Search results

The two main contributing factors that control the overall buildings’ energy performance are the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system and the envelope design. Environmental design guidelines that consider these two factors aim to lower energy consumption. However, they are regional and climate-sensitive. This study aims to investigate how three main buildings’ envelope design variables (orientation, compactness and window to wall ratio) impact the overall building’s energy consumption within Kuwait’s regional and climate conditions.

This study simulate the energy consumption of typically shaped buildings by varying their geometry between a square to a rectangular floor plan. This study analyse the associated energy usage and provide early-stage envelope design guidance specific to the country’s conditions, to make informed decisions towards environmentally conscious buildings.

The analysed envelope variables have the potential to reduce energy consumption by 40%, and the possibility to reduce HVAC system capacity by 30%. In contrast to the general guidance in literature and standards, the simulation results demonstrate that less compact building forms perform on occasions better than the most compact ones.

The objective of this paper is to quantify the energy consumption rates for buildings located within the Arabian Peninsula, an under-studied region with potentially high interest considering three main envelope design variables. The buildings’ yearly energy consumption patterns are unique and suggest different envelope design considerations, compared to other regions with different climate conditions. This emphasises the importance of regional guidelines for the different factors associated with energy and buildings’ environmental performance.

An important part of the knowledge required for designing the envelope of a new building is based on experience. Confronted with a building envelope design problem, a human expert adds to well‐established domain knowledge his/her own experience or the experience of others, to support his/her reasoning process, and to guide him/her in stereotypical situations. Based on that observation, we can conclude that the building envelope design fits well the description associated with the so‐called “weak theory domains”, and is a prime candidate for adopting a case‐based reasoning (CBR) approach. Proposes strategies to encode, organize, and compare prototypical building envelope cases within a CBR framework for selecting the construction alternatives during the preliminary stage of the building envelope design. The methodology presented aims to find the most suitable design alternative for a new building envelope from a library of prototypical building cases.

Commercial buildings, which include office buildings, are one of the three major energy-consuming sectors, alongside industrial and transportation sectors. The vast increase in the number of buildings is a positive sign of the rapid development of Malaysia. However, most Malaysian government office buildings tend to consume energy inefficiently due to lack of energy optimization. Most of the previous studies focused on the performance of green buildings in fulfilling the green development guidelines. As such, it is essential to study the energy performance of existing government office buildings that were constructed before most energy-efficient standards were implemented to mitigate energy wastage due to the lack of energy optimization. This study aims to analyse the energy performance of existing non-green Malaysian government office buildings and the factors that influence building energy consumption, as well as to evaluate the efficacy of the existing energy conservation measures.

This study was conducted by a literature review and case study. The chosen buildings are six government office building blocks located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. In this study, a literature review has been conducted on the common factors affecting energy consumption in office buildings. The energy consumption data of the buildings were collected to calculate the building energy intensity (BEI). The BEI was compared to the MS1525:2019 and GBI benchmarks to evaluate energy performance. SketchUp software was utilized to illustrate the solar radiation and sun path diagram of the case study buildings. Finally, recommendations were derived for retrofit strategies based on non-design factors and passive design factors.

In typical government office buildings, the air-conditioning system consumed the most energy at 65.5%, followed by lighting system at 22.6%, and the remaining 11.9% was contributed by office appliances. The energy performance of the case study buildings is considered as satisfactory as the BEI did not exceed the MS1525:2019 benchmark of 200 kWh/m2/year. The E Block recorded the highest BEI of 183.12 kWh/m2/year in 2020 due to its north-east orientation which is exposed to the most solar radiation. Besides, E Block consists of rooms that can accommodate large number of occupants. As such, non-design factors which include higher occupancy rate and higher cooling demand due to high outdoor temperature leads to higher energy consumption. By considering passive design features such as building orientation and building envelope thermal properties, energy consumption can be reduced significantly.

This study provided a comprehensive insight into the energy performance of Malaysian government office buildings, which were constructed before the energy-efficient standards being introduced. By calculating the BEI of six government office buildings, it is found that the energy performance of the case study buildings fulfils the MS1525 benchmark, and that all their BEIs are below 200 kWh/m2/year. Malaysia's hot and humid climate significantly affects a building's cooling load, and it is found the air-conditioning system is the major energy consumer of Malaysian government office buildings. This study discusses the efficacy of the energy-saving measures implemented in the case study buildings to optimize energy consumption. Recommendations were derived based on the non-design factors and passive design factors that affected the energy consumption of the case study building. It is envisioned that this study can provide practical strategies for retrofit interventions to reduce energy consumption in Malaysian office buildings as well as for office buildings that are in a similar climate.

The purpose of this study is to present the importance of integrating common features between the Green Mark Scheme (GMS) and the Buildable Design Appraisal System (BDAS) requirements in building envelopes.

The study presents the common features that influence both the GM score of the building envelope and the buildability score of the wall system. A case study is developed to show the effects of varying the value of a representative common feature in the GM score and the buildability score.

The study finds that lengths of window and wall, and wall materials are the common features that can influence the GM score of the building envelope and the buildability score of the wall system. The case study suggested that the window‐to‐wall ratio (WWR), which is the representative common feature, shows negative relationship with the GM score of the building envelope and positive relationship with the buildability score of the wall system.

