Housing retrofit for energy efficiency: Utilizing modular date palm midribs claddings to enhance indoor thermal comfort

Abstract

Date palm midribs, major agricultural residues in Egypt, were utilized in the development of a novel prefabricated thermal cladding panel as a local cost-efficient option by which users can retrofit their houses to enhance thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption, while complimenting the existing interior context. The developed panel consisted of midribs-strip-boards cladding surface encasing midribs-fibers non-woven insulating core. Firstly, cladding specimen and insulating core specimens of different densities were tested to determine their thermal conductivity. Secondly, results were used to design various configurations according to the requirements of The Egyptian Code of Energy Efficiency in Residential Buildings. Thirdly, Design Builder “Whole Building” simulations were used to compare between the annual cooling and heating energy consumption savings achieved after using standard insulation methods and savings achieved using the developed thermal-cladding panels. Results showed that midribs thermo-cladding panels effectively enhanced energy efficiency as a successful equivalent to standard insulation wall retrofitting techniques.