Experimental Application of Bioclimatic Design Strategies for The Reduction of Cooling Energy Demand in Office Buildings In Tropical Hot-humid Climate

Abstract

Energy consumption in buildings remains a major driver of global warming and is highly impacted by climate change. A fast-growing sector in the construction industry is office development; consuming energy (mainly for heating, cooling, air-conditioning and lighting) 10-20 times more than the residential sectors. It was implied in recent literature that a continuous increase in development means a continuous rise in energy use and building carbon footprint. The study experimented with the innovative design of an office building which explores bioclimatic design concept, optimization of the efficiency of systems and use of renewable energy to determine their impact on cooling energy demand and building carbon footprint. The study developed an experimental model and simulated it through computer simulation using the passive house planning package (phpp) to investigate cooling energy demand within the tropical warm-humid climate of Lagos, Nigeria. Simulated result of the experimental model of office building showed a reduction in cooling demand by 4.42% to achieve passive house standard. The study encourages the implementation of bioclimatic design strategies in the design of office buildings by the building professionals.