[esp-r] Re: Emissivity - complex fenestration

[Bart Lomanowski]

> And remember that ESP-r does not use the emissivity
> at each side of an air gap - it uses an air gap resistance.
> I believe that someone is working on code to explicitly
> model the radiant transfer in an air gap.

My work, which is almost ready for general release, deals with complex  
fenestration including a general framework for glazing/shading layers.  
I've created a new construction type (CFC) which handles solar optical  
and thermal processes based on individual layer properties. Cavity  
resistances are calculated at run-time for any gas mixture and glass  
emissivity. The front end is a small graphical editor used to  
construct the glazing/shading system, with an import facility to pass  
the data into an ESP-r input file similar in structure to a *.tmc file.

The main intent of the work is to treat shading layers such as  
venetian blinds as part of the building fabric, recognizing that  
thermal aspects of shading layer position within the window (outside,  
between glass, inside) play a significant role in the total solar gain  
to the indoor space. Windows without shading layers can also be finely  
tuned by allowing the user to assemble a glazing product based on the  
NFRC glazing database, in any arrangment, with any combination of fill  
gases.

The intent of the project is really to bridge the gap between  
researchers and designers to better understand the impact of shading  
on building loads. I will be sure to generate documentation and a user  
manual in the upcoming months, but first I have to write my thesis,  
which I will also make available.

I am happy to provide more detail to anyone who has questions.

-Bart

---
Bartosz Lomanowski
MASc Candidate
Solar Thermal Research Lab
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
+1 519 888 4567 x33885