Passive Design Measures Research Articles

Optimization of the Air-Conditioning Energy Performance and Daylight Performance of AResidential Building According to the Bioclimatic Design Principles: An Application to the Moroccan Mediterranean

The bioclimatic architecture concept refers to an approach that takes into account the various characteristics of a building environment to make it more comfortable for its occupants. This work aims to improve the passive design parameters of an air-conditioned residential building located in the north of Morocco, in accordance with bioclimatic principles. The bioclimatic chart diagram is used to select the passive design measures that are the most appropriate for the north Morocco climate characteristics. Then, a set of design parameters are selected for more delimitation in the optimization study. The optimization problem is multi-objective and aims to find the design solution that simultaneously includes the best air-conditioning energy performance and daylight performance. The obtained results showed that the multi-objective optimum design solution is characterized by massive walls and roof, exterior insulation, double window glazing type, and a high summer ventilation rate. Also, a small glazing area with a large sun-shading covering is needed for the east facade. Ultimately, the building performance analysis revealed that the optimum bioclimatic design solution fully meets the requirements establishedby the Moroccan Building Thermal Regulation (MBTR), leading to an energy performance improvement of about 52%.

Quantitative assessment of passive design measures on building energy demand in arid climates. Case study: Solar decathlon middle east houses, Dubai

Quantitative assessment of passive design measures on building energy demand in arid climates. Case study: Solar decathlon middle east houses, Dubai

Examining the Risk of Summertime Overheating in UK Social Housing Dwellings Retrofitted with Heat Pumps

The UK government has announced its ten-point plan to annually install 600,000 low-carbon heat pumps by 2028. However, there is a lack of evidence showing potential overheating risk in dwellings retrofitted with heat pumps. This paper examines the prevalence and magnitude of summertime overheating across 24 naturally ventilated social housing dwellings retrofitted with ground source heat pumps (GSHPs). The dwellings are located in a socially deprived area in Oxford (UK). The empirical study included longitudinal monitoring of indoor temperatures in the living rooms and bedrooms during the non-heating seasons of 2021 and 2022 (May–September), which included a record-breaking heatwave in July 2022. Indoor temperature and CO2 levels in bedrooms were monitored across a subset of six dwellings alongside the monitoring of window opening state in three bedrooms to understand the effect of natural ventilation in removing excess heat. About 136 thermal comfort surveys were conducted to ascertain the subjective responses of residents. Overheating risk assessment was carried out using CIBSE static and adaptive methods, which revealed that summertime overheating was prevalent across half of the dwellings in the non-heating season of 2022, as compared to 17% overheated dwellings in 2021. Bungalows with upgraded cavity wall insulation and top floor flats facing south and south-west had a propensity to overheat. The variation in indoor temperature and CO2 levels across a small sample also indicated the relationship between overheating and residents’ behaviour. Given that the majority of the dwellings were occupied by retired elderly people with low incomes who are vulnerable to heat and cannot afford active forms of cooling, it is vital to deploy passive design measures, such as appropriate shading devices that are suitable for a heating-dominated climate and enhanced ventilation, as part of home energy retrofits. Implementing reversible heat pumps coupled with solar PVs can provide cooling during heatwaves while delivering low-carbon heat in the winter.

Improving classroom thermal comfort of educational buildings: Case of Kantipur City College

Well-designed and thermally comfortable learning spaces contribute to better academic performance, enhanced concentration, and improved productivity of students. Thermal comfort is often one of the most overlooked design parameters while constructing educational buildings in Nepal. The Nepalese government has yet to develop design guidelines or regulations which ensures optimum indoor thermal comfort. Due to this, classrooms either lack insulation, have poor ventilation, or have overall poor thermal performance. This study illustrates how the use of passive design measures such as thermal mass, insulation, and glazing can help in improving the thermal comfort of students in such classrooms. Kantipur City College, an engineering college in Kathmandu was selected as a case study to evaluate the thermal environment of the classrooms. The field study also determined the existing comfort levels of students based on their thermal sensations and preferences. Design Builder Software was used to carry out the thermal simulation analysis and evaluate the impacts of passive design strategies when applied to the base classroom model. Field survey showed that the indoor temperatures were in the range of 27-32 °C, and students felt quite uncomfortable during the lesson hours. Results from simulation analysis revealed that providing insulation to the walls and ceilings, applying thermal mass, or changing the window glazing lowered temperatures by 2-4 °C. The study concluded that careful consideration of appropriate passive design measures can help to significantly lower indoor temperature during the summer and maintain thermal comfort in the classrooms.

