ARTICLE IN PRESS

Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 212–220

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/solmat

Innovative solar windows for cooling-demand climate

Tin-tai Chow n, Chunying Li, Zhang Lin
Building Energy and Environmental Technology Research Unit, Division of Building Science and Technology, College of Science & Engineering, City University of Hong Kong,
Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China

a r t i c l e in f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: To cope with the sustainability and conservation needs, window technology is currently under rapid
Received 13 July 2009 evolution. A number of innovations in recent years have given window glazing a revised identity as well
Accepted 7 September 2009 as a wide range of design options. This paper gives a brief overview of the developed as well as emerging
Available online 7 October 2009
advanced window technology for cooling-demand climates. The physical structure and energy
Keywords: performance are discussed and compared through numerical computation. Then the innovative
Water-flow window concept of water-flow window is introduced and the potential areas of application are discussed. Our
Glazing optical properties results indicate that this new design is able to support hot water supply system, reduce air-conditioning
Advanced fenestration system load and enhance thermal and visual comfort.
Building thermal performance
& 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Window glazing serves an important role in buildings – to
enhance high quality of life. In architecture, window glass is
prestigious for its carrying positive images such as transparency,
natural brightness, modernity, freshness and indoor–outdoor
interaction. The fenestration technology is under continuous
evolution. Highly glazed buildings have become a worldwide
design trend in modern architecture for whatever climate. This
has given much pressure on the global environmental issues like
energy wastage and global warming deterioration. To cope with
the sustainability and conservation needs, window glazing has
been given revised identities and a wide range of design options.
[1,2] The advanced fenestration systems now may have change-
able physical configurations as well as optical and thermal
properties in response to weather condition, occupant preferences
and building system requirements [3]. Some actually act as active
solar devices in a way to offset the insulation weakness at the
building facade.
The following gives a brief overview of the state-of-the-art
solar window technology, in particular its contributions in
limiting the space cooling demand in buildings. Then the
innovative concept of water-flow window is introduced and the
potential areas of application are discussed.
mass= 1.5) is basically within the wavelength (l) range of 0.3–
2.5 mm [4,5], as against normal thermal infrared within the range
of 2.5–50 mm. The visible light, at 0.4–0.7 mm, carries about 50% of
the incident solar energy. The ultraviolet (UV), at 0.3–0.4 mm,
carries only a few percent, and the near-infrared (NIR), at 0.7–
2.5 mm, holds close to 50%.
Fig. 1 shows the energy flow paths at a single-pane window
glass when solar radiation is incident on it. And in Fig. 2, the same
is for the more complicated flow paths in an advanced natural-
ventilated photovoltaic (PV) double-pane window. Solar
irradiance G (including the direct component from the Sun and
the diffuse component from the sky, clouds, and surrounding
objects) incident on the window glass is partly transmitted and
partly reflected. The remaining portion is absorbed within the
glass material that may include the coatings and/or ingredients if
there are any. At the center of glass, the absorbed portion will be
transmitted inward, as well as outward, by the processes of
conduction, convection and longwave radiation. In some advanced
systems, as in Fig. 2, the absorbed radiation can be extracted
through other means such as electricity conversion and natural
airflow. The situation is further complicated by the dependence of
such energy distributions on the polarization, frequency spectrum
as well as the directions of the incident rays [6]. In principle, at a
specific wavelength l, the layer’s transmittance tl, reflectance gl
and absorptance al are linked by the closure equation

2. Solar radiation and glazing performance tl þ gl þ al ¼ 1 ð1Þ

For a transparent layer (which is different from a surface), the

Although the entire solar spectrum ranges from ultraviolet
(UV) to radio wave, solar radiation at the earth surface (air
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: +852 27887622; fax: +852 27889716.
E-mail address: bsttchow@cityu.edu.hk (T.T. Chow).
‘‘effective’’ transmittance te as well as the front and back
reflectance (ge1 and ge2) are quantified as the consequence of
multiple reflections between the front and back surfaces (with
number designations 1 and 2), plus the effects of absorption
during the multi-passages through the layer, due to the volume

0927-0248/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2009.09.004
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Tin-tai Chow et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 212–220 213

