New approach to the layout of office floors promises improvements in energy-efficiency

This paper will disclose results from an inquiry into new approaches to the layout of office floors, and their potential contribution to improvements in energy-efficiency. In this inquiry, the daylighting and thermal performance of a model office building was analyzed in two different locations, using both simplified methods and a more advanced simulation tool. After performing an analysis using monthly averages for the climatic location of Trondheim, Norway, the same building was analyzed using hour-by-hour data for Spokane, Washington. Two configurations of the office plan layout were analyzed. A two-story elongated building with the main facades facing North and South was divided into two thermal zones; one along the North side of the building and the other along the South side. While a narrow thermal zone on the South side represents a traditional "European" layout with individual office cells at the perimeter, a deeper South facing thermal zone could represent an open floor plan with individual work stations defined by lower partition walls or cubicles. The findings produced by this study indicate that the layout of the office floor, as reflected in the thermal zoning of the building, seems to play a more significant role in advanced low energy buildings than in traditional ones. In office buildings that employ multiple energy-efficiency strategies, such as daylighting, passive solar heating, thermal insulation, and advanced glazing, a deeper zone facing South will contribute to lower the annual energy requirement for heating, cooling, and electric lighting. A layout characterized by such a "solar zoning" also facilitates the maintenance of both thermal and visual comfort.