Integration of Solar Panels as the Shading Devices to Lower the Indoor Air Temperatures

This study tries to verify how the integration of solar panels as a shading device can reduce indoor air temperature. Two stages of the experiment have been conducted, the first experiment compared the shadowing performance of the solar panels placed parallel in front of the window, while the second experiment compared the shadowing performance of the solar panels placed 45 degrees on the top edge of the window with the panels aligned in front of the window. Two models of similar buildings have been built; to see how much influence the location of solar panels as a shading device, the surface temperature of the glass and indoor air temperature were measured using temperature and humidity data loggers. The measurement results of the first experiment showed that compared to a model without solar panels, especially from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., significantly decreased by an average of 2.5°C and 0.6°C consecutively to the glass surface temperatures and the indoor air temperatures. In the second experiment, the comparison of shadowing performance between solar panels placed parallel in front of the window with panels placed tilted 45 degrees indicates that especially for windows on the East side the use of solar panels placed parallel in front of the window is more potential. This result also has the potential to become a renewable energy source, but further research is still needed, especially regarding solar panel electricity production capacity.