Developing a strategy to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions from underfloor heating systems in mosques: A case study of a typical neighbourhood mosque

Abstract

This study aimed to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in a typical neighborhood mosque in Yalova, Turkey, where winters are mild and rainy and the average monthly outdoor temperature can typically drop to 4 °C, by improving the operating strategy of its underfloor heating system (UHS) while maintaining thermal comfort. The mosque has a thick outer wall and a large indoor volume and therefore high thermal inertia. Dynamic computer simulations were performed for each operating strategy employing input data from measurement. Six operation strategies were devised with respect to prayer times. When UHS was operated only during prayer times, energy consumption and CO2 emissions decreased, but thermal comfort was not achieved. When the UHS was operated only at night, comfortable conditions during prayer times were not achieved either. In the scenarios where UHS was used only during the day but not between morning and noon prayers, CO2 emissions increased. In the last scenario, the UHS was turned off between morning-noon and night-morning prayers, considering individual average hot water loop temperatures for each month. In this scenario, an annual saving of 89 kWh (0.81 kWh/m2day) of natural gas and 136 kg/day of CO2 emissions was attained while providing comfortable conditions. This means a 9% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by employing an appropriate heating operation strategy in a typical medium-sized neighborhood mosque.