Energy and Buildings 110 (2016) 112119

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Energy and Buildings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild

Effect of an incompletely closed window shutter on indoor

illuminance level and heat gain
Esam M. Alawadhi
Kuwait University, College of Engineering and Petroleum, Mechanical Engineering Dept., PO Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Exterior window shutters are used in hot climate regions to reduce the heat gain, and they are com-
Received 6 April 2015 monly kept incompletely closed during the daytime to illuminate the indoor space. This practice could
Received in revised form 3 September 2015 potentially degrade the thermal effectiveness of the shutter, and increase the heat gain. In this study,
Accepted 18 October 2015
experimental measurements are employed to study the effect of keeping the shutter incompletely closed
Available online 30 October 2015
on the illuminance level and heat gain through the window. The shutter is opened for a distance of 10, 20,
and 30 cm, and the heat gain at the indoor surface of the window are measured. The illuminance level in
Keywords:
the indoor space, outdoor air temperature, and global solar radiation in the site are measured. In May, the
Window shutter
Indoor illuminance level
net heat gain through the window for a closed shutter during the daytime is 92.6 MJ/m2 . If the shutter is
Heat gain opened for 10 cm, the heat gain is increased by 22.1%, and insufcient illuminance level is achieved. If the
shutter is opened for 30 cm, a sufcient illuminance level can be achieved, but the heat gain is increased
by 73.4%. It is recommended to keep the shutter completely closed during the daytime, and relay on the
high energy efcient articial lightings.
2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In hot climate regions, air-condition units are responsible of
the most of electrical power consumption in buildings during the
summer months, and about 70% of generated electrical power
is consumed by these units in Kuwait [1]. The buildings enve-
lope is the physical barrier that separates the indoor controlled
environment from the outdoor unstable environment. Therefore,
the envelopes design and thermo-physical properties have a
signicant impact on the comfort of the occupants and energy
consumption. The envelope of a building is composed of roof,
walls, doors, and windows. For walls and roof, thermal insula-
tion materials are extensively used, and conrmed to reduce the
heat gain [2]. However, windows are account for a large percent
of the cooling load [3], and they are considered as a weak link
for heat ow between indoor and outdoor spaces, and contributed
for about 32% of the total cooling load [4]. Reducing direct solar
radiation and convective heat transfer through windows are one of
the key factors for reducing energy consumption in buildings [5],
and many techniques have been applied for windows to reduce
the heat gain were discussed in literature [6]. The newly devel-
oped materials, innovative techniques for reducing heat gain, and
Tel.: +965 2498 5805; fax: +965 4847131.
E-mail address: esam.alawadhi@ku.edu.kw
new rm regulations regarding low energy buildings are all led
to energy efcient windows. In this regards, modeling of a sim-
ple glass window model was addressed in literature with aim of
understanding the effect of glass thermo-physical on the heat gain.
In the model, the reected, transmitted, and absorbed incident
solar radiation by the glass are considered [7]. Modeling a con-
jugate heat transfer of a double panes window using numerical
method was addressed to determine the optimum air layer thick-
ness between the two panes [8], and minimizing thermal bridging
through window was also investigated [9]. Window with blinds
was investigated by Cuevas et al. [10], and heat transfer coef-
cient for the window was obtained. Double glazed windows with
an enclosed plated blind was theoretically analyzed by Dalal et al.
[11]. Conjugate convection, conduction, and radiation heat transfer
in a double glazed window with a ventilated type blind was devel-
oped by Naylor and Collins [12]. Naturally ventilated and gas lled
windows for hot climates were investigated by Ismail et al. [13],
and they highlighted the inuence of the reectance of the glass on
the total heat gain.
The most effective technique to reduce heat gain through win-
dows is to install exterior shading devices [14], such as window
shutter. The window shutters are typically made of foam lled
aluminum rolling shutter slat. Fig. 1 shows residential buildings
in Kuwait with shutters installed on the windows. Heat gain in
a window with shutter has investigated in literature as a tech-
nique for reducing heat gain [15]. Energy saving using a dynamics

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.10.040
0378-7788/ 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 E.M. Alawadhi / Energy and Buildings 110 (2016) 112119 113

Fig. 1. Residential buildings in Kuwait with shutters installed on the windows.

