Passive Design Strategies Research Articles

Bibliometric Review of Passive Cooling Design Strategies and Global Thermal Comfort Assessment: Theories, Methods and Tools

Globally, a variety of factors, ranging from ethnicity and occupants’ lifestyles to the local climate characteristics of any studied location, as well as people’s age, can affect thermal comfort assessments. This review paper investigates the energy effectiveness of state-of-the-art passive systems in providing neutral adaptive thermal comfort for elderly people by exploring passive design strategies in four distinct climates, namely Canada, India, Abu Dhabi and the Eastern Mediterranean basin. The aim of the study is to analyse the available data provided by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) Global Thermal Comfort Database II, version 2.1. The main objective of the study is to develop an effective methodological framework for the on-going development of adaptive thermal comfort theory. To this extent, this study presents a comprehensive review of the assessment of energy effectiveness of passive design systems. To accomplish this, the impact of climate change factors in passive design systems was investigated. A meta-analysis method was adopted to determine the input variables for the statistical analysis. Cramer’s V and Fisher’s Exact tests were used to assess occupants’ thermal sensation votes (TSVs). The findings revealed that there are discrepancies detected between the in situ field experiments and the data recorded in the ASHRAE Global Thermal Comfort Database II. The study findings contribute to the development of adaptive thermal comfort theory by reviewing the existing methodologies globally. Furthermore, a critical review of the significance of occupants’ age differences should be conducted in the identification of neutral adaptive thermal comfort.

Sustainable Logistics: Synergizing Passive Design and PV–Battery Systems for Carbon Footprint Reduction

As more companies strive for net-zero emissions, mitigating indirect greenhouse gas emissions embedded in value chains—especially in logistics activities—has become a critical priority. In the European logistics sector, sustainability and energy efficiency are receiving growing attention, given the sector’s intersectional role in both transportation and construction. This transition toward low-carbon logistics design not only reduces carbon emissions but also yields financial benefits, including operational cost savings and new market opportunities. This study examines the impact of passive design strategies and low-carbon technologies in a Swedish logistics center, assessed using the low-carbon design criteria from the BREEAM International standard, version 6. The findings show that passive energy-efficient measures, such as the installation of 47 skylights for natural daylighting, reduced light power density in accordance with AHSHARE 90.1-2019 and the integration of free night flushing, contribute to a 23% reduction in total energy consumption. In addition, the integration of 600 PV panels and 480 batteries with a capacity of 268 ampere-hours and 13.5 kWh storage, operating at 50 volts, delivers a further 56% reduction in carbon emissions. By optimizing the interaction between passive design and active low-carbon technologies, this research presents a comprehensive feasibility analysis that promotes sustainable logistics practices while ensuring a future-proof, low-carbon operational model.

Climate-Responsive Architectural Design: Analyzing and Adapting to Diverse Climates in U.S. Cities

The energy consumption challenge within the built environment is growing in urgency, underscoring an imperative for climate-responsive design solutions. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the climatic characteristics of 12 U.S. cities, with a parametric platform, categorized under different Köppen climate classifications, with the aim of informing effective passive design strategies. Upon meticulously assessing the efficacy of various passive strategies tailored to distinct climate zones, this paper distills actionable guidance for deploying architectural methods that embody climate-responsive design principles. Theoretical models are developed to correlate climatic variables with specific passive design interventions. The research contributes to the theoretical discourse on passive design by advocation for a data-driven, climate-responsive design guidance that aligns with contemporary sustainability goals.

THE HOUSING UNITS OF THE POSITIVE CLIMATE NEIGHBORHOOD PEDRA BRANCA SC/BR

In response to the global climate crisis, urgent measures are required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement. As energy consumption accounts for 36% of total emissions, and buildings contribute significantly to both direct and indirect emissions, it is crucial to enhance the energy efficiency and self-sufficiency of buildings. This article conducts a case study to evaluate the formal structure, spatial layout, and sustainable strategies employed in residential units within the Pedra Branca neighborhood (Santa Catarina, Brazil), using the methodology developed by Brandão and Schneider. The findings indicate that the housing units predominantly consist of three bedrooms, along with two to four bathrooms. The analysis revealed partial integration between the kitchen and service areas, with full integration being less common. Corridor layouts were found to make the greatest contribution to sustainability and internal space quality. Although some configurations did not directly support cross-ventilation, there was a clear focus on environmental comfort and the use of passive design strategies. This study highlights the potential of such configurations to improve energy performance and contribute to the development of climate-positive neighborhoods.

