The role of window glazing on daylighting and energy saving in buildings

Energy conservation in building arena is essential issue for achieving sustainable environment. However, buildings experienced significant amount of heat gain or loss through window and this will affect the thermal comfort of buildings' occupants. Building without window is able to save energy, but it is not recommended due to the benefits of natural light on visual comfort and the biological effect of natural light on humans. Hence, window design plays important role in building architect. One of the essential parts of window is the glazing. Selecting a window glazing is complicated when energy saving and daylighting aspects of a building are considered concurrently. Optimization techniques offer a balance solution for the contradictions in selecting a window glazing of energy-efficient building. This paper intended to reveal the impacts of window glazing on the energy and daylighting performances of building through the previous researches. Then, the optimization techniques used by various researchers in choosing a glazing are highlighted. The emerging glazing technologies were discussed as well. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.