Thermal performance of glazed balconies within heavy weight/thermal mass buildings in Beirut, Lebanon's hot climate: Fid-Bau Portal

Thermal performance of glazed balconies within heavy weight/thermal mass buildings in Beirut, Lebanon's hot climate

Saleh, Philip H.

Highlights • Balcony glazing in hot climate is not recommended from an energy viewpoint. • If practical consideration outweighs energy concerns smart handling saves the day. • Glazed balconies with full West and or ±30° West should be avoided. • Internal and external shading devices should be incorporated into the design. • Users are expected to be energy conscious, and have adaptive comfort behavior.

Abstract The research aims to analyze the thermal performance of what is becoming a very common practice of glazing up balconies in fully exposed heavy weight buildings in Lebanon. Two apartments in one residential building, are monitored simultaneously for four full and consecutive days in late June 2011 one with a glazed balcony the other with a shaded one. Once the building's thermal simulation are calibrated using the EDSL TAS [1] software, parametric runs start by testing different orientations, followed by further shading and spatial manipulation and finishing with construction and thermostatic manipulations, giving an in-depth overview of the thermal performance of those balconies vis-à-vis the internal spaces. The research concludes with practical design recommendation and solutions for keeping with the glazing yet reducing considerably the annual cooling load.