Nomenclature Y absolute temperature, K

y angle of incidence, degree
C specific heat capacity, kJ/(kg K) l wavelength, mm
D thickness; depth, m r density, kg/m3
G solar irradiance, W/m2 s Stefan–Boltzmann’s constant =5.67  10  8 W/(m2 K4)
g solar heat gain coefficient, dimesionless t transmittance, dimesionless
h convective heat transfer coefficient, kJ/(kg K)
m_ mass flow rate, kg/s Subscripts
P packing factor, dimesionless
Q heat flow rate, W/m2 a ambient, air
T temperature, 1C cell solar cell
t time, s e effective
U U-factor, W/m2 K f fluid
v flow velocity, m/s g glass
i inside
Greek letters in inlet
o outside
a absorptance, dimesionless out outlet
e emittance, dimesionless r room
g reflectance, dimesionless w water
Z efficiency, dimesionless l wavelength

absorptivity ae. The absorbed portion will be partly extracted by The governing equation for the energy flow per unit surface
the air streams in contact through natural convection, and partly area at the center of the single-pane glazing shown in Fig. 1 can be
reradiated (or emitted) at the front and back glass surfaces as given by
longwave, far-infrared energy, in a form depending on the surface G ¼ Q1 þ Q2 þQ3 þ Q4 þQ5 þ Q6 þQ7 ð2Þ
condition and temperature. The ability to emit radiant heat is an
important factor of heat exchange at window glazing. The where Q1 = ge1G, is the reflected solar radiation by the glazing
effective bulk optical properties (te, ge and ae) of the entire surface 1 back to the ambient; Q2 = teG, the transmitted solar
glazing system can be determined using rigorous optical methods radiation through the glazing system to the indoor environment;
[7–9] or computational software, such as WINDOW [10]. Q3 =hc,1(Tg,1–Ta), the convective heat flow from the glazing surface
1 back to the ambient; Q4 = hc,2(Tg,2–Tr), the convective heat flow
from the glazing surface 2 to the room space; Q5 = s(e1Y4g,1–eaY4e,a),
the radiative heat flow from the glazing surface 1 to the ambient
environment, where absolute temperature should be used;
Q6 = s(e2Y4g,2–erYe,r
4
), the radiative heat flow from the glazing
ambient room surface 2 to the room surfaces; and Q7 ¼ rg Dg Cg ð@T g =@tÞ, the rate
of heat storage per unit area of the glass pane.
The above equations can be extended for applying to the
ventilated PV double-pane glazing system shown in Fig. 2 as
glass pane follows:
G ¼ Q1 þ Q2 þQ3 þ Q4 þQ5 þ Q6 þQ7 þ Q8 þ Q9 þ Q10 þQ11 ð3Þ
thermal radiation thermal radiation where Q7 and Q8 now are the rates of heat stored at the inner and
from surface 1 from surface 2 outer glass panes per unit surface area, respectively; Q9 ¼ rf Df Cf
ð@T f =@tÞ, the rate of heat gain at the fluid volume between the
glass panes per unit surface area; Q10 = m _ fCf(Tf,out  Tf,in), the heat
thermal thermal
convection convection extraction rate by the flowing fluid between the glass panes per
unit surface area; and if p is the packing factor of the PV glass,
angle of
thermal conduction then Q11 = GpZcell, the rate of heat converted to electricity at the
incidence solar cells per unit glazing surface area.
incident solar absorption Similarly, the above energy flow equations can be modified to
solar radiation suit different window systems, and to analyze the energy flows at
different system components once their instantaneous optical/
solar thermal properties and environmental working conditions are
solar transmission known. The ultimate energy performance of a window will also
reflection depend on the quality of the window frame and edge effects, of
which the influence will not be evaluated in the following
discussions.
For a given window system, the total energy transmittance is
quantified by the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC or g-value),
which is the sum of the direct transmitted solar radiation plus the
inward thermal convection and radiation heat transfer owing to
Fig. 1. Energy flow paths at single-pane glazing. the elevated inner glazing temperature above the room environ-
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
214 Tin-tai Chow et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 212–220

is increasingly in use in hot climate region. Appropriate level of

ambient room daylight penetration to the indoor environment is important, for
reducing artificial light consumption but avoiding excessive
luminance and unwanted glare.