external shutter in an ofce building was investigated by Hammad

and Abu-Hijleh [16]. The proposed dynamic shutter system with
light dimming can save up to 34.02% of energy used in lightings.
The performance of the shutter shading device in Egypt was pre-
sented by Palmero-Marrero and Oliveira [17]. The shading device
decreases total energy consumption by 55% compared with no
shading case. The phase change material is incorporated in a shut-
ter to reduce the heat gain [18]. The shutter with phase change
material reduces heat gain through the window by 23.3%. A com-
parative analysis of energy performance of traditional wooden and
Aluminum roller shutters was investigated by Yazicioglu [19]. It
was reported that the U-value of the window system with wooden
shutter is twice more than the window with aluminum shutter.
Freewan [20] examined the effect of using shading devices on the
indoor air temperature, and visual environment. The results indi-
cate that temperature was reduced with the shading device to an
acceptable level, and the illuminance level was adequate.
Practically, the shutters are kept incompletely closed during the
daytime to illuminate the indoor space. In this situation, a relatively
outdoor hot air is directly in contact with window, the outdoor sur-
rounding radiation, and solar radiation are directly transmitted to
indoor space. An increase in the heat gain through the window is
expected. Fig. 2 shows outdoor and indoor photos of the window
with an incompletely closed shutter used for the present research.
As shown in Fig. 2b, the outdoor light passes through the opening
distance of the shutter to illuminate the indoor space. The objec- Fig. 2. (a) Outdoor and (b) indoor views of window with shutter.
tive of the present research is to study the heat gain of a window
with an incompletely closed shutter, and compare it with win-
dow with a completely closed shutter. Additionally, the effect of are spaced with distance (La ). The height and width of the window
the incompletely closed shutter on the indoor illuminance level is are (H) and (W), respectively, and the window is facing the west
investigated. direction.
In general, the heat transfer in the window with shutter is in
2. Problem description three-dimensional space. Since the width and height of the win-
dow is typically large compared to its thickness, the ends effect has
The outdoor surface of the shutter is subjected to solar radiation, a negligible effect on the heat transfer in the window, and tempera-
surrounding radiation, and convection, while the indoor surface of ture and heat ux are assumed uniform in the shutter, spacing, and
the glass is subjected to convection and radiations boundary condi- window. There is a signicant temperature difference between the
tion. Solar and surrounding radiations are transmitted to the indoor window and shatter, and natural convection ow of air in the spac-
space through the opened portion of the shutter. Additionally, the ing is induced. Air recirculation in the spacing causes some air to
shutters indoor surface also emits radiation to the window. Fig. 3 ow out of the spacing through the opened portion of the shutter.
depicts the geometrical conguration of a window with an incom- Therefore, a relatively cold air in spacing is replaced by outdoor hot
pletely closed shutter, and the boundary conditions. The thickness air, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Energy is transferred from the outdoor to
of the shutter and window are (Ls ) and (Lw ), respectively, and they the indoor space through the window by convection and radiation.
114 E.M. Alawadhi / Energy and Buildings 110 (2016) 112119
Fig. 3. The geometrical conguration of a window with a completely closed shutter.
The indoor surface of window has a higher temperature than the
indoor air temperature. Therefore, the window emits radiation to
the indoor space, and natural convection is induced alone the ver-
tical surface of the window. Solar radiation is directly transmitted
to the indoor space through the window, and indoor surface of the
shutter and outdoor surroundings are emitting radiation as well.
The energy balance at the indoor surface of the window glass can
be written as [13]:
Qgain = Qconv + Qrad + Qsol + Qsh + Qsurr
The left hand side of Eq. (1), Qgain , is the total heat ux transferred
to the indoor space through the window. The rst term in the right
hand side of Eq. (1), Qconv , is the convection heat ux between the
indoor air and indoor surface of the glass, which can be expressed
as [21]:
Tw
Qconv = kw = hw (Tw Ti )
x at various locations at the window, shutter, and spacing. The mea-
where hw and Tw are the heat transfer coefcient for a vertical sur-
face and temperature at the indoor side of the window, respectively.
Ti is indoor air temperature, and kw is the windows thermal con-
ductivity. The second term in the right hade side of Eq. (1), Qrad , is
radiation emitted by the indoor surface of the glass to the indoor,
which can be expressed as [6]:
4
 
