LBNL Software for Analyzing

Window Thermal Properties

and Energy-Efficiency

Dariush Arasteh, Robin Mitchell, Christian Kohler,

Mike Rubin, Steve Selkowitz, Eleanor Lee, Joe Huang
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory;
Charlie Huizenga, UC Berkeley
Charlie Curcija, Carli Inc.
John Carmody, U. of Minnesota

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Glazing and Façade Tools
• Glazing, Window and Façade Tools
– Essential for design of new products
– Supplement, replace testing - virtual product development
– Window Rating and Labeling

• Building Design Tools

– Allow integration strategies to be explored
– Allows façade performance to be optimized
- Daylighting vs Cooling tradeoffs
- Energy vs Comfort Tradeoffs
– HVAC - Façade integration
– Explore commissioning and operational issues

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

PC Tools (WINDOW+)
Optics THERM
IGDB (Window (Window
(Specular Glass) Frame)
Glass Data
Source)

calculation

CGDB
(Complex WINDOW
(Whole Window)
Glazing
Data Base)

Design / COMFEN RESFEN

Simulation Tools (Whole Building (Whole Building
DOE-2, EnergyPlus Commercial) Residential)
Radiance

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

PC Tools (WINDOW+)
ƒ Optics
Analyze glazing optical properties

ƒ IGDB
Database of glazing materials

ƒ CGDB
Database of complex glazing materials

ƒ THERM
Analyze two-dimensional heat transfer through building products

ƒ WINDOW
Analyze window thermal and optical performance

ƒ RESFEN
Calculate the heating and cooling energy use of windows in residential buildings

ƒ COMFEN
Calculate the heating and cooling energy ue of windows in commercial buildings

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

 Objectives and Relevance
• Modeling Tools are an Enabling Technology
– 4.7 Quads/yr used by windows [DOE MYP 2/18/05];
Advanced products can reduce this to zero (or better)
– How does one know what a product’s performance is?
– It is important to know performance potentials before a
product is developed.
– Modeling tools have emerged as the metric to rate products
and guide product development.
– Tools need to lead product development.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Tools - History
• 1980s – WINDOW 2, 3 used to guide development of low-e,
gas filled products; for reporting product literature
• 1990-92 – NFRC ratings founded on use of WINDOW and
FRAME as unbiased, accurate tools
• 1990s:
– THERM developed for more versatile 2D analysis
– RESFEN for residential annual energy simulations
– IGDB – glazing product database
– Optics for modifying glazing layer properties w/o testing
• 2003 – WINDOW5, THERM5 updates make tools
consistent with ISO15099
• 2005 – COMFEN development (not covered here)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Why not testing?

•$
– 1 day in a test lab vs. < 1 hr
– Up to 50K+ to build a prototype before you even
know its performance
• Uncertainty in test results clouds
development
• BUT, software tools must be accurate

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Understanding Thermal Performance
• Algorithm Development and Basic Research
• Software Development
– User Interface
– Implementing Technical Algorithms
– Component Data
– Quality Assurance of Software
– Maintenance
– User Support and Training
• Validation

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

WINDOW+6

• Build on WINDOW+5 universal use

• Improve technical capabilities so that tools will
aid in design of products for Zero Energy
Buldings
• Provide support to industry and other users
– Ensures tools are used properly
– Provides feedback on needs
• With industry, develop underlying component
data
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
User Support
ƒ 7,000 downloads in
FY’04
ƒ Answer questions
and solve problems
by email and
telephone
ƒ Update Web
Knowledge Base

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

How are Tools Used?
ƒ Design of new products New Product Design
ƒ Guidelines for Product
Selection
ƒ Energy Star Compliance
and Analysis
ƒ NFRC Ratings

NFRC Label
Product Selection
Guidelines
Energy Star Map
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Optics – a Virtual Glass Laboratory
ƒ Calculate and edit
optical properties of
glass

ƒ Change glazing
thickness

ƒ Switch glazing
coating

ƒ Construct glazing
with applied films

ƒ Construct glazing
with laminate

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

WINDOW
ƒ State-of-the-art, Microsoft Windows™-based
ƒ Integrated database of properties
ƒ Calculates total fenestration product thermal and
optical performance indices
– U-factor
– Solar Heat Gain Coefficient
– Visible Transmittance calculation
– Condensation Resistance
ƒ NEW: complex glazing systems
– Venetian Blinds
– Fritted glass
– Woven shades
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Background: Layer types

specular

diffuse Shading device

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Why WINDOW 6?
• Nothing changes for “simple” products, no
change in calculation or modeling
• Functionality added for “complex” products,
such as:
ƒ Venetian Blind
ƒ Woven cloth shades
and bug screens
ƒ Fritted / silk-screened glass

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Complex Glazing Systems
Manufacturers,
engineers, architects,
builders want to know
their performance
characteristics
Venetial Blinds /
Integral shades
Cloth Shades /
Bug Screens

Fritted/Patterned Glass Light Redirecting Products

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
WINDOW6 - Current State

• Research Version of WINDOW6 and THERM6 available at:

http://windows.lbl.gov/software/window/6

• A model for complex glazings is in WINDOW6 and THERM6

• Venetian blinds and perfect diffusers are implemented
• Import feature for other complex glazings