PV glass clear glass

3. Single-glazed windows

thermal radiation thermal radiation

3.1. Tinted glazing
from surface 1 from surface 4
natural convection Tinted glass is specially formulated to cater for maximum
thermal absorption at part of the solar spectrum. Because of its high
convection extinction coefficient, low transmittance and high absorptance,
this is often called ‘‘absorptive’’ glass. The low transmittance
thermal reduces the quantity of transmitted daylight. Its primary use in
conduction window is therefore to reduce the effects of discomfort glare and
incident solar solar transmission. All absorbed radiant energy is initially
radiation thermal radiation exchange transformed into heat within the glass, thus raising the glass
between surfaces 2 and 3 temperature. Table 1 lists the glass temperatures and the room
heat gains for a selection of vertical single-glazed windows (all
solar incorporated with 1 m  1 m glass pane) for ready reference. The
solar
reflection transmission analysis was through numerical models derived from the
governing equations introduced in Section 2. More explanations
solar absorption about the theory and the simulation process can be found in Chow
electricity et al. [7–9]. The listed results are center-of-glass performance
air flow
generation based on industrial-grade thermal and optical data, assuming
specific sunny summer day conditions. The incoming 1000 W/m2
solar radiation is at an incident angle y of 601, with its direct and
diffuse components at 780 and 220 W/m2, respectively. Assuming
To DC load
isotropic sky and taking a ground reflectance of 0.2, the global
radiation is then at 597 W/m2 for normal incidence. Fixed values
Fig. 2. Energy flow paths at natural-ventilated PV double-pane window. of combined thermal convective and radiative heat transfer
coefficients were used in the analysis, with slight adjustment to
the radiative heat transfer coefficient when there was low-e
ment, then normalized by the incoming irradiance G, i.e. coating at either the outdoor or indoor surface. The indoor and
outdoor temperatures are 25 and 33 1C, respectively. The results of
Q2 þ Q4 þQ6 VT, U-factor and SHGC are also listed. It can be seen that the glass
g¼ ð4Þ
G temperature of the tinted glazing (S2) is 6.6 1C higher than the
The total instantaneous inward energy flow Qi (or room heat clear glazing (S1) of the window, with the room thermal load
gain) through unit glazing area (which becomes the room heat reduced by 22.4% in this case. The overall performance of the
gain) can be given by the sum of this combined solar transmission window in practice, however, also relies on the window frame
(SHGC dependent) and the convective heat transmission (U-factor performance.
dependent), i.e. Traditional tinted glazings, available in a range of colors like
Qi ¼ UðTa  Tr Þ þ ðSHGCÞG ð5Þ bronze and gray, allow a greater reduction in visible transmittance
(VT) than in SHGC. They often face the practicality of how low the
As an example, clear glass transmits around 75% of the incident
SHGC level has to be while maintaining an acceptable VT level.
solar radiation and 89% of the incoming visible light. It has an
New developments, as described below, are then the spectrally
emittance of 0.84 over the longwave radiation spectrum. Its NIR
selective glazings, with light blue/green tint having higher visible
transmittance may be useful for buildings with space heating
performance and favorably lower solar heat gain.
demands but not for those with cooling demands. External
cooling loads of a building facade are mainly contributed by the
shortwave irradiance transmission including visible light. But the 3.2. Reflective glazing
secondary heat flux at the inner glass pane also affects the cooling
load [11,12]. Ideally, a ‘‘perfect’’ window insulation system for
If achieving a higher reduction in solar gain is desirable, a
cooling-demand application should possess the following optical
reflective coating can be added to increase the reflectivity of the
characteristics:
glass surface. In cases S3 and S4 of Table 1, there show 44.9% and
38.2% reductions in room heat gain, as compared to S1 clear glass
(i) te,l =1 within the visual range (0.4o l o0.7 mm) for facilitat- and S2 tinted glass, respectively. The reflective coating, usually
ing the best daylight utilization; consisted of thin metallic or metal oxide layers, comes in various
(ii) ge2,l =1 within the thermal infrared range (0.7 o l o50 mm) metallic colors such as bronze, silver, or gold. The SHGC varies
for minimizing the air-conditioning load. with the thickness and reflectivity of the coating, and its location
in the glazing system. While some reflective coatings must be
Most buildings in the warm climate are single-glazed, with protected by sealing in cavity, others are durable and can be added
clear glass offered for residential developments and tinted/ on exposed surfaces. The presence of the coating changes very
reflective/low-e glass for commercial applications. Double-glazing little the U-factor. Same as the tinted glass, the VT of reflective
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Tin-tai Chow et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 212–220 215

Table 1
Energy performance at center of glass of 5.7-mm-thick single-pane vertical windows (10.5 mm for PV laminated glass) under steady-state summer conditions: G= 1000 W/
m2; y =601; Ta = 33 1C; Tr = 25 1C; ho = 22.7 W/m2 K; hi = 8.29 W/m2 K.

Case no. Glass type VT U-factor SHGC Glass Room heat Remark
temp (1C) gain (W/m2)

S1 Clear glass 0.888 6.010 0.777 34.0 465

S2 Tinted glass 0.534 6.017 0.524 40.6 361
S3 Reflective on clear glass 0.311 6.023 0.348 35.4 256 Reflective coating at surface 1
S4 Reflective on tinted glass 0.122 6.020 0.293 37.0 223 Reflective coating at surface 1
S5 Low-e on clear glass 0.792 2.406 0.467 40.1 241 Low-e coating at surface 2; e = 0.04
S6 Low-e on tinted glass 0.506 2.406 0.423 46.6 189 Low-e coating at surface 2; e = 0.04
S7 Low-e and reflective on 0.305 2.423 0.341 48.4 134 Reflective + low-e coating at surface 2;
clear glass e = 0.043
S8 PV laminated glass 0.106 5.701 0.280 43.5 213 Electricity generation = 25.7 W
S9 Low-e on clear glass 0.792 5.404 0.387 35.0 275 Low-e coating at surface 1; e = 0.04
(reversed)
S10 Low-e on tinted glass 0.506 5.404 0.301 38.1 229 Low-e coating at surface 1; e = 0.04
(reversed)
S11 Low-e and reflective on 0.305 5.708 0.210 39.4 179 Reflective + low-e coating at surface 1;
clear glass (reversed) e = 0.043

