The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in partnership with the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India has developed novel external shading solution for windows in residential and commercial buildings under the project Habitat Model for Efficiency and Comfort. The shading system named as ShadeSmart has been developed as an innovative and cost-effective solution for achieving indoor comfort with reduced electricity consumption in air conditioning and lighting.
The efforts are being made to make ShadeSmart more affordable than air conditioning in small thermal zones next to external windows, especially in the residential sector. This technology will help to bring inside the buildings more daylight with less heat, thus making occupants comfortable and also more productive and healthy. In the international market, many movable shading devices are available, however, since ShadeSmart is locally produced in India. External shading devices are not common in modern buildings, which are mostly glazed or buildings with curtain walls. In contrast, ShadeSmart changes its configuration depending upon the Sun’s position.
Radiant cooling is perceived COVID safe. In this technology, cooling is achieved through radiant heat transfer, as against regular convective air conditioning, is efficient and gives better quality of thermal comfort. At present, the process to integrate radiant cooling in the National Building Code is being undertaken. Radiant cooled buildings have an extremely high potential of energy-saving (60-70%). The availability of such technology at an affordable cost will help reduce our dependency on imported products.