Analyzing Passive Design Retrofits using Pareto Front Optimization to Reduce Operational Carbon in Commercial Laboratory Spaces

Buildings are one of the leading sources of carbon emissions in the world. Most of the carbon emissions are released during the operation phase of the building. It is essential for buildings to provide thermal and visual comfort for the users. In the case of existing buildings, it is necessary to offer retrofit solutions so that the operational carbon emissions can be reduced without compromising on the other essential factors. In this study a Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) of passive design strategies was conducted for a commercial laboratory in India situated in a moderate climate zone. The design variables considered for the study are wall and roof insulation, glazing material, window-wall ratio (WWR), depth of shading device and the number of shading devices used. The objective functions are: 1. reduced energy use intensity and operational carbon emissions, 2. increased thermal comfort hours and 3. increased daylight autonomy. Rhinoceros and grasshopper software along with Ladybug and Honeybee plug-ins were used for the study which resulted in 1296 iterations. MOO technique namely Pareto front optimization was used to optimize the objective functions. Out of 1296 solutions (excluding base case), 72 solutions were non-dominated. Two methods are described in the study to identify the recommendations for retrofit. The first method describes a Heuristic method of selection using Design Explorer recommending 5 good solutions. In the second method a factor is evolved to identify the 5 best solutions in sequential order. The overall study recommends the use of EPS insulation for the RCC roof, WWR of 20% on all sides, 3 horizontal shading devices of depth 0.75 m for all window openings. When compared with the base case scenario, this solution minimizes the EUI by 3.7%, maximizes average TCH by 106.6% and maximizes average DA by 66.9%. The overall operational carbon emissions are reduced by 7095.6 kgCO2.

Selecting suitable passive design strategies for residential high-rise buildings in tropical climates to minimize building energy demand

Passive design strategies (PDS) are a fitting solution to reduce the ever-growing energy cost of residential high-rise buildings in tropical regions. However, PDSs’ building energy saving potential significantly varies with local climate conditions, but it has been sparsely investigated. Hence, this study investigated the energy-saving efficiency of eight common PDSs integrated into a typical residential high-rise building in three sub-climates: extremely hot humid (0A), very hot humid (1A), and warm humid (3A) defined by ASHRAE for the tropical climate. This study developed a Building Performance Analysis (BPA) workflow with a BIM-based simulation framework and local and global sensitivity analyses for the building energy analysis. The global sensitivity analysis revealed that low e-coating on glasses is the most influential PDS for 0A and 1A climates, but it has a negative effect in the sub-climate zone 3A. The low-conducting exterior walls are the most effective PDS in the sub-climate zone 3A, but they are poorly performed in the other two sub-climate zones. Based on the energy calculation and sensitivity analysis, this study proposes the best PDS groups, saving up to 40.1%, 63.5%, and 31.7% of average annual building consumption in the sub-climate zones, 0A, 1A, and 3A climates.

Passive Design Strategy of Vertical Housing for Optimizing Energy Efficiency

Abstract Passive design is crucial for sustainable building, maximizing comfort while minimizing energy use and environmental impact. It optimizes heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting through natural energy sources like sunlight and wind, promoting responsible energy consumption. As the Indonesian economy continues to grow, urbanization rates in major cities are rapidly increasing, leading to urban sprawl. One proposed solution is densification through vertical housing construction. However, a concern with vertical housing is the energy consumption for thermal and lighting comfort, particularly in Indonesia’s tropical climate. Passive design presents an effective energy efficient solution for optimizing comfort in vertical housing. This study explores various passive design strategies based on six basic principle. Firstly, it presents local climatic conditions. Then, it discusses lessons learned from traditional buildings and modern buildings. Finally, it introduces a passive design method for high-rise housing, focusing on six points: massing and orientation, building envelope, passive cooling, thermal mass storage, natural air circulation and daylighting. The study presents results and potential recommendations for passive design to optimize energy efficiency.