glass usually declines more than its SHGC. Combined use with the
low-e coating with one on top of the other is an alternative. See
the results of S7 for reference. Products like reflective plastic films
may be applied to the inner glass surface of an existing window as
a retrofit measure, but they are less durable.
Architects are generally fond of reflective glazing because of its
glare control and appealing outside appearance. However, the
usage is limited by its Sun mirror effect that may cause
disturbances on traffic roads and nearby buildings. Also in well-
illuminated rooms, the loss of visual privacy and outside views at
night can be a concern to the occupants.
3.3. Low-emissivity glazing
Low-emissivity (low-e) refers to a low emissivity over the long-
wavelength portion of the spectrum. Low-e coatings in colors of
gold, silver or copper offer a range of solar control characteristics.
A typical coating (of thickness around 0.1 mm) has three layers, i.e.
a thin metal layer sandwiched between two dielectric layers. Its
application is able to change the original longwave (l 43 mm)
emissivity of around 0.9 to less than 0.1.
There are two basic coating techniques: pyrolytic and sput-
tered. In pyrolytic coating, metallic oxide is deposited directly
onto the glass surface when it is still hot. The result is a hard
surface layer with good durability. The low-temperature sputtered
process produces soft coats that can be deposited both on flat
glass sheets and thin plastic films. But they are less durable and
should be protected against humidity and physical contact. For
low-solar-gain applications [4], the low-e coating at surface 2 of
the outer glass blocks most of the longwave radiation from the
outside. In Table 1, the results of Cases S5–S7 (with e =0.04) as
compared to S1–S3 show its effectiveness. The reductions in room
heat gain through the addition of the low-e coating are around
48%. The SHGC and U-factor values are also reduced, but good
values of VT can be maintained. However, the glass surface
temperature is extensive ( 440 1C). Reversing the glass plate (i.e.
with low-e coating at surface 1) is able to reduce the glass
temperature by 5–9 1C (as in S9–S11), but the room heat gain will
be increased by 14–21% as a result. Low-e-coated glazings are
popularly used in modern architecture over the world. The market
share is over 30% of the fenestration products installed in the
United States [4]. Nevertheless, the drawback comes from its
relative high production costs.
3.4. Smart windows
Smart windows are essentially ‘‘variable tint’’ glazing. They
make use of chromogenic technologies to change optical proper-
ties in response to external stimulus. Examples are: electrochro-
mic (EC), which responds to electrical voltage or charge,
thermochromic (TC), which responds to temperature, photochro-
mic (responding to UV light), and gasochromic (responding to
reducing or oxidizing gases) [11,13]. Amongst these, the EC
technology is most mature with commercial products available
[14]. An electrochromic (EC) coating, typically about 1 mm thick,
consists of five layers on glass substrate. A thin metallic coating of
nickel or tungsten oxide is sandwiched between two transparent
electrical conductors, through which a distributed electrical field
is set up when a voltage is applied. The glazing switches between
the clear (bleached) and fully colored (transparent prussian blue-
tinted) states with little degradation in view, and can be
modulated to any intermediate state as well. The switching action
requires only low-voltage power (0–10 V DC). The upper and
lower limits of VT are within the ranges of 0.50–0.70 and 0.02–
0.25, respectively. The switching speed is tied to the size and
temperature of the window, typically longer for coloring than
bleaching. The SHGC ranges from 0.10 to 0.50. At the fully colored
state, its energy performance is similar to the tinted
glazing.
At present, there have been studies suggesting that EC
windows cannot provide full control of uncomfortable direct
sunlight effects, such as disability glare and high-luminance spots
[15,16]. Other concerns that hinder its commercialization include
long switching time (in the order of minutes), inadequate colour
rendering, uncertain reliability and high investment.
3.5. Photovoltaic (PV) glazing
PV glazing provides both Sun shading and electricity genera-
tion. The majority come as mono-crystalline silicon wafer (c-Si)
solar cells laminated in clear glass panes. The area of the solar
cells has significant effect on the total heat gain [17]. Other than
using opaque c-Si solar cells, the technology of semi-transparent
amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells on glass has been developed
and commercial products are available [18,19]. During the
production process, the a-Si cells are made thin by adding a
regular pattern of tiny holes. The solar transmittance of the
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216 Tin-tai Chow et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 212–220