Passive Building Design Evaluation in Nigeria: The Case for Energy-Conscious Design of Residential Buildings for the Dynamics of Nature

Globally, air-conditioning systems consume over 40% of the total energy consumed by buildings. This accounts for one-third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which significantly contribute to climate change. Building designs must take climate into account at all times. This study sought to evaluate passive methods of making residential buildings more energy efficient, hence lowering energy usage. The study concentrated on residential buildings in Abuja, Nigeria. Using a quantitative method, a survey was utilised to collect data from randomly selected respondents. A total of 121 questionnaires were distributed to study participants, and the weighted mean of replies was sorted ordinally from 107 respondents. Although the results indicated that the residential buildings were designed and supervised by architects and engineers, it was surprising that features that could make the buildings more energy efficient were not fully considered in the design because the respondents were unsure of the availability of passive design measures due to their inadequacy. The study emphasises the necessity of considering the micro climatic condition of the building environment, as well as passive design features that could lessen reliance on mechanical means and so use energy efficiently. The paper builds on the findings by arguing for energy-conscious residential building design that takes into account natural dynamics. This might be accomplished by implementing passive design features appropriate for the climatic environment, which could result in a reduction in energy demand for cooling the indoor environment.

Investigation on Summer Thermal Comfort and Passive Thermal Improvements in Naturally Ventilated Nepalese School Buildings

Students require a comfortable thermal environment for better academic learning and health in general. In Nepal, the majority of school buildings are constructed using local materials, but little consideration is provided to the thermal environment required for comfort. Therefore, this study demonstrates the advantages of using passive design measures through a simulation that can be used either in the early stages or as a retrofit to determine how the building performs in terms of comfort and the thermal environment. First, the thermal environment of school buildings and thermal comfort of students were evaluated through field surveys. Subsequently, a simulation was performed to investigate the operative temperatures in the classroom of a school building in Kathmandu. DesignBuilder software was used to create the base model and the simulated operative temperature was validated using the measured globe temperature. Subsequently, passive strategies, such as natural ventilation, insulation, and thermal mass, were applied and analysed. The field survey showed that the indoor globe and outdoor air temperatures were correlated, and the students perceived a hotter environment and preferred a cooler environment. Within this context, the average comfort temperature was 26.9 °C. The simulation results showed that the operative temperature was reduced to below 27 °C with a maximum reduction of 3.3 °C due to the integrated design impact, which is within the comfortable limit required during school hours. This study helps to design Nepalese school buildings in a better way by considering passive design strategies during architectural design to make classrooms more thermally comfortable.

Toward Regenerative Sustainability: A Passive Design Comfort Assessment Method of Indoor Environment

The fact that people spend a major part of their lifetime indoors, together with the lethal COVID-19 pandemic which caused people to spend even more time inside buildings, has drawn attention to the significance of achieving Agenda 2030 SD goal number three: good health and well-being, in reference to the indoor environment. The research subject is the health and well-being of building users explored through the sustainable (passive) design principles having an impact on the comfort and quality of the indoor environment. It is set within a regenerative sustainability framework encompassing the physiological, biophilic, psychological and social aspects of comfort. The Comfort Assessment Model’s categories, to some extent, rely on the first author’s doctoral thesis, with further modifications regarding the passive design criteria and indicators. A comparative analysis of the model with international sustainability certification (rating) systems has been performed, proving the significance of introducing more passive design comfort (health) related criteria into sustainability assessment models. In addition, a focus group of expert architects contributed to the research conclusions by responding to a questionnaire addressing the issues of sustainability, comfort and passive design, in terms of the health and well-being of building users, which confirmed the relevance of applied passive design measures for providing comfort indoors and fulfilling sustainable development goals.

Optimization of building energy performance through passive design measures in the Mediterranean climate

This paper presents a numerical study combining different passive measures to improve the energy efficiency of a building. These measures include night ventilation and physical design such as building materials, thermal insulation as well as window configuration combined with winter and summer solar shading. The study focuses on a basic classroom prototype that complies with the Algerian buildings. It took the city of Constantine in Algeria as a case study for the warm temperate climate of the Mediterranean regions. The results show that adopting such passive measures reduces the building's energy demand from 67.5 to 15.7 kWh/m2 for heating and from 7.7 to 5.7 kWh/m2 for cooling. This leads to an annual reduction of 53.8 kWh/m2, or an energy saving of 72% per year. Furthermore, CO2 emissions were reduced by 72% passing then from 1772 to 499 kg/year. Thus, a correlative reduction between energy demand and carbon footprint is observed. The economic analysis shows that life cycle costs are influenced by energy prices in different countries and that the profitability of these measures strongly depends on whether these prices are subsidised or not.