Reinterpretation of Passive Cooling Strategies in Hot And Dry Climate Traditional Architecture: Vents in The Building

The building sector is among the most critical factors affecting environmental sustainability due to its impacts, such as energy consumption and greenhouse gas production. The reasons for energy consumption and greenhouse gas production in the building sector may vary according to climatic characteristics. In hot and arid climate regions, a significant portion of energy consumption is caused by indoor cooling, especially since the focus is on reducing the indoor temperature. In the periods when traditional architecture was developed, the lack of technological products that would increase energy consumption was effective in providing indoor air conditioning with passive design strategies. This study aims to identify the building openings for natural ventilation and cooling used in the traditional architecture of hot and dry climates and to analyze and evaluate their modern interpretations. A total of 235 award-winning projects were analyzed, and 21 were included in the study. In this context, it was determined that 16 different strategies used in traditional architecture were re-interpretation, and their modern interpretations were analyzed through award-winning projects. The traditional passive design strategies identified in this context have been adapted to modern architecture in 18 types. Wind orientators come to the forefront. In addition, it was determined that the strategies adapted to modern architecture are generally integrated. This study guides modern interpretations of traditional passive design strategies for sustainable building design.

Učinak naprednih izolacijskih materijala i strategija pasivne optimizacije na toplinsku udobnost u tradicionalnim kućama tijekom zime

This study proposed an interior thermal comfort test to enhance the interior thermal comfort of traditional houses in the Guan Zhong region of the Shaanxi Province during winter. The study was conducted in Xiaoliu village by employing field tests and a questionnaire survey. The field tests and analysis revealed that the thermal comfort of traditional houses in this region is poor, the spatial layout of the houses is unsuitable for conserving heat, the thermal properties of the enclosure walls are inadequate, and the mode of heating is inefficient. The heat transfer parameters, heat lost and gained through fabrics, and thermal properties of nanomaterials have been used to improve the thermal comfort analysis. Combined with the local economic conditions, passive design strategies such as optimizing the spatial layout, improving the thermal insulation performance of the enclosure walls, and using solar energy were implemented. The simulation results indicate that energy consumption can be significantly reduced, and the indoor thermal comfort of traditional houses can be enhanced by reasonably dividing the indoor space, increasing the thermal insulation performance of the enclosure walls, and making better use of solar energy and natural ventilation. Therefore, to improve thermal comfort and reduce the energy load of traditional houses in the Guan Zhong region, it is necessary to adopt passive optimisation strategies.

Towards Energy-Efficient Data Centers: A Comprehensive Review of Passive and Active Cooling Strategies

With the rapid growth of cloud computing, the number of data centers (DCs) continuously increases, leading to a high-energy consumption dilemma. Cooling, apart from IT equipment, represents the largest energy consumption in DCs. Passive design (PD) and active design (AD) are two important approaches in architectural design to reduce energy consumption. However, for DC cooling, few studies have summarized AD, and there are almost no studies on PD. Based on existing international research (2005-2024), this paper summarizes the current state of cooling strategies for DCs. PD encompasses floors, ceilings, and layout and zoning of racks. Additionally, other passive strategies not yet studied in DCs are critically examined. AD includes air, liquid, free, and two-phase cooling. This paper systematically compares the performance of different AD technologies on various KPIs, including energy, economic, and environmental indicators. This paper also explores the application of different cooling design strategies through best-practice examples and presents advanced algorithms for energy management in operational DCs. This study reveals that free cooling is widely employed, with Artificial Neural Networks emerging as the most popular algorithm for managing cooling energy. Finally, this paper suggests four future directions for reducing cooling energy in DCs, with a focus on the development of passive strategies. This paper provides an overview and guide to DC energy-consumption issues, emphasizes the importance of implementing passive and active design strategies to reduce DC cooling energy consumption, and provides directions and references for future energy-efficient DC designs.

Optimizing Building Orientation for Passive Cooling

This research paper explores the application of passive design strategies in three museums in Lagos, Nigeria: The National Museum, Jaekel House, and the Heritage Museum in Badagry. The study focuses on building orientation as a key passive design strategy and evaluates its effectiveness in enhancing energy efficiency and thermal comfort in tropical climates. With the use of data collection from Google Earth Pro, a comparative analysis examines the architectural features and design elements of each museum, highlighting their use of building orientation, shading devices, and landscaping to optimize passive cooling and natural lighting. The innovative layout and strategic orientation of the National Museum demonstrate a successful integration of passive design strategies, while Jaekel House's use of deep overhangs and vegetation showcases a deliberate commitment to sustainable architecture. The Heritage Museum in Badagry, with its historical significance, presents an intriguing case study for passive design. While limited information is available, satellite imagery suggests an optimal orientation for passive solar design, complemented by deep overhangs and a reflective roof. The findings suggest that the three museums can benefit from further enhancements to their passive design strategies, including the integration of renewable energy sources, smart building systems, green roof systems, and water harvesting and management systems. In addition, educational initiatives can raise awareness and promote sustainable practices among visitors and the local community.