translucent glazing can be adjusted by changing the area of these
holes. For this reason, the power output reduction is equivalent to
its visual transmittance. The uniformity in visible light transmis-
sion makes it desirable for working environment applications.
Table 1 shows the performance of one commercial product (S8)
with 4.3% a-Si cell efficiency. Compared with the clear glass
shown, a reduction of 54.2% of the room heat gain is achievable,
and in addition, an electricity generation of 25.7 W. The SHGC is
lowered to 0.28, which is comparable to the reflective on tinted
glass performance.
At present, investment cost, output efficiency and life ex-
pectancy are all drawbacks of PV products. Electricity saving
through daylight scheme is considered not substantial for
residential applications [20]. In future, thin film (TF) solar cells
with much improved cell efficiencies are of good potential to
advance its popularity [21].
4. Double-glazed windows
4.1. With air-sealed cavity
Using multiple panes of glass incorporated with air-sealed
cavities makes it possible to increase the window insulation
significantly. The presence of spacers holds the glass panes apart,
accommodates thermal stress, and in addition, provides moisture
barrier and gas-tight seal. Table 2 lists the energy performance of
double-glazed windows that are built upon the single-glass panes
introduced in Table 1. D1–D8 shows the results of adding a clear
inner pane to each of S1–S8, with a 12.7 mm sealed air space and
assuming the same steady-state environmental conditions. It can
be seen that the U-factor and SHGC values of the double clear
glazing are reduced by 32–53% and 22–65%, respectively as
compared to their single-pane counterparts; but the VT values
remain reasonably high.
The application of low-e coating allows significant reduction of
radiative surface-to-surface heat transfer between the glass
panes. In cases D5–D7 of Table 2, it can be seen that the low-e
coating reduces considerably the inner glass temperature, and
thus thermal comfort is enhanced. On the other hand, the outer
glass pane can be a PV integrated one as in D8 [22] and the inner
glazing temperature is again much improved. Many studies have
been reported in recent years on comparing the energy perfor-
mance of different combinations of multi-pane windows against
the single-pane options, including the effects of sun-shades and
coatings [23–28]. Although detailed results are not shown in these
tables, adding a third or fourth glass pane is able to improve the
insulation further, but this is only significant in cold climate rather
than in cooling-demand climate. Also sacrificed will be its
bulkiness and visual transmittance. To overcome this, one
improvement has been the substitution of thin plastic films for
the middle glass panes. These films, while protected from physical
scratching and weathering, are specially treated to resist UV
degradation and with VT performance similar to glass. Similar to
ordinary glass, low-e coating can be bonded to plastic film to bring
down its U-factor.
4.2. Gas-filled design
In summer, buoyant-induced air currents within the double-
glazing cavity carry absorbed heat to the window top along the
outer pane and consequently, a cool pool developed at the bottom
end of the inner pane [29]. Filling the space with a less conductive
and more viscous inert gas can minimize the scale of thermal
convection and conduction and thus improve the overall insula-
tion characteristics. Manufacturers generally use argon or krypton
as gas fills. These are non-toxic, nonreactive, clear, and odorless.
The use of other suitable gas mixtures with strong infrared
absorption are also studied [30]. The optimal depth of cavity for
an argon-filled window is found relatively the same as for air, i.e.
around 12.5 mm. Krypton has better thermal performance and
thus makes the window thinner, although it is more expensive. A
mixture of krypton and argon gases can be a compromise between
performance and cost. If advanced low-e coatings are employed,
the radiative surface-to-surface heat transfer can be reduced to
below 0.1 W/m2 K. The heat transfer at the gas-filled cavity is then
dominated by gaseous conduction and convection [31]. This
remains at around 1 W/m2 K. The results of D9 and D10 show
that without using the low-e glass panes, the room heat gain will
be substantially increased (more than double).
At the moment, to keep long-term quality assurance of gas-
filled windows can be an issue in product promotion. Keeping the
gas within the window unit depends largely on the quality of the
design and construction, materials in use, and assembly, particu-
larly the sealing techniques. Alternative filling materials such as
phase change material (PCM) have been proposed [32].

Table 2
Energy performance at center of glass of double-glazed vertical windows with 5.7 mm glass panes (10.5 mm for PV laminated glass) and 12.7 mm cavity space (0.12 mm for
vacuum space), under steady-state summer conditions: G= 1000 W/m2; y = 601; Ta = 33 1C;Tr = 25 1C; ho = 22.7 W/m2 K; hi = 8.29 W/m2 K.

