Developing light transmitting concrete for energy saving in buildings

Energy consumption is constantly increasing all around the world, and one of the substantial energy consumption fields is the electricity required for lighting in buildings. There are various approaches to tackle this problem, among which the use of transparent facades is the common method to reduce electrical energy consumption in modern buildings such as museums; However, these solutions have many problems, such as space security, heat gains during summer, and glare; The main problems related to transparent facades are energy loss through light transmitting seams and visual discomfort. Hence, it is necessary to develop a new method that can pass natural light to enhance visual comfort without damaging the thermal insulation of the building's exterior walls. One solution that can be given to this issue is using light transmitting concrete. In this study, five high-performance light transmitting concrete samples, including the different amounts of optical fiber were made, and their performances in terms of daylight and electricity saving have been analyzed based on simulation with Diva for Rhino software. For a better comparison between different studies, the analysis was done based on the reference office, which had been used in previous relevant studies. As a result, the reference office was modeled in 6 cities (Tehran, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, Vancouver, & Chicago). It was found that using this material along with using lighting sensors resulted in 45.7%, 31.5%, and 38.8% electricity saving for offices in Tehran, Vancouver, and Phoenix, respectively, and also can increase UDI (Useful Daylight Illuminance) by about 39% in Tehran.