Performance of different translucent materiales used in building covers

SILVANA FLORES LARSEN; GRACIELA LESINO,

Santiago de Cjile

Congreso; 20th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture; 2003

ABSTRACT: This paper studies the energy transmitted by a set of different translucent covers used in buildings: single 3mm glass, 4mm alveolar polycarbonate, and an angle selective polycarbonate. The transmittance of these materials depends on the cover optical properties, on cover geometrical factors as thickness and spacing between ribs, and on sun ray geometry as incidence angle and azimuth. The global visible transmittance measurements on common polycarbonate covers of 4mm thickness, 3mm glass and angle selective polycarbonate panels are compared and analyzed. The results obtained in the calculation of the hourly transmitted energy for each cover, in a summer day and a winter day in Salta city, Argentina, are presented.