Potential measures towards the reduction of cooling loads of office buildings in Ghana

Christian Koranteng,Barbara Simons,Kwabena Abrokwa Gyimah

doi:10.1108/febe-03-2021-0016

Abstract

PurposeGiven the climatic context and economic challenge of Ghana in its developmental strides, energy use of office buildings continues to be a task on the economy. Therefore, the study was about finding measures that could reduce cooling loads in 10 office buildings. The paper presents the outcome of a long-term study of the thermal conditions in a selected number of office buildings in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThrough long-term monitoring of environmental data, the buildings were consequently modelled in a simulation application. Thereafter, a validation of the simulation models (using regression coefficients, r2 of 0.53–0.90) was undertaken towards finding measures to reduce cooling loads.FindingsThe results showed various potentials of efficient lighting, thermal mass, night ventilation, insulation to attic floors, efficient glazing, blind deployments, etc. in reducing cooling loads in the range of 2–17.5%. By combining the potential measures to study their synergistic effects on the loads, 35, 39 and 38% improvements were achieved for the low-rise, multi-storey and fully glazed office buildings.Originality/valueThese potential measures ought to be incorporated in the design, specification, construction and operation of Ghanaian office buildings to reduce the burden on the economy and the environment. Now more than ever, there is the need for climatic regions to come up with empirical data that could help relieve the world's economies from the post-pandemic stress.

Highlights

In the wake of modernism, the current trend of architecture with large glazed areas has not been supported with the much needed energy framework to provide comfort in commercial buildings
The authors found that the results showed a 35% reduction in cooling loads due to the shading device and the shading performance is expected to vary among regions
In finding measures to reduce cooling loads of office buildings in Ghana, the study presented looked at ten buildings under the categories of low-rise, multi-storey and fully glazed buildings

Summary

Introduction

In the wake of modernism, the current trend of architecture with large glazed areas has not been supported with the much needed energy framework to provide comfort in commercial buildings. Ghana’s energy situation over the years has suffered major setbacks due to its over-reliance on hydropower sources. Ofei (2016) reported that the total installed generation capacity of Ghana is approximately 3,200 MW Of this amount, 1,580 MW representing 49.9% is produced from hydropower sources (hydro plants of capacity more than 100 MW are not considered as renewable energy (GOG, 2011), 1,579 MW representing 49.8% is from thermal plants and 8.2 MW representing 0.3% is produced from renewable energy sources (Ofei, 2016). Ghana has over the years added unto its power generation plants, but the addition is barely satisfactory due to the current rate of population growth, urbanisation and developmental direction (industrialisation) of government. The situation is evident in the frequent power rationing which hit the country in 2016, and more recent signs of a decline

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Conclusion