Qrad = w  Tw Ti4
where w is the glasss emissivity,  is StefanBoltzmann constant.
The temperature of the indoor surroundings is assumed equal to
indoor air temperature. The third term in right hade side of Eq. (1),
Qs , is the solar radiation transmitted to the window through the
open portion of the shutter, which can be expressed as [6]:
Qs = w FhH Qsol
where  w is the coefcient of solar transmittance of the window,
FhH is the view factor from the opened portion of the shatter to the
window, and it is dened as h/H. Qsol is the incident solar radiation.
The fourth term in the right hand side of Eq. (1), Qsh , is the radia-
tion emitted by the shutter surface and transmitted to the window,
which can be expressed as [15]:
4
 
Qsh = sh w  FshH Tsh Ti4
where hs is the shutter surface emissivity, FshH is the view factor
from the shatter to the window, and it is dened as (H h)/H. Tsh
is shutter surface temperature. The last term in the right hand side
of Eq. (1), Qsurr , is radiation emitted by the outdoor surroundings
radiation transmitted to the window through the opened portion
of the shutter, which can be expressed as [15]:
4
 
Qsurr = surr w  FhH Tsurr Ti4 (2e)
where surr and Tsurr is the outdoor surroundings emissivity and air
temperature, respectively. For a completely closed shutter, Qs and
Qsurr are eliminated from Eq. (1). The heat ux at indoor glass sur-
face is integrated to obtain the total heat ux for a specic period:
t2
  1
Qgain = Qgain dt (3)
total t
t1
3. Experimental measurements
Experimental measurements were performed for the window
with an incompletely closed shutter and compared with a com-
pletely closed one. The aim of this comparison is determine the
degree of degradation of the thermal performance when the shut-
ter is incompletely closed, and to measure the indoor illuminance
level for all case studies. A double-glazing window of total thickness
of Lw = 2 cm is used, the shutters thickness is Lsh = 0.75 cm, and win-
dow and shutter are spaced by a distance of La = 20 cm. The height
and width of the window is H = 1.35 m and W = 2.90 m, respectively.
The size of the room is 6 m by 8 m, and the room has only one win-
dow. The window is facing west direction, and the experiments
were conducted in May, June, and July. For each month, the shutter
is closed or opened for a distance h = 10, 20, and 30 cm. The exper-
(1)
iment is kept running for two days for each case study to ensure
that a thermal periodic condition is established in the shutter and
window. The window is located at (N29 18 06 , E47 52 44 ).
A heat ux sensor is used to measure heat ux at the indoor sur-
face of the glass, and the reading is used to estimate the heat transfer
coefcient. The heat ux sensors model is OMEGA HFS-4. The heat
ux sensor generates microvolt that is linearly proportional to heat
ux crossing the sensor. OMEGA K-type thermocouples are placed
(2a)
surement error of the thermocouples is 1.1 C, according to the
manufacturer. Additionally, the thermocouples are used to mea-
sure the indoor and outdoor air temperatures. The thermocouples
and heat ux sensor are protected against longwave radiation to
ensure accurate readings. OMEGA TC-08 data acquisition unit is
used to measure temperatures and heat ux. TES 132 solar power
meter is used to measure the solar radiation in the site. The senor
(2b) of the solar power meter is positioned vertically, and facing the
west direction. OMEGA HHLM112SD light meter is used for mea-
suring the intensity of light in the indoor space. The measurement
accuracy of the light meter is 4% of full scale reading, according
to the manufacturer. The light meter sensor is placed horizontally
on a 1.25 m height table, and at distance of 1.5 m from the win-
dow. During the experiments, all articial lights are switched off,
(2c) and the furniture are covered by non-reective sheets to ensure
that the furniture has no effect on the light intensity in the room.
All data acquisitions are programed to take the reading every ve
minutes. FLIR T-460 thermal imaging camera is used to measure the
surface temperature of the shutter and window, and images were
captured at 3 PM for all case studies. The measurement accuracy
of the camera is 2% or 2 C, and the thermal senility is less than
0.045 C, according to the manufacturer.
The window shutter is made of foam lled aluminum rolling
(2d)
shutter slat, and the overall thermal conductivity is 0.0625 W/m2 C
