Abstract

Recently, highly glazed facades in office buildings have become widespread worldwide, including in Chile, impacting their occupants' thermal and visual comfort. This study is conducted to propose design strategies for the glass facades of office buildings in Chile, aiming to achieve thermal and visual comfort for office occupants with minimal energy consumption. Multiple simulations are performed to analyse thermal and visual comfort for office occupants while simultaneously determining energy consumption for heating, cooling, and artificial lighting. The Oficity calculation engine is used to determine the mentioned energy consumptions and estimate visual comfort indicators like sDA and ASE. Nocturnal and daytime ventilation for cooling was also evaluated. The simulations consider an office space (3.6 x 5.4 x 2.7 m) with an adiabatic envelope, except for the glass facade exposed to the exterior. Six cities have been considered, from Arica (18.5 S) to Punta Arenas (53.2 S). The conclusions indicate that the size of the glazed facade area should be limited to a 50% window-to-wall ratio, using selective glass. Nocturnal ventilation is recommended in inland cities like Santiago and Calama, while daytime ventilation could be beneficial in coastal cities (Arica and Concepción), as well as in Temuco.