Reduction of Natural Gas Consumption by Establishing Operation Strategies of Heating Systems in Mosques

Abstract

Carbon dioxide emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels contributes to climate changes. This study aimed to reduce CO2 emissions by reduction of the amount of natural gas consumption for heating and deciding suitable usage strategies of underfloor heating systems in mosques where Muslims regularly visit to pray and meet their social needs. The Haci Hasan Sert Mosque, which is a typical neighborhood mosque in Yalova, Turkey, and has an underfloor heating system was selected for the study. The natural gas consumption rate and CO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emissions were simulated for various scenarios. The simulation results were validated by comparing them with the monthly fuel consumption bills. Continuous operation strategies for the underfloor heating system were investigated for average loop water temperatures of 30, 40, 50, and 60°C. Furthermore, the effects of intermittent operation of the heating system during prayer and 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes before prayer were analyzed. The findings showed that there were no significant differences in monthly natural gas consumption (average 90 kWh) and CO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> emissions (average 136 kg) between loop temperatures of 40 and 50°C in the case of continuous operation of the underfloor heating system (Scenario-I). The annual gas consumption (4988 kWh) and CO <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> emission (7572 kg) were lowest when the underfloor heating system was operated intermittently at 30°C during prayer times.