Passive measures for energy-efficient economic class housing units in national housing projects

This study investigates passive building design measures and how they may differ according to the surrounding context. This particularly stands as an important consideration for economic class housing units which are seen as repetitive cluster units of the same architectural design plan. These units have a typical design that does not respond to their contexts, hence, the study proves with evidence that the building performance varies from one city to another, taking three cities Cairo, Alexandria and Aswan of different climatic zones. This is carried through a series of computer simulations using a validated software program to investigate the effect of adding passive design measures on building performance e.g. thermal walls, double glazing system, and shading devices. The results verified the significant difference in building energy performance in the three studied cities. It also showed that shading devices are a common passive design measure that contributed towards reducing energy consumption in the prototype building in the three cities. This showed the necessity of integrating proper passive design features in economic class housing units because they represent a repeated prototype building.

The effect of a warming climate on the relevance of passive design measures for heating and cooling of European single-family detached buildings

In the early phases of building design, it is essential to quantify the relevance of passive design measures in order to assure the desired thermal performance of buildings throughout their lifespan. In the present research work, the authors investigated the relevance of the selected passive design measures for heating and cooling energy use of single-family detached buildings at five European locations. To this end, a multiple linear regression analysis was performed, and least-squares estimates were used to identify the most relevant passive design measures under current and three future periods. The statistical analysis showed that the importance of passive design measures would change under the projected global warming effects. In general, the most relevant for the heating energy use of the analysed building models is the opaque envelope U value. Besides effective shading, the most relevant parameter affecting the cooling energy use is the window-to-floor ratio. Furthermore, relevance diagrams for the influence of passive design parameters on the resulting energy use under the climate change scenario and specific U values of the opaque envelope were defined. Building designers and policymakers can use them as design-support tool to find appropriate ways of converting the number of unknowns in future climate into information for designers and decision-makers to assure low vulnerability of the built environment to global warming.

The energy implications of urban morphology from an urban planning perspective – A case study for a new urban development area in the city of Vienna

In view of advancing global warming, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures for buildings are becoming increasingly important. The following article discusses the question of whether current urban planning principles still provide a suitable framework for this purpose. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify and quantify the main parameters of the urban planning framework regarding energy demand and energy generation of buildings. In a novel, holistic approach, passive design measures were evaluated in a joint analysis based on a case study in the city of Vienna (Austria) with respect to their impact on heating and cooling energy demand, overheating potential, daylight availability, and solar potential of new buildings. The results show that by improving the thermal insulation of the building envelope, the importance of a high compactness of the buildings to lower the heating energy demand is decreased. In addition, moderate compactness can help reduce the energy demand for space cooling and artificial lighting and increase the solar potential of the buildings. Accordingly, the results question the dogma of a high degree of compactness that still exists to some extent and indicate that changing climatic conditions also require new approaches in the urban planning process.

Thermal Comfort in Places of Worship within a Mediterranean Climate

This paper investigates the relationship between the actual thermal comfort levels measured according to EN 16798-1 standard and the expected thermal comfort of attendees in five parish churches throughout 2018. This is carried out through statistical analysis of qualitative research based on questionnaire responses from church goers and quantitative research based on indoor measured data. This investigation includes the gathering of scientific data relating to temperature and relative humidity together with statistical data through thermal sensation surveys (TSSs). Thus, this study provides first-hand information about occupants’ diversities of thermal sensations and dynamic behaviour adaptations to the intricate environment within churches. Results determine that a significant correlation exists between the actual thermal comfort levels measured according to EN 16798-1 standard and the expected thermal comfort perceived by the church attendees in most of the parish churches under review. Analysis of the sources of discomfort and suggestions made by the occupants revealed that passive design measures contribute towards improved indoor thermal conditions, reduced energy demand and lower carbon emissions. This information provides assurance for optimised decision-making methods, used to generate accurate solutions for policy-makers, architects and engineers, with an understanding of practical applications of passive measures for places of worship. Moreover, the paper provides insight on indoor comfort levels in places of worship within a Mediterranean context, which is insufficiently addressed by scholars at a global level.