The results show that varying the WWR influences the GM score of the building envelope more strongly than the buildability score of the wall system. This seems to imply that building professionals when determining the WWR may have to concern themselves with the GM score of the building envelope more as compared to the buildability score of the wall system.

The study suggests that integrating the common features between GMS and BDAS requirements with other relevant factors such as cost, social and environmental impacts of design can help to save workload, time and budget, as well as facilitate the delivery of more reliable design, planning and management from a practical viewpoint.

The aim of the research is to determine the influence of photovoltaic (PV) installation and the share of façade glazing on the energy profile of nursery buildings in the Baltic Sea region, as well as defining the most favorable configuration in terms of energy efficiency.

The article provides comparative calculations of energy performance indicators (Ep, Ed, Eu) and CO₂ emissions (mCO₂) made for the defined model of the nursery. It includes calculations concerning energy performance of the building, depending on its PV power (0–60 kWp), PV efficiency (100 and 85%) and façade glazing ratio (GR = 25%, 50% and 75%).

The results of the research indicate that an increase in the PV power exerts proportional impact on the reduction of the Ep and Ed indicators, as well as on the CO₂ emissions. Only low GR values (25%) reduce the Eu indicator significantly. Decrease in high range of GR values (over 50%) does not provide proportional effects. In the variant: 60 kWp (100% efficiency) with GR = 25%, the biggest share (99.5%) of RES was obtained. This proves that the concept of energy independent nursery buildings is feasible and reasonable in the examined location.

Designing buildings towards environmental neutrality requires laborious pre-design conceptual work before developing the right solutions. The set of results of the relationship between the variables of the building's envelope, energy performance indicators and the required involvement of active RES installations to achieve high energy performance of a building presented in the article is valuable. It allows for a preliminary decision of the direction of the design solutions selection in the design process of public utility buildings, such as nurseries. Thus, it may significantly shorten the pre-design analysis process for the location of the southern part of the Baltic Sea region.

The novelty of the paper relies on examining the dependences between PV power and façade glazing ratio in terms of their influence on energy profile of nursery buildings.

The fundamental aim of the study is to investigate the implications of labor housing designs in Dubai, with a focus on courtyards and the governing building regulations, on daylight performance as an underlying factor impacting laborers’ indoor environmental quality. Several studies shed light on the subject of labor camps and labor migration in Dubai, but few have focused on the subject from the perspective of the environmental performance of these camps. A model that represents one of the labor camps was built using Rhinoceros 7.0 and Grasshopper software packages. Annual daylighting and glare simulations were carried out using the lighting modeling engine RADIANCE 5.0 in conjunction with the “ClimateStudio”.

The construction sector has emerged as a significant economic development driver, attracting a diverse labor force from a variety of countries to Dubai. As a result, Dubai authorities have implemented several measures to ensure the provision of suitable housing facilities for its labor force. These measures contribute to the reduction of energy costs in labor housing by encouraging the use of renewable energy. While several studies shed light on the subject of labor camps and labor migration in Dubai, few have focused on the subject from the perspective of the environmental performance of these camps.

The study provided statistical evidence that the current regulations governing courtyards in labor housing resulted in significant changes in daylight levels across different floor levels of the labor housing units. It is suggested that both 2:3 and 3:4 Court Width-to-Height ratios would further contribute to a more consistent daylight Illuminance with marginal statistical differences between floor levels (p > 0.05). The 3:4 ratio, on the other hand, offers a consistent distribution across all floor levels in the North and South with negligible variances, although weakly significant differences can be yet expected between the first and fourth floors in the East and West orientations (p < 0.05). The results of Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) suggest excessive solar incidence and a high probability of glare, which remains a problem that must be addressed under the governing building regulations.

This study could serve as a framework for analyzing and contrasting the findings of other studies on labor accommodation, notably in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Such an approach has the potential to enhance living conditions in labor accommodations in Dubai and other areas. It is necessary to meet people' physical and psychological well-being while also addressing sustainability and regulatory compliance.

This study investigates the impact and economic viability of energy-efficient building envelope and orientation for contributing net zero energy building (NZEB) and suggests optimum thermal insulation thickness, optimum wall thickness, appropriate orientation and glazing types of window in the contexts of unique Bangladeshi subtropical monsoon climate.

The whole study was conducted through energy simulation perspective of an existing office building using building information modeling (BIM) and building energy modeling (BEM) tools which are Autodesk Revit 2017, Autodesk Green Building Studio (GBS) and eQUEST. Numerous simulation patterns were created for energy simulation considering building envelope parameters and orientations. A comprehensive data analysis of simulation results was conducted to sort out efficient passive design strategies.

The optimum thermal mass and thermal insulation thickness are 6.5 and 0.5 inches, respectively, considering energy performance and economic viability. This study highly recommends that a building should be designed with a small window-to-wall ratio in the south and west face. The window should be constructed with double glazing Low-E materials to reduce solar heat gain. The studied building saves 9.14% annual energy consumption by incorporating the suggested passive design strategies of this study.