MODELLING STUDY ON CENTRAL COURTYARD SHADING STRATEGY IN TROPICAL CLIMATE REGION MALAYSIA

A courtyard is an open multi-functional space and an effective daylight passive design strategy in a building. However, to have a courtyard in a tropical country, it had to deal with the issue of visual discomfort, which requires some consideration in adaptation to the climate condition. These visual comfort issues include inconsistent light distribution, inappropriate illuminance levels, glare, and a lack of shaded areas. The focus of this research paper is to address the solution of shading strategies towards the visual discomfort issues associated with courtyard spaces. The solution is done by modelling study method on courtyard ratios and courtyard configuration to determine the effect on the internal courtyard percentage shaded area. This research aims to explore the potential benefits of using courtyards as a daylight shading design as a strategy in buildings. Besides, it is also to examine courtyard design variables in enhancing visual comfort, particularly in the context of commercial building design in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is chosen to represent the tropical climate region. The aim is achieved by identifying optimum courtyard ratios that can improve daylight, shading, and visual comfort that make courtyards functional and usable spaces. Results show that a small and deep courtyard is found to be best suited to tropical climate conditions with the configuration of the courtyard’s height being double the size or more than the size of the courtyard’s width. This courtyard ratio is able to produce a full shaded area during daytime. While courtyard length does not have any impact on the percentage of shaded area, wide and narrow courtyard need to adapt to the tropical climate constraint by having aided shading strategies such as multi-layered height of trees, independent covered structures like a canopy or gazebo, shading panels, awnings, and extended roof overhangs.

Sustainable Urban Infrastructure: Innovations in Green Building Technologies and Urban Planning

The burgeoning challenges of rapid urbanization, climate change, and resource depletion necessitate a paradigm shift in urban infrastructure towards sustainability. the intersection of green building technologies and urban planning as pivotal components in fostering sustainable urban development. In recent years, green building technologies have emerged as a cornerstone of sustainable urban infrastructure. From energy-efficient design to the integration of renewable energy sources, these technologies offer solutions to mitigate the environmental impact of urbanization while enhancing residents' quality of life. Furthermore, innovations such as passive design strategies, green roofs, and smart building systems demonstrate the potential to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in urban environments.

Application of net zero energy concepts in mid-rise apartments-numerical and analytical study

Abstract The rapid increase in population has raised the need for housing, resulting in increasing overall energy consumption by its inhabitants. The idea of green cities and Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) has evolved to address this problem. NZEBs are buildings that produce as much energy as they need, primarily from renewable resources, reducing carbon emissions in the process. This paper focuses on the design of a Chennai mid-rise multifamily apartment that aims to attain energy self-sufficiency while providing indoor comfort for its residents. The methodology involves a pilot study to gather necessary data and validate the simulation results, followed by the design and evaluation of the NZEB model. The design approach incorporates passive design strategies such as natural ventilation and daylighting, as well as active strategies such as energy-efficient equipment and renewable energy sources. For the NZEB model, a load match index of 100.41% was attained. In addition, the paper covers the idea of NZEBs, previous research, case studies, and the use of net metering in the projects.

Passive Design Strategy in Vernacular House of Samin, Indonesia

Vernacular architecture embodies passive design principles and strategies to create comfortable dwellings. This study investigates the impact of passive design strategies on temperature comfort in Samin vernacular houses. Visual observation is employed to assess the suitability of house elements based on passive design criteria. At the same time, field measurements are conducted to evaluate comfortable temperature conditions using data loggers over one month. The research focuses on the Original Samin house and the New Samin house situated in Klopoduwur Village, Blora Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The visual observation reveals that the roof volume, slope, and thin walls with low conductivity in both Samin houses align with passive design principles. The New Samin house also incorporates other passive design strategies, including an east-west building orientation with the long side perpendicular to the wind direction, an open-plan room layout, and varying floor heights. The temperature comfort performance in both houses falls within the neutral temperature range during 16 hours. The New Samin house exhibits the largest daytime air temperature decrease at 5.5°C, while the Original Samin house experiences the largest nighttime decrease at 0.7°C. The evolution of passive designs in Samin vernacular houses encompasses considerations such as building proportion and width, terrace width, positioning and size of window openings, vegetation, and shading elements.

