Abstract
Energy savings gained through natural lighting could be offset by the loss of energy through windows; therefore, the target of this study is to examine the effects of enhancing the efficiency of lighting systems on the optimum window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of Jordanian residential structures. This research proposes the hypothesis that the WWR of residential structures that contain artificial lighting systems with increased efficiency will be lower than buildings in which solar lighting is provided. The energy simulation tool, DesignBuilder (DesignBuilder Software Ltd, Stroud, UK) was used to simulate an intricate model showing a standard Jordanian residential building with a size of 130 m2. The study offers useful guidance regarding the optimum WWR for key decisionmakers when designing energy-efficient residential structures in the context of Jordan. By considering the balance between gains and losses in solar heat and light gain to exploit energy from solar sources with no reverse effects, while making comparisons between different WWR situations, the findings indicate that the typical WWR for residential structures in Jordan that have efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) systems of lighting installed could be between 25% and 30%, which is lower than the highest WWR stipulated by the ASHRAE standards.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Recently, there has been increased focus on energy efficiency, with the aim of reducing the harmful effects of global warming
There has been minimal focus in the literature on how increasing the efficiency of active technologies impacts on optimal passive approaches; the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of enhancing the efficiency of lighting systems on the optimum window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of residential structures in Jordan
The results are based on an intricate simulation of a standard residential building in Jordan, utilizing the energy simulation software DesignBuilder
Summary
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Recently, there has been increased focus on energy efficiency, with the aim of reducing the harmful effects of global warming. The construction industry accounts for a great amount of the energy consumed around the world, which is predominantly utilized for cooling and heating purposes. This has led to the development of ‘energy-efficient’. Passive design approaches have been proposed in recent years with the aim of improving buildings’ thermal efficiency in a cost-effective manner by using solar energy. The development of active design technologies has enabled the efficiency of building services applications to be enhanced, with buildings consuming lower amounts of energy when performing identical functions. When passive approaches and active technologies are accurately combined regarding designing buildings, this can lead to a substantial enhancement in the performance of the buildings, along with optimized energy savings
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