The output of this work can add some new energy-efficient design strategies to Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) because BNBC has not suggested any codes or regulations regarding energy-efficient passive design strategies. It will also be useful to designers of Bangladesh and other countries with similar subtropical climatic contexts which are located in Southeast Asia and Northern Hemisphere of Earth.

This paper investigates the optimization of window design factors (WDFs) in hospital buildings, particularly in government hospitals within the arid climate of the Qassim region, with the aim of achieving a better cooling load reduction. Continuous monitoring of the hospital ward section is crucial due to patients' needs, requiring optimal indoor air quality and cooling load.

The study identifies the optimal conditions for WDF design to mitigate cooling load, including window-to-wall ratio (WWR), window orientation (WO), room size and U-value (thermal properties), effectively reduce energy consumption in terms of sensible cooling load (MWh/m2) and comply with local codes. Data collection involved a smart weather station, while the Integrated Environmental Solution Virtual Environment (IESVE) software facilitated the simulation process.

Key findings reveal that larger patient rooms were about 40% more energy-efficient than smaller rooms. The northern orientation showed lower energy consumption, and specific WWRs and glazing U-values significantly affected energy loads. In an analysis of U-value changes in energy performance based on the Saudi Building Code (SBC), the presented values did not meet the minimum energy consumption standards. For a valid 40% WWR with a thermal permeability of 2.89, 0.181 MWh/m2 was consumed, while for an invalid 100% WWR with the same permeability but facing the north, 0.156 MWh/m2 was consumed, which is considered an invalid practice. It is vital to follow prescribed standards to ensure energy efficiency and avoid unnecessary costs.

Focus lies in emphasizing the significance of adhering to prescribed standards, such as SBC, to guarantee energy efficiency and prevent unwarranted expenses. Additionally, the authors highlight the crucial role of optimizing glazing properties and allocating the WWR appropriately to achieve energy-efficient building design, accounting for diverse orientations and climatic conditions.

Design teams have difficulties in assessing building carbon emissions at an early stage, as most building energy simulation tools require a detailed input of building design for estimation. The purpose of this paper is to develop a user-friendly regression model to estimate carbon emissions of the preliminary design of office buildings in the subtropics by way of example. Five sets of building design parameters, including building configuration, building envelope, design space conditions, building system configuration and occupant behaviour, are considered in this study.

Both EnergyPlus and Monte Carlo simulation were used to predict carbon emissions for different combinations of the design parameters. A total of 100,000 simulations were conducted to ensure a full range of simulation results. Based on the simulation results, a regression model was developed to estimate carbon emissions of office buildings based on preliminary design information.

The results show that occupant density, annual mean occupancy rate, equipment load, lighting load and chiller coefficient of performance are the top five influential parameters affecting building carbon emissions under the subtropics. Besides, the design parameters of ten office buildings were input into this user-friendly regression model for validation. The results show that the ranking of its simulated carbon emissions for these ten buildings is consistent with the original carbon emissions ranking.

With the use of this developed regression model, design teams can not only have a simple and quick estimation of carbon emissions based on the building design information at the conceptual stage but also explore design options by understanding the level of reduction in carbon emissions if a certain building design parameter is changed. The study also provides recommendations on building design to reduce carbon emissions of office buildings.

Limited research has been conducted to date to investigate how the change of building design affects carbon emissions in the subtropics where four distinct seasons lead to significant variations of outdoor temperature and relative humidity. Previous research also did not emphasise on the impact of high-rise office building designs (e.g. small building footprint, high window-to-wall ratio) on carbon emissions. This paper adds value by identifying the influential parameters affecting carbon emissions for a high-rise office building design and allows a handy estimate of building carbon emissions under the subtropical conditions. The same approach may be used for other meteorological conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the approximate window-to-wall ratio (WWR), window width-to-height ratio (WHR) and sill level for a room in Rasht–Gilan province and to present an optimal window in each of the WWR ranges providing the minimum energy consumption by integrating artificial lighting and thermal analyses, whilst maintaining internal comfort conditions using dynamic evaluation.

The process of modelling has four main steps: 1 – defining the building's features and requirements, 2 – validating input weather file data by on-site measurement, 3 – determining input parameters for the lighting and thermal analysis and 4 – clarifying variable parameters and fitness function for the optimization algorithm. Also, the survey study is performed in a daylit office room, in which 30 employees are employed to answer the questions in three different times of a day. In this process, the impact of daylight on their visual comfort is surveyed in 1,350 different illuminance levels which are manually recorded.

The range of useful daylight illuminance (UDI) values is determined as 200–1,000 lux. The optimum range of WWRs in the case study is 15%–25%. Also, due to the appropriate window height, electric lighting could be decreased by 40%.

Thermal and lighting performance in buildings is the relation of facade characteristics to environmental sustainability. Recent studies focussed on optimizing WWR and window characteristics considering thermal comfort and energy analyses. However, architects need freedom for designing façade and making decisions in their first sketches. Thus a guideline for optimum window conditions in each WWR is required. Also, considering occupants' behaviour in practical buildings, the visual comfort investigation is a gap in WWR optimization.