Designing Smart Adaptive Dynamic Facades: A Strategic Approach for Educational Buildings in Oman

The dynamic nature of daylight and occupant position can cause issues such as overheating and visual discomfort that must be monitored during real-time use. Dynamic adaptive facades have emerged as a promising solution for educational buildings to prevent daylight glare and enhance daylight performance for students’ comfort. Based on recent progress in the construction and development of renewable energy technologies, adaptive facades can act as collectors of electrical energy in the form of photovoltaic cells to provide the required energy, in addition to improving internal performance. This research seeks to maximize the performance of a professional adaptive facade called Pioneer Adaptive Dynamic Facade (PADF) by searching for solutions based on the kinetics and type of adaptability of the facade and considering the position of the occupants. The solution of adaptability and type of mobility has been developed based on the extraction of the PADF control strategies. In this study, three strategies based on the season, the occupant’s position, and manual control are used to control the PADF. The methodology of this research is designed to compare the PADF in strict competition with regular shades such as simple horizontal louvers. The results show that the strategies for adaptive control of the PADF, in addition to improving the comfort conditions, reducing the cooling load, and providing sufficient daylight for the space, provide the maximum amount of solar radiation for the production of electricity.