Case Glass type VT U-factor SHGC Outer glass Inner glass Room Remark
no. temp (1C) temp (1C) heat gain
(W/m2)

D1 Clear+ Air +Clear 0.793 3.035 0.596 37.1 34.9 380

D2 Tinted+ Air+ Clear 0.476 3.037 0.388 44.7 36.0 256
D3 Reflective on clear +Air + Clear 0.286 3.038 0.273 38.1 32.5 187 Reflective coating at surface 1
D4 Reflective on tinted+ Air +Clear 0.110 3.038 0.216 40.0 32.7 153 Reflective coating at surface 1
D5 Low-e on clear+ Air + Clear 0.706 1.625 0.303 41.7 30.8 194 Low-e coating at surface 2; e
D6 Low-e on tinted+Air + Clear 0.450 1.636 0.209 48.8 30.5 138 Low-e coating at surface 2;
e = 0.04
D7 Low-e & reflective on clear+ Air + Clear 0.274 1.625 0.121 50.6 29.7 85 Reflective + low-e coating at
surface 2; e =0.04
D8 PV laminated glass+ Air + Clear 0.095 2.700 0.177 47.3 35.2 127 Electricity generation =25.7W
D9 Clear+ Argon+ Clear 0.793 2.883 0.598 37.1 34.9 380
D10 Low-e on clear+ Argon+ Low-e on clear 0.629 0.912 0.283 42.1 32.6 176 Low-e coatings at surfaces 2 and
3; e = 0.04
D11 Low-e on clear+ Vacuum + Low-e on 0.629 0.806 0.222 42.8 31.8 139 Low-e coatings at surfaces 2 and
clear 3; e = 0.04
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Table 3
Energy performance at center of glass of ventilated double-glazed vertical windows with 5.7 mm glass panes and 12.7 mm air space, under steady-state summer
conditions: G= 1000 W/m2; y = 601; Ta = 33 1C;Tr =25 1C; ho = 22.7 W/m2 K; hi =8.29 W/m2 K.

Case no. Glass type VT Air stream Glass temp (1C) Heat pick up Room heat Remark
temp rise by air stream gain (W/m2)
(1C) Outer Inner (W/m2)

Air exhaust window; ventilating air inlet temp Tfi = 25 1C

A1 Clear +Airflow +Clear 0.793 5.73 33.8 30.7 109 346 vf =1.5 m/s
A2 Clear +Airflow +Clear 0.793 9.99 35.2 32.4 64 360 vf =0.5 m/s
A3 Tinted+ Airflow+ Clear 0.476 8.72 39.1 31.3 166 217 vf =1.5 m/s
A4 Tinted+ Airflow+ Clear 0.476 14.26 41.7 33.3 91 234 vf =0.5 m/s

Air supply window; ventilating air inlet temp Tfi = 33 1C

A5 Clear +Airflow +Clear 0.793 1.74 35.9 34.1 33 374 vf = 1.5 m/s
A6 Clear +Airflow +Clear 0.793 2.80 36.5 34.5 18 377 vf = 0.5 m/s
A7 Tinted+ Airflow+ Clear 0.476 4.43 41.5 34.7 84 245 vf = 1.5 m/s
A8 Tinted+ Airflow+ Clear 0.476 7.06 43.0 35.4 45 250 vf = 0.5 m/s

