The Effect of Geometrical characteristics and Space layout on the Efficient Thermal Performance in Residential Apartments

Abstract

Although many environmental studies contributed to understanding the thermal behaviour of residential buildings, they mostly focused on a set of design strategies that aim to reduce the consumed load by dealing with the building as a whole, without considering the characteristics of the parts and their internal distribution in the residential floor plan. Accordingly, the research aims (within the level of residential towers) to study the effect of the geometrical characteristics and the spatial layout of the apartment represented by the apartment layout system, its openness to the outside, and the geometrical characteristics of its spaces on the efficiency of its thermal performance and the extent of variation between its spaces. To achieve the goal, a thermal simulation was performed using the Ecotect2011 program on a selected sample of 12 apartments for local housing of various projects that cover with their characteristics the variations whose effects are required to be tested within the research objectives. The research came out with a set of conclusions that can give basic indicators to the designer in achieving higher efficiency of the thermal performance of a residential apartment and reducing the variance in the necessary air conditioning load between its spaces.