Wall Material Effect on Total Conduction Heat Gain of Office Buildings in Hot and Dry Climate

Abstract

The large difference between maximum and minimum daily temperatures and considerable amount of solar heat gain are characteristics of hot and dry climate. In this situation walls and roof of a building act as thermal storage elements which store heat during the day and remove it at night therefore the direction of heat transfer can change throughout a day. This should be considered in total conduction heat gain calculation. In the present study the effect of wall and insulation material is studied in a simple office building. Outside temperature is considered to change periodically with time. In addition, the outside surface of the wall is considered to be exposed to the sun during day light. A one-dimensional transient heat conduction equation with time dependent boundary conditions is solved numerically using the Crank-Nicolson method. Different wall materials and insulations were investigated in order to find the best insulation and material from total conduction heat gain viewpoint. It is shown that by using proper materials and location of insulation within the wall the heat gain and energy cost can be decreased considerably.