Award Date

12-2011

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)

Department

Mechanical Engineering

First Committee Member

Robert Boehm, Chair

Second Committee Member

Suresh Sadineni

Third Committee Member

Yitung Chen

Graduate Faculty Representative

Yahia Baghzouz

Number of Pages

84

Abstract

The project was developed to assess several types of facades and their influence on building energy, mainly focused on windows and other building fenestrations. Requirements for the facility are stated in this paper alongside corresponding solutions. The facility is designed to represent a section of a building façade. Experimenting on a wide range of fenestrations including windows with integrated PV elements was the primary prerequisite. The option of removable façade configurations was used and allowed testing specimens to be changed effortlessly. Instrumentation and data acquisition are discussed including calibration and uncertainty analysis. Investigation of the air conditioning unit was concluded during the calibration stage. Fenestration property measurements such as the thermal and optical performance have been evaluated for several windows. Theoretically calculated values and experimental data are compared. Data acquired demonstrate the influence the façade has on the building energy loads. Additional research into these characteristics assists in improving building energy efficiency. Moreover, outcomes of the results are analyzed for residential or commercial purposes, giving practical information for wide-ranging conditions. Further testing of different types of facades will continue and comparisons can be inferred between specimens. Development of the data will help provide valuable information for energy efficient building design.

Keywords

Applied sciences; Architecture and energy conservation; Building energy simulation; Buildings – Energy conservation; Buildings – Energy consumption; Double paned window; Facades; Solar heat gain coefficient; Triple paned window; U-value; Windows

Disciplines

Architectural Engineering | Environmental Design | Mechanical Engineering | Natural Resources and Conservation | Sustainability

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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