There’s weather, and there’s daylight, and there’s vertical sun shading. If you live in a region where there’s lots of sunshine, you already know that once the air conditioning is turned on, the energy bills increase. If you live in an area where winter is cold and it seems as if the sun never shines, then you dread getting your heating bill. But if you install a vertical shading system, not only can you maximize and minimize sun and shade to suit the seasons. You can also bring natural light indoors so that winter days aren’t so dark, and you can add shade on sunny days. It’s all a matter of personal preference. Danpal wants to give you what you want, and we’ve designed and manufactured the vertical louvre system that puts you in charge of the sunshine!
The addition of a vertical shading system can show weather and daylight how to play nice in a way that they wouldn’t otherwise do without a little help from Danpal. Danpal knows how much of an impact a vertical louvre system can have on your structure’s appearance, on the heating and cooling costs, and on the environment. Making the decision to steer the sunlight to suit your personal comfort zone takes architecture into a holistic direction.
How Does Vertical Sun Shading Affect Energy Consumption?
Vertical sun shades are effective because they are based upon knowledge of the sun’s position in the sky. That position—bear with us, it’s a little bit of astronomy here, but it’ll help to understand how vertical sun shading works—is described as altitude and azimuth angles. The angle of the sun when it’s above the horizon is the altitude angle. The sun is at its maximum height at solar noon. The azimuth angle is the angle of the sun’s projection to the ground, relative to the southern direction.
If you don’t have a vertical louvre system that is designed with the position of the sun in mind, the calendar might be a problem. What does that mean? Well, let’s say you’re using blackout curtains to block out the sun. That’s fine for the hot summer months, but what about the spring months, when you’d like a little more of the sun’s warmth coming in? Your blinds aren’t going to change position just because the weather is cooler. A vertical sun shading system, on the other hand, is specifically designed to optimize the position of the sun when you want it the most, and to lower its intensity when you don’t want it as much.
All of which means that if your building’s vertical sun shades are designed well—and if you’re installing Danpal vertical sun shading, you know they are—you have the means to not only improve the quality of natural lighting inside a building, but also lower the building’s peak heat gain and cooling needs. Reductions in annual cooling energy consumption can be as much as 5 percent to 10 percent. Buildings use a lot of energy, so by reducing consumption and increasing energy efficiency with a vertical shading system, you’re helping the planet.
During the cooling season, exterior vertical sun shading can keep solar heat gain from entering a conditioned space where that heat isn’t wanted.
How Does Vertical Sun Shading Affect Personal Comfort?
But there’s a personal consideration if you’re pondering the benefits of external vertical sun shading. Everyone loves a sunny day, but who loves the accompanying glare that can make it hard to see? Glare on a laptop can make it just about impossible to read what’s on the screen, and that means that productivity is reduced. Visual comfort is a significant factor in the workplace. Vertical sun screens can reduce contrast ratios and make it easier to see. Not only does productivity increase as a result, but so does personal comfort. We love sunlight, but when too much is coming inside from the outdoors, it can wear out its welcome.
How Does Vertical Sun Shading Affect A Building’s Appearance?
Exterior vertical sun shading gives a building its own distinctive look. Esthetics have a lot to do with how a neighborhood or business community is perceived and every individual structure plays a part in that perception. The daylighting architecture that Danpal has pioneered also delivers a new aesthetic to your interior working and living space. By balancing daylight and shade, the indoors becomes your own weather comfort zone.