4.3. Evacuated windows
An evacuated window consists of two glass panes separated
by a narrow vacuum space of around 0.12 mm. The depth of this
separation can be maintained by means of a regular array of
support pillars, typically 0.32 mm in diameter, and distributed at
a grid spacing of 25–40 mm. The pillar material, like stainless
steel, possesses high compressive strength and low-conducting
characteristics [33]. The mechanical strengths of the glass panes
and edge seal are to be sufficiently strong against thermal stress
and wind loads. Current technology allows edge seal employing
indium wires and epoxy resin be formed at low temperature
( o 200 1C) [34,35]. The ratio of the heat transfer through the
edge seal to that through the whole evacuated glazing varies
with the window dimensions. A thermal transmittance of 0.4 W/
m2 K is achievable for double-vacuum glazing of 1 m2 area [31].
It is essential to use low-e glass panes (at surfaces 2 and 3) to
reduce the inner-pane radiation heat transfer. D11 of Table 2
shows its excellent performance. Alternatively for the one with
very low emissivity (e.g. e = 0.02), using only one single low-e
glass pane may provide sufficient insulation.
Commercial double-vacuum glazing unit has a thermal trans-
mittance of around 1.5 W/m2 K. The production is by keeping the air
pressure to less than one millionth of the atmosphere. A higher level
of air pressure at around ten times this amount would bring the
thermal transmittance close to the normal double-glazed situation.
Manufacturing problems encountered are the resistance to wind
pressure, and the long-term quality of the edge seals.
4.4. Airflow windows
Double-pane windows may use cavity airflow as a means of
improving heat recovery or reducing losses. Upward flow is
typical in order to make full use of the thermal buoyancy effect.
Methodology of assessment and comparison has been developed
[36]. During the cooling season, an exhaust air window can
extract air from the room to the outdoor space through vent
openings. The driving force can be either the pressure differential
(forced flow) or temperature differential (natural flow). Due to the
cooling action of this air stream, the temperature of inner glass
pane is considerably lowered. So, thermal comfort is improved.
Some samples of results are listed as Cases A1–A4 in Table 3 using
clear/tinted glass panes as well as two flow velocities of 1.5 m/s
(that represents forced flow) and 0.5 m/s (for natural flow). The
actual flow rates in practice will depend on the construction of the
specific window system including the design of the intake and
discharge louvers, which affect the overall flow resistance of the
system. Compared with the air-sealed space (D1), the natural flow
(A2) is able to reduce the room heat gain by 8.9% for clear–clear
panes and the inner glass pane temperature reduces by 2.5 1C.
These are 8.6% and 2.7 1C in the case of tinted-clear combination
(D2 and A4).
Emerged from the ventilating cavity concept has been the solar-
screen glazing system, which seeks to limit radiant transfer in
summer while preserving the benefits of solar heating in winter. The
system consists of a reversible window frame holding two glazing
components: a clear pane (that provides a weatherproof seal) and an
absorptive pane (having top and bottom vent openings for airflow).
While the airflow may be natural or mechanically driven, the
occupant may wishfully rotate the window in order to have the
absorptive pane facing either the room (for space heating in winter)
or the outside (for reducing unwanted heat in summer).
From our results listed for Cases A7 and A8, it can be seen that
the forced/natural flow (as compared to D2) reduces the room heat
gain by 2.3–4.3% only, and lowers the inner glazing temperature by
not more than 1.3 1C. Cases A5 and A6 are included to demonstrate
that the clear–clear ventilating concept is even less effective (when
comparing with D1 results).
The potential application of solar-screen windows in different
locations has been evaluated extensively [37–39]. The findings
confirmed that the reversible window frame can be suitable for
those locations with distinct heating and cooling seasons. For places
within the warm climate zone, the absorptive pane should always
set to face outward. Furthermore, innovative dual-airflow window
and natural-ventilated PV double-glazed window systems have been
proposed [40,41]. But so far these proposed concepts remain at the
R&D stage. Comparatively, the heat extraction capability of flowing
water is much better than flowing air. Introduced in Section 5 is our
innovative concept of water-flow windows.
5. Water-flow windows
A water-flow window carries a water circuit that allows a
stream of clean water to flow upward within the entire space
between two glass panes. Fig. 3 shows the physical configuration
and the energy flow analysis.
5.1. The sampled cases
Listed in Table 4 are our numerical results of energy
performance of water-flow windows, which are making use of
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218 Tin-tai Chow et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 212–220

the cavity space of double-glazing for water delivery at flow heat transfer mostly takes place within the fully developed
velocity of 0.001 m/s (representing natural flow) and at 0.005 m/s laminar flow regime. Three different configurations of glass
(representing forced flow; as illustrated by the insignificant water panes have been studied: clear–water–clear, clear–water–
temperature rise). In a cavity of 10 mm between glass panes, the reflective and tinted–water–clear. These glass types are selected
based on their relative low production costs. In our results of W1–
W6, the amounts of water heat gain are in the same order of
magnitude as the room heat gain. The performance of useful heat
extraction and room load reduction are much better than the air
supply window cases (A5–A8). On the other hand, the VT levels
and inner glass pane temperatures are comparable to those of the
ambient room
other double-glazed and ventilated-glazed cases listed in Tables 2
and 3. This indicates that the water-flow window system is able to
provide similar controlled level of discomfort glare and thermal
comfort to the occupants.
Comparatively, the clear–water–clear cases (W1 and W4) are
water flow to less attractive on room heat gain and water heat gain. However,
glass upper header the VT level is relative high and so the introduction of daylight-
saving scheme will give better return. On the other hand, the
thermal radiation thermal radiation water-filled double-clear glass combination changes very little the
from surface 1 from surface 4 incident natural light spectrum. The effect is different from the
clear–water–reflective cases (W2 and W5), which give the best
reductions in room heat gain and a moderate level of water heat
gain. The disadvantage is the lower VT level, implying the more
thermal
reliance on artificial lighting. Finally the tinted–water–clear cases
convection thermal convection (W3 and W6) show the best water heat gain, an attractive level of
reduction in room heat gain, and a moderate VT level. This
thermal configuration could be the best, at least amongst the three, in
conduction achieving overall electricity saving in terms of air-conditioning,
lighting, and water-heating consumptions.
incident solar
thermal radiation exchange Although in Table 4 the saving levels are found higher in the
radiation
between surfaces 2 and 3 forced flow than the natural flow cases, the level of water
temperature rise favors the use of natural flow design. A sufficient
temperature differential is important whenever a secondary heat
solar exchanger is likely involved. Nevertheless, a complete evaluation
reflection solar has to be on the entire system basis, such as the inclusion of
transmission pumping power and transmission losses.
water
discharged from
lower header solar absorption
5.2. The rationale

