How can ISF Academy Save Energy Consumption by Implementing Window Films?

Abstract:

Air-conditioning accounts for 80-90% of electricity use at ISF and releases carbon emissions that rapidly warms up the planet. There is currently more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than at any point in the past 800,000 years (HK2050isnow) and change is crucial. ISF is interested in reducing its total energy consumption from air conditioners. The majority of windows at ISF are single glazed, when sunlight enters a building through these classroom windows, the heat raises the temperature of the room, resulting in an increase of air-conditioning in order to cool the room down to a comfortable temperature. This is a potential source of unnecessary energy consumption and an opportunity to save costs on electricity for the school.

A solution for this problem is window films. Solar window films applied to the glass surface can reduce this effect by reflecting light in the infrared part of the solar spectrum while allowing visible light to pass through so the room does not darken. I will conduct an experiment to put the window films to test. Initially, I will conduct the experiment with two identical rooms and turn on the air conditioner to a set temperature and leave it on for a day, while tracking the energy consumption of the rooms through GHub (The school’s energy management software). I will then find another day where the outside condition is the same and apply window films to one room and set the air conditioners to the same temperature as the first round of the experiment for the day and monitor the energy consumption differences in GHub. To understand the environmental and economical impact of window films, I will also estimate the potential electricity savings for ISF.