 E.M. Alawadhi / Energy and Buildings 110 (2016) 112119
[18]. The radiation emissivity of the shutter is sh = 0.8. A double
glazed window with emissivity and coefcient of solar transmit-
tance of w = 0.83 and  w = 0.3, respectively, is used. The shading
coefcient of the window is 0.68. The outdoor surrounding is
assumed to have emissivity of surr = 0.5, and its temperature is
equal to the outdoor air temperature. The indoor air temperature
is maintained xed at 23.5 0.5 C during the experiments.
4. Results and discussion
Fig. 4 shows the measured outdoor air temperature, and global
radiation on a vertical surface facing west direction, for May, June,
and July. For August, temperature and solar radiation are very close
to July, but the humidity level is much higher. All measurements are
taken in the middle of the month. In July, the outdoor air temper-
ature variations during the day is the highest, as shown in Fig. 4a.
The minimum temperature is 31.5 C, which is occurred at 5:30
AM, while the maximum temperature is 44 C, which is occurred
at 3:45 PM. On the other hand, the outdoor air temperature
Fig. 4. Measured (a) outdoor air temperature, and (b) global radiation for a vertical
surface facing the west direction, for months May, June, and July.
115
Fig. 5. The values of the indoor illumination level during a day for difference shutter
opening distances.
variation is the lowest in May, and the minimum temperature is
25.5 C, which is occurred at 5:15 AM, while the maximum tem-
perature is 35.25 C, which is occurred at 4:00 PM. In June, the
temperature is varying between May and July, but close to July.
Fig. 4b shows the measured solar radiation in May, June, and July.
The solar radiation measurement is for the west direction. For all
months, the solar radiation starts to increase with the sunrise at 5
AM. From 5 AM to 2 PM, the window is shaded, and the solar radia-
tion is increasing at a very low Rate. At 2 PM, the shutter is directly
affected by sunlight, causing the solar radiation to increase at high
rate, and peak of the solar radiation is occurred at 3:30 PM. Then,
the global radiation is rapidly decreasing as the sun goes down, to
reach zero at 7 PM. In June, the solar radiation during the day are
the highest, and the maximum radiation is 1175 W/m2 . On the other
hand, the solar radiation are the lowest in May, and the maximum
radiation is 1128 W/m2 . In July, the radiation is varying between
May and June, with maximum radiation of 1055 W/m2 .
4.1. Illuminance level
A completely shutter blocks natural illumination, while an
incompletely closed shutter allows some of the natural illumina-
tion that improves the indoor visual environment, saves energy
used for indoor articial lightings [22]. An excessive opening of the
shutter causes glare and signicantly increases the heat gain. The
illuminance is the total luminous ux incident on a surface, and it
measures how much the incident light illuminates a surface. The
SI unit for the illumination is lux, and 1 lx is equal to one lumen
per square meter, lm/m2 . The suitable illuminance level for gen-
eral work in a living room is 150 lx [23]. Fig. 5 shows the measured
values of the indoor illuminance level during a day for difference
opening distances of the shutter. The shutter is opened for 10, 20,
and 30 cm. The presented results are for June, and for other months,
not shown here for brevity, the results are almost identical. Sun
rises at 4:48 AM, and sunset is at 6:47 PM. The solar noon is at
11:47 PM. The gure indicates that the illuminance level starts to
increase rapidly at 5 AM as the sun rises, and becomes nearly invari-
ant from 8 AM to 12 PM. At 12 PM, the sun position is at its highest
angle, and sunlight starts affecting the shutter, increases shutter
temperature and indoor illuminance level. At 1:45 PM, sunlight is
directly penetrating the window through the opened portion of the
shutter, which drastically increases the indoor illuminance level.
116 E.M. Alawadhi / Energy and Buildings 110 (2016) 112119

Fig. 6. Infrared images of the window and shutter with (a) close, opened with distance (b) 10 cm, (c) 20 cm, and (c) 30 cm. The window facing the west direction, and images
are captured in June at 3:00 PM.

Fig. 7. Infrared images of the indoor side of window with (a) close, opened with distance (b) 10 cm, (c) 20 cm, and (c) 30 cm. The window facing the west direction, and
images are captured in June at 3:00 PM.