Exploring Climate-Change Impacts on Energy Efficiency and Overheating Vulnerability of Bioclimatic Residential Buildings under Central European Climate

Climate change is expected to expose the locked-in overheating risk concerning bioclimatic buildings adapted to a specific past climate state. The study aims to find energy-efficient building designs which are most resilient to overheating and increased cooling energy demands that will result from ongoing climate change. Therefore, a comprehensive parametric study of various passive building design measures was implemented, simulating the energy use of each combination for a temperate climate of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The approach to overheating vulnerability assessment was devised and applied using the increase in cooling energy demand as a performance indicator. The results showed that a B1 heating energy efficiency class according to the Slovenian Energy Performance Certificate classification was the highest attainable using the selected passive design parameters, while the energy demand for heating is projected to decrease over time. In contrast, the energy use for cooling is in general projected to increase. Furthermore, it was found that, in building models with higher heating energy use, low overheating vulnerability is easier to achieve. However, in models with high heating energy efficiency, very high overheating vulnerability is not expected. Accordingly, buildings should be designed for current heating energy efficiency and low vulnerability to future overheating. The paper shows a novel approach to bioclimatic building design with global warming adaptation integrated into the design process. It delivers recommendations for the energy-efficient, robust bioclimatic design of residential buildings in the Central European context, which are intended to guide designers and policymakers towards a resilient and sustainable built environment.

Strategy for achieving long-term energy efficiency of European single-family buildings through passive climate adaptation

The presented study aims to clarify the implications of passive design measures on heating and cooling energy use of single-family residential buildings under European representative climates. In order to address this matter, different values of thermal transmittance (opaque and transparent), window to floor ratio, window distribution, shape factor, diurnal heat storage capacity, external opaque surface solar absorptivity and natural ventilation cooling rates were combined in 496,800 building energy models, which were simulated at eight locations. Because buildings are in use for many decades, the energy use simulations were made considering the projected climate change up to the end of the 21st century. The results delivered a set of the most effective passive design measures for achieving low energy use in buildings regarding climate type and period. A lower window to floor ratio was identified as the most universally applicable design measure to counterbalance the projected effect of a warming climate. In contrast, other measures vary according to climate type and studied period. Furthermore, it was concluded that it is difficult to neutralise the projected climate change effects on buildings' energy use, even when applying the best performing combination of passive design measures. However, reasonably low energy use can still be assured solely by passive building design, especially in oceanic, warm, and some temperate climate locations. Therefore, the identified trends in energy use and passive design measures represent the foundation for strategies and guidelines aimed at future-proof energy-efficient buildings.

Housing Refurbishment for Energy Efficiency and Comfort

The housing stock in Vietnam has boomed in the last few decades, especially in urbanised areas. However, the increasing number of housing units did not go along with housing quality, a healthy living environment or a sustainable building stock. Recent legislation only applies to public buildings but not the private housing sector, which accounts for the majority of the building stock. Therefore, this research aimed to contribute to a more sustainable building stock in Vietnam by improving the energy efficiency in new and renovated urban houses. This research started with examining the energy upgrade potential of the existing houses in Vietnam. Both passive and active refurbishment design measures were investigated for the Vietnamese context. Among the measures, a green facade has a large potential in energy saving. Effect of a green facade on thermal and energy performance was tested by conducting a physical experiment on a real tube house in Hanoi. Next, a stepped design strategy was introduced in a student design workshop in Vietnam. The participants were trained to apply sustainable and energy efficient design measures for Vietnamese tube houses. In addition, the vision for designing future tube houses was discussed on several sustainability aspects: urban densification, energy efficiency, circular economy and social interaction. This research is also expected to contribute to the establishing of a future national technical regulation for private housing in Vietnam.

Housing Refurbishment for Energy Efficiency and Comfort

The housing stock in Vietnam has boomed in the last few decades, especially in urbanised areas. However, the increasing number of housing units did not go along with housing quality, a healthy living environment or a sustainable building stock. Recent legislation only applies to public buildings but not the private housing sector, which accounts for the majority of the building stock. Therefore, this research aimed to contribute to a more sustainable building stock in Vietnam by improving the energy efficiency in new and renovated urban houses. This research started with examining the energy upgrade potential of the existing houses in Vietnam. Both passive and active refurbishment design measures were investigated for the Vietnamese context. Among the measures, a green facade has a large potential in energy saving. Effect of a green facade on thermal and energy performance was tested by conducting a physical experiment on a real tube house in Hanoi. Next, a stepped design strategy was introduced in a student design workshop in Vietnam. The participants were trained to apply sustainable and energy efficient design measures for Vietnamese tube houses. In addition, the vision for designing future tube houses was discussed on several sustainability aspects: urban densification, energy efficiency, circular economy and social interaction. This research is also expected to contribute to the establishing of a future national technical regulation for private housing in Vietnam.

