Spectrally Selective Glazings for Residential Retrofits in Cooling-Dominated Climates

Spectrally selective glazings can substantially reduce energy consumption and peak demand in residences by significantly reducing solar gains with minimal loss of illumination and view. In cooling-dominated climates, solar gains contribute 24–31% to electricity consumption and 40–43% to peak demand in homes with single pane clear glazing—standard practice for residential construction built before the implementation of building energy efficiency standards. The existing residential housing stock therefore offers a prime opportunity for significant demand-side management (DSM),but the energy and cost savings must be weighed against retrofit first costs in order for the technology to achieve full market penetration. Using DOE-2.1D for numerical simulation of building energy performance, we quantify the energy and peak demand reductions, cost savings, and HVAC capacity reductions using spectrally selective glazings for five cooling-dominated climates in California. The cost-effectiveness of various material and installation retrofit options is discussed. Glazing material improvements for retrofit applications that are needed to achieve a prescribed cost savings are also given.