It can be noticed that the highest indoor illuminance level for all shutter has signicant impact on the illuminance level. Increasing
opening distances is recorded at 3:30 PM. After 4:00 PM, the illu- the opening distance of the shutter from 10 cm to 20 cm causes the
minance level is rapidly decreasing as the sun goes down, to reach lux value to double, and to double more if the distance increased
zero at 6:00 PM. It is clear from Fig. 5 that the opened distance of the further to 30 cm. With just 10 cm opening distance, illuminance
 E.M. Alawadhi / Energy and Buildings 110 (2016) 112119
Fig. 8. Heat ux variations with time at the indoor surface of the window for different opening distances of the shutter, and in (a) May, (b) June, and (c) July.
level is inadequate, because the lux value did not reach the accept-
able value of 150 during the day, and the maximum illuminance
level does not reach even 100 lx. With 20 cm opening distance, the
lux value reaches 150 from 1:20 PM to 4:00 PM. However, the max-
imum illuminance level reaches 180 lx at 3:00 PM, and last for less
than 1 h. On the other hand, with 30 cm opening distance, the lux
value reaches 150 from 11:50 AM to 4:45PM. Hence, the opening
the shutter for 30 cm provides sufcient natural illumination for
about 5 h during the daytime.
4.2. Thermal images
Fig. 6 shows thermal images of the window and shutter captured
in June, and at 3:00 PM. This time is selected because the outdoor air
temperature and solar radiation are the highest. The gures indi-
cate the shutters temperature is more than 60 C, and as a result,
a signicant radiation is emitted to the indoor space through the
window. The experiment measurements indicate, not shown here
for brevity, that the temperature of the outer and inner surfaces of
the shutter are close to each other. The shutters coupling elements
are made of aluminum that work as thermal bridges between the
outer and inner surfaces, and make shutters temperature uniform.
The temperature contours in the gures indicate that the windows
surface temperature is less that the shutters temperature by about
117
20 C, and this signicant temperature difference induces a strong
natural convection in the spacing. Additionally, when the shutter is
completely closed, Fig. 6a, the temperature at its center is 61.1 C,
and once the shutter is opened for just h = 10 cm, Fig. 6b, the temper-
ature is increased by about 5 C. An additional increase to h = 20 cm
and h = 30 cm, Fig. 6c and d, has insignicant effect on the sur-
face temperature of the shutter. When the shutter is completely
closed, the strong natural convection is induced in the spacing, and
cools the shutter from its inner side. On the other hand, when the
shutter is incompletely closed, the outdoor air ows into the spac-
ing, which heats the inner surface of the shutter, as well as the
window.
Fig. 7 shows thermal images of the window at the indoor side.
The gures indicate that when the shutter is close, Fig. 7a, the
windows temperature is 26.7 C. On the other hand, when the
shutter id opened for h = 10 cm, Fig. 7b, the window temperature
reaches 31.1 C, and as a result, a signicant amount of heat is trans-
ferred to the indoor space. An additional increase to h = 20 cm and
h = 30 cm, Fig. 7c and d, has signicant effect on the surface tem-
perature of the window, and its temperature is increased to 33.8 C
and 36.5 C, respectively The preliminary analysis from the ther-
mal images reveals that an incompletely closed shutter causes the
shutter and window to be heated more, and potentially increasing
the heat gain through the window.
118 E.M. Alawadhi / Energy and Buildings 110 (2016) 112119
Fig. 9. The net heat ux during the daytime, for different opening distances of the
shutter, and operating month.
4.3. Instantaneous heat gain
The heat gain of an incompletely closed shutter is presented and
compared with window with a completely closed one. Heat ux at
the indoor surface is calculated using Eq. (1), during the month of
May, June, and July. The heat ux at the indoor surface of the glass
represents heat gain that should be removed by an air-condition
unit to maintain the indoor space temperature xed. Fig. 8 shows
heat ux variation with time at the indoor surface of the window,
for different opening distances of the shutter. The gures indicate
that when sun rises at 5 AM, heat ux starts to increase drastically
until it reaches its peak at 4 PM, and then it decreases as the sun goes
down to reach its minimum value at 6 AM. The noticeable heat ux
increase is not only due to direct solar radiation, but also due to the
outdoor air temperature. For month of May, Fig. 8a indicates that
increasing the opening distance of the shatter causes the heat ux
to notably increase compared to the completely closed shutter. The
maximum heat gain for a close shutter is 260 W/m2 . If the shutter
