Comprehensive ventilation and energy performance analysis of vertical shading devices in cooling-dominant climates

Consideration for reducing energy consumption is crucial in sustainable building designs. Vertical Shading Devices (VSDs), as components of sustainable building design, are widely applied in buildings in tropical environments to minimize internal heat gains towards reducing cooling energy consumption. However, their influence on building performance is based on optimal designs of orientation and depths which are not comprehensively included in recent studies. In this study, the effects of different VSD configurations on building ventilation and energy performance in five cooling-dominated cities have been investigated using models in Building Energy Simulation Test (BESTEST) in EnergyPlus and jEPlus. The relationship between VSD orientation and depth and shading performance parameters such as solar gains, mean radiant temperature, total ventilation loss, and cooling energy were evaluated. The results show that building solar gains and ventilation flowrates increased with the increasing VSD tilt angles. Also, the VSDs’ internal temperature decreasing capacity increased as the depths increased. The changes in VSD configurations were found to reduce solar gains by 84.7%, indoor temperature by 1.47°C, and ventilation loss by 60%. This study can help building designers to comprehend energy and ventilation performance of VSD configurations and provide insights and references for sustainable shading design.