Installing Windows According to the Local Climate
Installing Windows According to the Local Climate
January 6, 2014
“We spend most of our lives in a controlled environment,” says Evyatar Erell, associate professor of desert architecture and urban planning at BGU’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.
“We live and work under conditions that are different from those outside. When it’s hot, we turn on our air conditioners; when it’s cold, we use our heaters. We want to be as comfortable as possible at all times.”
The question is how to achieve this comfort, both indoors and out, while maximizing efficiency and conserving energy.
That depends on the location. “The difference between the climatic conditions in Israel for which an architect has to find solutions and those in New York, Paris or London is often significant,” he explains.
“So, too, do the conditions within Israel differ from place to place – such as in Tel Aviv, Eilat or Jerusalem, which need to be addressed differently from an architectural standpoint.”
Prof. Erell, a leading researcher and expert in advanced glazing systems, as well as in microclimates and urban planning, bemoans the misplacement and often-inappropriate size of windows in Israeli apartments, houses and office buildings.
“In England, for example, there is a lack of light, so buildings are designed with large windows to maximize illumination in a room,” he says.
“In Israel, the problem is not that we don’t have enough light, but too much. Yet many Israeli buildings look as though they were designed for Europe, with huge and multiple windows, or they over-compensate with windows that are too small.”
In his office on BGU’s Sde Boker campus, PRof. Erell says, “Unlike other scientific or academic disciplines, architecture doesn’t create innovations that win Nobel prizes. It provides solutions for problems that arise in different environment Researchs.”
One such solution, developed by him, is the Seasons Window, designed to suit Israeli climate conditions, particularly those of the desert. Its fully rotatable frame has a clear pane that provides a weather-tight seal, and an additional tinted pane. A Seasons Window can be rotated to allow in heat and sunlight, or keep it out, while promoting thermal and visual comfort.
Read more on the Israel21C website >>
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