Energy consumption in buildings plays a major role in global warming. In this matter, the importance of window systems is crucial for both reducing energy demand and improving comfort. The Water-filled glass (WFG) system has been proven as an effective solution to improve the energy performance of an envelope. The capacity of the system in absorbing solar radiation and distributing heat throughout the building is a significant advantage, which lowers both cooling and heating demand with substantial energy savings and equivalent CO2 emission reduction.
In this paper, a prototypical office floor consisting of four rooms with fully glazing facades facing cardinal directions was simulated using TRNSYS under two European climate conditions: Madrid and London. Through the heat displacement approach, for instance, the solar gain absorbed in the South- and West-facing WFG windows will be transferred and applied to the heating-demanding rooms with the shaded North- and East-facing windows. The excessive hot water can be also stored to be used later for heating (e.g. during night-time) or for domestic use such as showering, …
The preliminary results show the potential of the WFG system not only as an isolated window unit but also in combination with other window units to prove the approach of heat displacement in reducing energy consumption.
