Exploring radiative sky cooling resource map and the impact of meteorological conditions on radiative emitters. A perspective of GCC countries

Abstract

The thermoregulation of indoor spaces has become a pertinent concern due to rising global temperatures and heat agglomeration. Besides extensive energy consumption in conventional air conditioners, the released heat and greenhouse gases exacerbate cooling requirements. Several regions of the world, such as the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean countries, are facing temperature rises almost twice as fast as the rest of the world due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, which have far-reaching consequences for the well-being of nearly 400 million people in this region. This study explored the radiative sky cooling (RSC) potential resource map across the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) region, providing it as a sustainable solution to address the aforementioned challenges. A brief comparison of the daytime, nighttime, seasonal, and annual RSC potential is provided for all six countries within the GCC region. The average annual RSC power is between 116.58 W/m2 and 61.80 W/m2 with an average of 82.60 W/m2. Based on meteorological conditions such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, solar irradiance, cloud cover, and atmospheric transmissivity, the highest RSC power is estimated for Kuwait, with an annual average RSC power of 91.12 W/m2. In comparison, the lowest annual average RSC power of 72.50 W/m2 is found for Oman. Since the climatic conditions within this region remain similar throughout the year, there is not much discrepancy in the average RSC capacity throughout spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Furthermore, the average nighttime RSC power is found to be 92.74 W/m2, which is about 18.47% higher than the daytime average RSC of approximately 67.77 W/m2.