is opened for 10 cm, the maximum heat gain is slightly increased
to 280 W/m2 . However, if the shutter is opened for 30 cm, the heat
gain is signicantly increased by 35% to 350 W/m2 . The completely
closed shutter will not only block solar radiation, but also protect
the window from direct contact with outdoor air. On the other hand,
opening the shutter allows the solar and surrounding radiations to
access the indoor space, and the window is directly heated by the
outdoor air. In May, the heat gain reaches zero at 6 AM because
of the low outdoor air temperature. It is clear from Fig. 8a, that
the thermal performance of the window is degraded if the shutter
is opened even for small distance, such as h = 10 cm. For June and
July, Fig. 8b and c, the general behavior of the heat ux is similar
to May, but the magnitude of the heat ux is signicantly higher.
For June, the maximum heat gain for a close shutter is 320 W/m2 .
If the shutter is opened for just 10 cm, the maximum heat gain is
increased to 360 W/m2 . However, if the shutter is opened for 30 cm,
the heat gain is signicantly increased by 37.5% to 440 W/m2 . In
June, the heat gain at early morning is still high because of the high
outdoor air temperature. In July, the heat gain characteristics are
similar to June, but the peak of the heat gain is slightly higher, but
it is shifted to 5:30 PM.
4.4. Net heat gain
The instantaneous heat ux shown in Fig. 8 is integrated using
equation (3) to obtain the total heat gain during the daytime, from
6 AM to 6 PM, and presented in Fig. 9. The objective of this analysis
is quantify the heat gain increase because of opening the shutter
for a certain distance to illuminate the indoor space. The result is
for completely closed and incompletely closed with different open-
ing distances, and for May, June, and July. The gure indicates that
when the shutter is completely closed, the net heat ux gain is
always minimum, and the heat gain is increased with increasing
the opening distance. Additionally, the operating month has a sig-
nicant inuence on the heat gain, net heat gain for month of May is
always minimum, and June is the maximum, because the solar radi-
ation in June is the highest. For May, the net heat gain for a closed
shutter is 92.6 MJ/m2 . If the shutter is opened for just 10 cm, the
heat gain is increased by 22.1% to 113.1 MW/m2 . The increase of the
heat gain, which is 20.5 MW/m2 , is equivalent to energy consumed
by about ve lamps of 100 W power for each 1 m2 . However, Fig. 5
indicates that the 10 cm opening distance provides insufcient illu-
minance level and it is always below 150 lx. Hence, in term of energy
consumption, keeping the shutter completely close and relaying
in articial lighting is more efcient. If the shutter is opened for
30 cm, the heat gain is increased by 73.4% to 160.6 MW/m2 . The
increase of the heat gain, which is 68 MW/m2 , is equivalent to
energy consumed by about sixteen lamps of 100 W power for each
1 m2 . However, Fig. 5 indicates that the 30 cm opening distance pro-
vides adequate illuminance level for 5 h. This amount of heat gain is
huge, and relaying in articial lighting is more energy efcient. The
important conclusion from Fig. 9 is that opening the shutter for a
small distance, such as 10 cm, has signicant negative impact on the
thermal performance of the shutter, without any signicant impact
on the indoor natural illumination. Opening the shutter for a large
distance, such as 30 cm, provides an adequate illuminance level,
but the thermal performance of the shutter is severely degraded.
5. Conclusion
Exterior shutters are commonly installed on window to reduce
the heat gain in hot climate regions. The shutters are incompletely
closed during the daytime to illuminate the indoor space, and this
practice reduces the thermal effectiveness of the shutters. The shut-
ter is opened by distance of h = 10, 20, and 30 cm, heat gain at the
indoor surface of the window is calculated using measured outdoor
and indoor air temperature, heat ux at the indoor surface of the
window, and global solar radiation. The heat gain through window
is increased by 11.15 to 73.4% compared to a window with a com-
pletely closed shutter, depending on the shutter opening distance
and operating month. Results indicates that opening the shutter
for a small distance would provide insufcient illumination to the
indoor, but signicantly degrading the thermal performance of the
shutter. For a large opening distance, sufcient illuminance level
is achieved for a period of time, but with huge heat gain. In term
of energy consumption, it is recommended to keep the shutter
completely closed during the daytime, and relay on the articial
illuminations.
Acknowledgment
The work presented was carried out with the nancial and tech-
nical support of the research administration at Kuwait University
under the grant EM02/12.
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