From the above overview and discussions, there are two

general principles in the sustainable design of window systems
for cooling-demand locations:

(i) To filter out the solar transmission particularly the infrared

spectrum, but excluding the visible light range which is to be
Fig. 3. Energy flow paths at water-flow double-pane window. controlled well and fully utilized; and where possible,

Table 4
Energy performance at center of glass of water-flow vertical windows with 5.7 mm glass panes and 10 mm channel space, under steady-state summer conditions:
G= 1000 W/m2; y = 601; Twi = Ta = 33 1C;Tr = 25 1C; ho =22.7 W/m2 K; hi = 8.29 W/m2 K.

Case no. Glass type VT Water Glass temp (1C) Heat pick up Water collector Room heat Remark
temp rise by water stream efficiency (%) gain (W/m2)
(1C) Outer Inner (W/m2)

Forced flow system; flow velocity in channel = 0.005 m/s

W1 Clear+ Water flow+ Clear 0.674 0.66 33.8 33.3 139 23.3 314
W2 Clear+ Water flow+ Reflective on Clear 0.243 1.09 34.0 33.9 228 38.2 171 Reflective coating
at surface 3
W3 Tinted+ Water flow + Clear 0.404 1.29 35.1 33.4 271 45.4 196

Natural flow system; flow velocity in channel= 0.001 m/s

W4 Clear+ Water flow+ Clear 0.674 2.46 35.2 33.9 103 17.3 319
W5 Clear+ Water flow+ Reflective on Clear 0.243 4.08 35.9 35.7 171 28.7 186 Reflective coating
at surface 3
W6 Tinted+ Water flow + Clear 0.404 4.45 38.5 34.4 187 31.3 204
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
Tin-tai Chow et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 212–220
(ii) To convert the incoming solar irradiance into a source of
renewable energy, and thereby reducing the room heat
gain.
The later becomes important when the utilization of solar
energy is to be maximized in a building with limited external
facade area. Although there are many new window options
actively under research and/or becoming commercially available,
not many of them are currently well satisfying the client’s
expectations. In particular the environmental performance,
system reliability as well as finance implications are all important.
For example, the advantages of ventilated PV glazing technology
lie in its capability of direct electricity generation and electricity
saving through a mix of reduction in air-conditioning load and
artificial light consumption. However, the high investment cost
and lengthy economical payback period inevitably discourage
business support based on life cycle cost analysis. The promotion
of building integrated PV projects so far mainly relies on
incentives like social image, government subsidiary and/or carbon
credits. The above sample of results shows that the double-glazing
type D7 with low-e & reflective on clear pane is the one able to
achieve minimum room heat gain at 85 W/m2. A similar water-
flow window W5 designed for natural flow (without the use of
pump) would have a higher room heat gain of 186 W/m2.
However, this extra 101 W/m2 space cooling demand is well
offset by the useful water heat gain at 171 W/m2.
Although water has been widely used in solar thermal
systems, its role in solar heat extraction via window glazing is
not well examined. Window glass occupies a major portion of the
building facade, particularly for high rise buildings. It is expected
that they will be more and more extensively used in modern
architectures. Water-sealing techniques have been well developed
for glass surfaces. As a matter of fact, water is natural, colorless,
odorless, non-toxic, plentiful and in need by all of us. In modern
cities, people prefer warm water bath even in hot
summer.
The initial investment and operating costs of a water-
flow window system is expected low and the incremental costs
can be comparable to solar water-heating installations. Such
window system as a hot water pre-heating device is deemed to
have very good application potential in residences, elderly homes,
health clubs, sport centers, swimming pools, hotels and any
domestic–commercial complex with a stable demand of hot
water.
6. Conclusions
An overview has been given to the variety of proven and
emerging window technology for cooling-demand climate as at
present. Their energy performance has been discussed and
illustrated through the use of specific sunny summer conditions.
Although there have been extensive studies on the sustainable
glazing technology such as the advanced variable tint, solar-
screen, airflow and electricity conversion window systems, so far
very little efforts have been on the study of solar heat removal
using the double-glazing cavity as the water-flowing channel. Our
numerical results indicate that the water passage in this way can
effectively lower the inner glass pane temperature, reduce room
heat gain and therefore, the air-conditioning electricity consump-
tion. Thermal and visual comfort can be enhanced. The water-flow
window can also function as a hot water pre-heating component.
The findings here reported are encouraging and the technology
deserves more attention.
219
Acknowledgements
The work described in this article was supported by the
Research Grants Council of HKSAR (Project no. CityU112107) and
the City University of Hong Kong (Project no. 7002317).
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