The study was performed for hot-dry climate of Jodhpur (Latitude 26° 180′N, longitude 73° 010′E) using EnergyPlus, a whole building energy simulation tool providing a large number of inputs for eight façade orientations. A total 150 and 845 data points (for each orientation) for input variables were generated using Hyper Cubic Sampling and extended FAST methods for uncertainty and sensitivity analyses respectively. Results indicated a large uncertainty in the lighting, HVAC, source energy consumptions and useful daylight illuminance (UDI). The estimated coefficients of variation were highest (up to 106%) for UDI, followed by lighting energy (up to 45%) and HVAC energy use (around 33%). The sensitivity analysis identified window to wall ratio, glazing type, blind type (orientation of slats) and slat angle as highly influencing factors for energy and visual performances regardless of façade orientation. The other influencing parameters are interior surface absorptance of wall and front surface solar reflectance of blind slat; however, the magnitude of influence varied with façade orientation.