Numerical study and thermal evaluation of a triple glass window under Mexican warm climate conditions

Abstract The conjugate heat transfer in a triple glass window (TG) is presented to determine the air-gap width that improves its thermal performance under a warm Mexican climate. Five different air-gap widths (Hc = 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22 mm), 4mm of thickness for each glass, and 80 cm in height are considered. Hourly climatic data of the coldest and the warmest day of Merida were used to assess the thermal behavior of the TG, and the results were compared against a double glass (DG) and a singles glass window (SG). A validated numerical code based on the Finite Volume Method was developed to model the windows. We found that an air-gap width of 10 mm reduces the hourly heat flux to the indoor during the warmest day up to 17.7 and 38.7 % compared to the DG and SG, respectively. Moreover, the daily total heat flux, electricity cost, and CO2 emission on the TG are up to ≈ 40 % lower than an SG, respectively. Therefore, we recommended a TG to improve the thermal performance on windows under weather conditions of Merida, Yucatan.