Case 1. Automatic Shade

In the first case study, we consider an automatic rolling shade, which closes when the incident solar radiation on the wall exceeds 300 W/m2. Figure 6 displays the frequency of incident radiation when the shading is installed. It is observed that the shading system will be active from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. However, at 10:00 am, it will be only active 20% of the time, and at 4:00 p.m. less than 10% during summer (Fig. 7 -Up). Meanwhile, the main activity of the shading system will be from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., where the shades will be closed approximately 50% of the time. Such pattern may be unreasonable for schools and offices which require adequate daylight throughout the day, while also affects the electric energy consumption by requiring extended lighting hours during midday.