Abstract
Residential and commercial buildings are responsible for almost 50% of the total electricity consumption in Egypt. This percentage is expected to increase due to the global warming effect. This work deals with the cooling energy use reduction strategies for residential buildings compatible with the Egyptian market accounting for the global warming effects. A study in the Egyptian market was done to explore the best available technologies in the Egyptian market. A series of dynamic simulations were executed in each city to optimize the building envelope using the best available technologies to reduce the cooling needs. Financial, energetic and environmental factors were taken into consideration, and comparative analysis was done to assess the best alternatives. The double wall with air gap and insulation on the outside was found to be the best alternative in all the cities. Moreover, simple measures to further reduce the cooling energy need were explored, such as the usage of more efficient lighting and night ventilation. This work led to an average reduction of 40% in the cooling energy needs and CO2 emissions across the three cities, with a maximum discounted payback period down to 6.3 years. Future weather files adapted to climate change were generated, and the selected passive strategies were tested to assess the validity of such strategies in the future. The cooling energy needs are expected to increase by 39%, while the peak cooling loads are also expected to increase by 23% by 2080, rendering the current installed HVAC systems undersized.
Highlights
Egypt has been known to mainly depend, in all its energy-related activities, on three major sources: oil, natural gas and the hydroelectric power generated from the large dam project over the Nile: The High Dam [1]
Residential and commercial buildings are responsible for almost 50% of the total electricity consumption in Egypt
This work deals with the cooling energy use reduction strategies for residential buildings compatible with the Egyptian market accounting for the global warming effects
Summary
Egypt has been known to mainly depend, in all its energy-related activities, on three major sources: oil, natural gas and the hydroelectric power generated from the large dam project over the Nile: The High Dam [1]. Despite being a major producer and net exporter of oil, especially in the 1990s, when its oil production peaked, reaching approximately over 900,000 barrels per day, Egypt became a net oil importer around 2009/2010. This can be traced back to both economic and population accelerated growth, which accompanied the beginning of the new millennium, leading to an increase in consumption by about 3% per year, resulting in growing of demand and falling in production that could roughly meet consumption requirements [2]. Since a sizeable portion of the building stock in Egypt is considered heritage, the passive cooling strategies are important to be considered [8]
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