OT-88-03-2 -- The Development of an Optimal Control System for Window Shading Devices Based on Investigations in Office Buildings ✓ Most Recent

In order to develop an optimal control system for window-shading devices, the use of conventional venetian blinds was investigated, and a questio~maire concerning automatically controlled venetian blinds was distributed.

The results of the investigation show that (1) operation of blinds seems to be determined, not by the solar heat gain through windows, but by the incident distance of direct solar radiation; but (2) it is not triggered when the intensity of direct solar radiation is under a 10-50 (kcal/m²h) threshold value.

Responses to the questionnaire show that (1) the majority of the occupants in office buildings prefer the space near the windows; and (2) occupants think that windows should transparent except when shading is indispensable for the thermal and/or luminous environment. On the basis of the above results, an optimal control system for a new type of automatic venetian blind was developed and utilized in an actual intelligent building in Tokyo.

Units: SI