Analysis of the effect of passive measures on the energy consumption and zero-energy prospects of residential buildings in Pakistan

Climate change can adversely impact the thermal comfort and energy efficiency of the buildings stock. The South Asian countries are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change specially in the form of rising temperatures and increasing frequency of heat waves. The passive building design measures can be useful in mitigating and adapting to the climate change by increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study various passive climate change adaptation measures (PCAMs) have been used individually and in form of combinations in order to analyze their impact on the energy efficacy of residential buildings in Pakistan. It has been found that the natural ventilation and front green wall are the most efficient options for reducing the overall energy consumption. By implementation of these PCAMs, cooling demand can be decreased by 27.75% while heating demand can be reduced by 35%. Secondly, the prospect of net zero-energy building and reduced CO2 emissions are also studied. It has been shown that building can achieve net-zero energy on an annual basis at every orientation and it can attain the status of nearly zero-energy building on a monthly basis. Moreover, emitted CO2 can be reduced by 31% by using the renewable energy.

Designing naturally-conditioned dwellings for warm and cold-temperate regions of Chile

The central problem addressed by this paper is the fuel poverty experienced in Chile as a result of poor thermal performance of dwellings, a problem commonly encountered throughout the country, even in new housing. The domestic consumption of fuels used for thermal regulation of dwellings accounts for a large proportion of national energy use, gas emissions, and household expenditures. This study aims to alleviate these issues by presenting building designs that can provide comfortable indoor thermal conditions without a need for conventional energy fuels. Following the findings of field studies, the design of standard dwellings has been optimized using computational studies that were conducted with consideration for the country’s main climatic regions. The results of this study have shown that the application of passive design measures can be sufficient for achieving thermal comfort conditions, thereby reducing the use of domestic fuels to near-zero levels in most of the country.

Sensitivity Analysis of Passive Design Strategies for Residential Buildings in Cold Semi-Arid Climates

Buildings are significant drivers of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Improving the thermal comfort of occupants in free-running buildings and avoiding active and fossil fuel-based systems is the main challenge in many cities worldwide. However, the impacts of passive design measures on thermal comfort in cold semi-arid regions are seldom studied. With the rapid urbanization and the widespread use of personalised heating and cooling systems, there is a need to inform building designers and city authorities about passive design measures that can achieve nearly optimal conditions. Therefore, in this study, a global sensitivity analysis of the impact of passive design parameters on adaptive comfort in cold semi-arid climates was conducted. A representative residential building was simulated and calibrated in Quetta, Pakistan, to identify key design parameters for optimal thermal comfort. The results list and rank a set of passive design recommendations that can be used widely in similar climates. The results show that among the investigated 21 design variables, the insulation type of roof is the most influential design variable. Overall, the sensitivity analysis yielded new quantitative and qualitative knowledge about the passive design of buildings with personalised heating systems, but the used sensitivity analysis has some limitations. Finally, this study provides evidence-based and informed design recommendations that can serve architects and homeowners to integrate passive design measures at the earliest conceptual design phases in cold semi-arid climates.

An Investigation of Thermal Comfort of Houses in Dry and Semi-Arid Climates of Quetta, Pakistan

In Pakistan, reinforced concrete frame houses are the most widely used and common construction technology. In a country that experiences extreme hot and cold seasons throughout the year, buildings need to be adaptable to the climate to improve the thermal comfort of the inhabitants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to improve thermal comfort in reinforced concrete frame houses using passive design and energy efficiency measures in Quetta, Pakistan. Thermal comfort of a representative house was investigated using a building performance simulation. The building model created in EnergyPlus was validated by comparing it with on-site monitored data in both summer and winter seasons. The model was calibrated using statistical methods. Then, the calibrated model was used to perform a whole year simulation in which various orientations, ventilation, passive design, and energy efficiency strategies were applied to perform parametric analysis for the improvement of thermal comfort. The best fit-to-context thermal comfort model was selected, and the potential of bioclimatic design strategies was quantified. The results indicate that by adopting passive design strategies comfort hours can be increased from 43% to 59%. The results of the study revealed many findings which could be useful for architects and building engineers to set a future direction for improvement of indoor comfort in Quetta as well as in many other areas of Balochistan Province in Pakistan.