METHODOLOGY FOR QUANTIFYING THE PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS OF INTELLIGENT SHADE CONTROL IN EXISTING BUILDINGS IN AN URBAN CONTEXT

This paper presents a high-level overview of a methodology for analyzing window shade use in existing buildings and quantifying the predicted energy use and visual comfort due to occupants’ behavior. Time-lapse photography is paired with an image recognition algorithm to facilitate assessment of shade use. The resulting data is directly used in a building performance model to predict energy use and visual comfort under several shade control strategies. The methodology is applied to a commercial office building in downtown Montreal that has over 1200 independently operated shades and is partially shaded by neighboring buildings. INTRODUCTION