Labib, Rania (2019-08). Facade Internet of Things (FIoT): A Human-Sensing,Two-Facade Communication Approach to Achieve Glare Reduction, Optimized Daylighting, and Solar Energy Collection. Doctoral Dissertation.
Thesis
The use of large glazed facades in buildings can cause a disabling glare that can impair the vision of the occupants of surrounding buildings. In order to avoid glare, building occupants tend to close their blinds and depend on artificial lighting, thus increasing lighting-based energy consumption. Solar reflections can also overheat surrounding areas and so negatively impact the thermal comfort of occupants in surrounding buildings. To resolve the various issues caused by reflective facades, this research study proposes the Facades Internet of Things (FIoT), a model that facilitates the communication between two building facades, which can adapt to human occupancy and weather conditions in order to reduce glare, to optimize indoor daylighting, and to maximize solar energy collection. Although communication between different building elements within the same building is extensively studied by researchers, the proposed FIoT is the first novel approach that enables communication between building elements, in this case building facades, in two different buildings. To examine the performance of the proposed FIoT framework, computer-based glare, daylighting, and solar radiation simulations of two buildings and the simulations of a virtual Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) that connects both buildings are carried out. Both buildings face one another, and one building is fitted with the proposed facade that is installed on front of the existing facade. Glare is examined from 15 views inside the building that faces the reflective facade. Simulations confirmed that glare is greatly reduced by employing a FIoT to dynamically adjust the surfaces; the average occurrences of intolerable glare from all 15 views in one month (December) decreased from 40% of the time to 0.87%. FIoT not only eliminated glare but also improved the daylighting performance inside the building, increasing both the daylighting uniformity ratio and the illuminance levels. Through usage of the proposed workflow, the lighting uniformity ratio (LUR) increased on December 21, between 8:00 and 17:00, from 0.24-0.29 to 0.34-0.45. Additionally, the hourly average illuminance values improved by 88-268% during the winter solstice. Finally, compared to traditional vertical BIPV, FIoT-enabled BIPV facade elements increased the amount of solar radiation falling on them by 190-250% during the winter solstice and by 300-520% during the summer solstice.
