Comfort analysis of hafnium (Hf) doped ZnO coated self-cleaning glazing for energy-efficient fenestration application.

Abstract

To attain a comfortable building interior, building windows play a crucial role. Because of the transparent nature of the window, it allows heat loss and gain and daylight. Thus, they are one of the most crucial parts of the building envelope that have a significant contribution to the overall building energy consumption. The presence of dust particles on a window can change the entering light spectrum and creates viewing issues. Thus, self-cleaning glazing is now one of the most interesting research topics. However, aside from the self-cleaning properties, there are other properties that are nominated as glazing factors and are imperative for considering self-cleaning glazing materials. In this work, for the first time, Hf-doped ZnO was investigated as self-cleaning glazing and its glazing factors were evaluated. These outcomes show that the various percentages of ZnO doping with Hf improved the glazing factors, making it a suitable glazing candidate for the cold-dominated climate.