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

IGDB – WINDOW’s Glass Library

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Shade Material Library
ƒ Define different
materials for shading
systems (such as
venetian blind slats)
ƒ Use in the Shading
System Library
ƒ Precursor to Complex
Glazing Database
calculation

CGDB
(Complex
Glazing
Data Base)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

WINDOW6 - Shading Layers
ƒ Define different
types of shading
systems such as
venetian blinds
ƒ Use in the Glazing
System Library

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

WINDOW6 – Complex Glazing
ƒ Glazing systems are constructed from glass and gas libraries
ƒ Shading systems are added to the glazing system
Shading Layer

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

WINDOW6 – Final Results
ƒ Construct
complete window
from glazing
system (standard
or with complex
layers), standard
frames and
dividers

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

WINDOW6 - Complex Glazings Results
RESULTS:
Venetian Blind Tilt = 40o, Window Orientation = South (180o)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

THERM6
ƒ State-of-the-art, Microsoft
Windows™-based
ƒ Two-dimensional heat transfer
analysis computer program
ƒ Calculates fenestration product
thermal performance indices (i.e.
frame and edge U-factors,
temperature data for Condensation
Resistance calculations)
ƒ NEW: Complex glazing Interior Shading Device

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Background – THERM5

Finite element mesh

Isotherms Infrared

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Advantages of THERM
ƒ Geometry import from CAD programs
using DXF.
ƒ Minimizes the amount of user judgement
required in simulating a window.
ƒ Not limited to windows; heat transfer
effects in any building component can be
analyzed.
ƒ NFRC adopted software simulation tool

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

THERM -Technical Approach
ƒ Use existing algorithms from other
applications as available
ƒ Develop new algorithms as needed from
literature, standards, or original research
ƒ Validate software with comparisons to
– hot box data
– MoWiTT measurements
– IR Thermography
– other computational results

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Modeling

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Modeling Sloped Skylight

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Spacer Modeling

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Link to WINDOW
ƒ “Virtual
Thermograms”
can provide a
full temperature
map of a
window's
interior surface

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

WINDOW7 and future efforts
ƒ Dynamic windows with
multiple and variable
states
ƒ Extension of complex
glazings to integrated
facades
ƒ Modeling of highly
insulating systems
(R10) with certainty
ƒ Outputs and interface
for Energy Plus to
make effective use of
complex product output
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Tools for Assessing Energy Impact
of Windows in Buildings

• Residential Windows
– Book
– Efficient Window Collaborative
– RESFEN
• Commercial
– Book
– Commercial Website
– COMFEN
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
RESFEN – Whole House Impact
ƒ Calculates the heating and cooling energy use of a
building:
– for a specific house
– in a specific location
– with specific window products
• Consumers have confusing technical information: U,
SHGC, AI
ƒ Can compare different window options
ƒ Can help select energy-efficient windows
ƒ RESFEN5 (2005)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

RESFEN 5 Improvements
ƒ More locations – 200 + US and Canadian cities
ƒ Libraries:
– Locations – can add new locations
– Window – hooks to WINDOW5
– Packages – can define envelope insulation packages
– Utility Rate Libraries – can define any gas and electric
utility prices
– Database structure for input values and results
– Results can be exported to spreadsheet
– Report of results can be generated

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

RESFEN

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Tools for Assessing Window Energy Impact
in Commercial Buildings
w/ John Carmody, Univ. of Minnesota

• Windows for High Performance

Commercial Buildings- Book
• Commercial Fenestration Website
– Extends book, Pre-calculated data displayed
• COMFEN
– Internal EnergyPlus engine
– Flexible analysis and data display
– Links to other tools, engines
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Design Guides/Information Sources
Tips for Daylighting Guide: http://windows.lbl.gov Window Systems for High
Selective Glazings Application Guide: Performance Buildings:
http://windows.lbl.gov
Norton Press 2004
IEA Daylight in Buildings Source Book:
http://gaia.lbl.gov/iea21
High Performance Building Facades:
http://gaia.lbl.gov/hpbf

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
COMFEN: Optimize Commercial Building
Façade Design and Operations
• Simulation based decision support
– Project-specific decision making: Designers, owners
– Address real world issues across design process: energy, demand, glare,
comfort,…
– “How do I ….?” “What are the consequences of …?”
- Analyze
- Compare
- Find
- Optimize
– EnergyPlus and Radiance engines (“fast” versions)
– Annual performance: energy, demand
– Peak, hourly profiles, etc
– Daylight quantity, quality; glare and visibility
• Toolkit:
– Product specific data to support tools
– Commissioning guidance
– Case studies, field measurement kit
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Status

• DOE-2 building models ported to EnergyPlus

• Timing runs identified problems with slow speed for the
EnergyPlus. Explored mechanisms to speed up output.
• Developed coefficient based Radiance module that can be
added to the tool to do annual Radiance modeling
• Explored interface options with potential partners and
users.
• Met with industry and other end users to discuss potential
partnerships for tool development.
• Reduced funding will slow effort but working tool
expected late 2006

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory