Energy performance of internal shading attachments: Comparative analysis of control strategies in Canadian cold climates.

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Title: Energy performance of internal shading attachments: Comparative analysis of control strategies in Canadian cold climates.
Authors: Chhetri, Aditya1 (AUTHOR), Zhong, Lexuan1 (AUTHOR) lexuan.zhong@ualberta.ca
Source: Journal of Building Physics. May2026, Vol. 49 Issue 6, p897-924. 28p.
Subjects: Window shades, Heating load, Commercial buildings, Cold regions, Energy consumption, Automation, Window blinds
Geographic Terms: Canada
Abstract: Commercial buildings in Canada consume 1057 PJ of energy annually, with space heating and cooling responsible for 61% of this energy use. Windows play a crucial role in building energy efficiency, but often contribute to significant thermal losses. Automated shading attachments offer a promising retrofit strategy for enhancing building energy efficiency in commercial buildings. The current study uses EnergyPlus and WINDOW to assess the annual energy performance of four internal shading attachments in a US Department of Energy-defined small office building in Canadian cold-climate zones. Six distinct control strategies are analyzed to optimize heating and cooling reductions across five Canadian cities spanning the five climate zones of Canada. The window-shade systems are modelled as Complex Fenestration Systems on WINDOW and integrated into EnergyPlus. The Energy Management System Feature is used to implement custom control strategies. Intermediate shading positions are studied, demonstrating a more refined approach towards automated shading. Findings indicate that a maximum of 22% reduction in the annual heating loads is observed with Shade 2 (Cellular Shade) for the case of Vancouver (ASHRAE 4C) with Control Strategy 3 (CS3), and a maximum of 47% reduction in cooling loads is observed for the case of Yellowknife (ASHRAE 8) with Shade 1 (BO Roller Shade) and CS4 (Tave). CS4 emerges as an effective control strategy for optimizing heating and cooling load reductions, with heating energy demand reductions in the range of 7.04%–19.69%, compared to 4.14%–17.20% using CS4 (Tave). However, no improvement in energy performance was observed with the use of intermediate shading positions. These findings support the use of season-specific control strategies for automated shading as an effective means of reducing heating and cooling loads in cold-climate zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Building Physics is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 193487863
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  Data: Energy performance of internal shading attachments: Comparative analysis of control strategies in Canadian cold climates.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chhetri%2C+Aditya%22">Chhetri, Aditya</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhong%2C+Lexuan%22">Zhong, Lexuan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> lexuan.zhong@ualberta.ca</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Building+Physics%22">Journal of Building Physics</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 49 Issue 6, p897-924. 28p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Window+shades%22">Window shades</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heating+load%22">Heating load</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Commercial+buildings%22">Commercial buildings</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cold+regions%22">Cold regions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Energy+consumption%22">Energy consumption</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Automation%22">Automation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Window+blinds%22">Window blinds</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Canada%22">Canada</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Commercial buildings in Canada consume 1057 PJ of energy annually, with space heating and cooling responsible for 61% of this energy use. Windows play a crucial role in building energy efficiency, but often contribute to significant thermal losses. Automated shading attachments offer a promising retrofit strategy for enhancing building energy efficiency in commercial buildings. The current study uses EnergyPlus and WINDOW to assess the annual energy performance of four internal shading attachments in a US Department of Energy-defined small office building in Canadian cold-climate zones. Six distinct control strategies are analyzed to optimize heating and cooling reductions across five Canadian cities spanning the five climate zones of Canada. The window-shade systems are modelled as Complex Fenestration Systems on WINDOW and integrated into EnergyPlus. The Energy Management System Feature is used to implement custom control strategies. Intermediate shading positions are studied, demonstrating a more refined approach towards automated shading. Findings indicate that a maximum of 22% reduction in the annual heating loads is observed with Shade 2 (Cellular Shade) for the case of Vancouver (ASHRAE 4C) with Control Strategy 3 (CS3), and a maximum of 47% reduction in cooling loads is observed for the case of Yellowknife (ASHRAE 8) with Shade 1 (BO Roller Shade) and CS4 (Tave). CS4 emerges as an effective control strategy for optimizing heating and cooling load reductions, with heating energy demand reductions in the range of 7.04%–19.69%, compared to 4.14%–17.20% using CS4 (Tave). However, no improvement in energy performance was observed with the use of intermediate shading positions. These findings support the use of season-specific control strategies for automated shading as an effective means of reducing heating and cooling loads in cold-climate zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Building Physics is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1177/17442591261421895
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 28
        StartPage: 897
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Window shades
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Heating load
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Commercial buildings
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cold regions
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Energy consumption
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Automation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Window blinds
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Canada
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Energy performance of internal shading attachments: Comparative analysis of control strategies in Canadian cold climates.
        Type: main
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      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Chhetri, Aditya
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          Name:
            NameFull: Zhong, Lexuan
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 49
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Building Physics
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