Occupancy Comfort Evaluation in Green Building Rating Tools in Malaysia: A Comparative Review

Passive design strategy is the approach that maximizing utilization of natural resources to achieve occupancy comfort which covers the thermal comfort, visual comfort and acoustic comfort while minimizing secondary energy usage. Adapting passive design strategy during building design-stage is beneficial in reducing energy load of the building for long term, furthermore to reduce the energy consumption in day to day building operation. Applying Green Building Rating Tools, GBRT promotes passive design strategy for non-residential building and will assist the building designer to comply with the local and international standard. The minimum requirement of occupancy comfort is captured in GBRT rating system with different approach and intension of the system. This review summarize the coverage of passive design strategy sectors for non-residential building in Malaysia by comparing three GBRT system namely Green Building Index, GBI NCNR, MyCREST ICSAS and GreenRE NRB system. GreenRE NRB seems more aggressive in occupancy comfort evaluation compared to GBI NCNR and MyCREST ICSAS. GreenRE allocates 48.7% of total marks focus on occupancy comfort aspect while GBI and MyCREST allocates 14% and 13.2% respectively from the total score. MyCrest had enforce the mandatory compliance of OTTV, RTTV and Uroof to meet baseline requirement as per MS1525:2019 with zero marks allocation. Based on marks percentage allocation, GBI and MyCrest prioritizing visual comfort while GreenRE give more focus on thermal comfort with higher marks allocation. All rating system give less focus on acoustic comfort. On average, 16.3% of marks covers the thermal comfort, 9% covers visual comfort and 1% cover acoustic comfort. GBI and MyCrest focus more on green building materials which covers the building lifecycle includes water management and waste disposal. All system contributes to Malaysia-UNFCCC ratification of Paris Agreement on 45% GHG reduction in longer runs.

Enhancing Thermal and Daylight Performance of Historic Buildings with Passive Modifications; A Tropical Case Study

Historical buildings worldwide hold immense potential for adaptive reuse within the framework of the circular economy, a concept gaining traction in the building construction industry for its role in reducing carbon emissions. Many of these structures boast passive building design strategies, which inherently lower energy demands. Among these, thermal mass and daylight harvesting emerge as pivotal strategies for achieving indoor thermal and visual comfort, respectively. However, with the advent of significant climate change and evolving built environments, the efficacy of these historical passive strategies is subject to debate. This study focuses on a residential building constructed in the 17th century by Dutch settlers in Galle, Sri Lanka, serving as a case study. The research targets improvements in both thermal and visual comfort. Thermal performance analysis was conducted through air temperature measurements, revealing a notable 3-hour time lag and a 2.5°C reduction in peak air temperature during the day. Conversely, nighttime measurements indicated a rise in indoor temperature compared to ambient conditions. Using Design Builder software, the building was modelled to assess its daylighting conditions. Drawing upon thermodynamic principles and daylight harvesting techniques, the study proposes building envelope interventions and ventilation strategies to address nighttime overheating and enhance daylight utilization. The results demonstrate that these modifications can potentially reduce nighttime heat by 2-3°C, while also decreasing the energy requirement for lighting comfort from 51.10 kWh/m² per annum to 44.84 kWh/m² per annum. This research showcases the effectiveness of judiciously implemented interventions in historical buildings, illustrating tangible improvements in both thermal/visual performance and energy efficiency. Leveraging inherent qualities of historical structures and integrating modern design strategies to these buildings can play a vital role in sustainable urban development and energy conservation efforts.

Energy efficiency evaluation of green roofs as a passive strategy in the mediterranean climate

Green roofs are comprised of living vegetation that is installed on rooftops, serving as a sustainable architectural tool that offers numerous environmental, economic, and social advantages to the community. Green roofs have emerged as a prominent sustainable development strategy and architectural element in numerous urban centres worldwide. As for the effectiveness of green roofs in terms of boosting energy conservation in the Mediterranean climate of Amman, this research focuses on a standard medium-sized office building in Jordan. The main evaluation is carried out on the feasibility of enhancing the passive sustainability and energy performance of the building by applying extensive green roof technology. To determine the energy-saving potential, an annual energy demand in the absence of a green roof is estimated by a simulation program. In this paper, the analyses were performed in the form of parametric studies for assessing the impact of variation in soil depths on energy use, indoor temperature and carbon reduction. The study also indicates that green roofs can store heat and provide insulation enough to lessen the demand for comfortable temperature regulation indoors. The findings on energy savings indicate that energy consumption had reduced annually by up to 12 %. This means that large-scale green roofs have the real opportunity to become an efficient sustainable passive design strategy for increasing the energy performance of office building in Amman climatic conditions.

Optimizing Building Form for Daylight Access in Dense Urban Areas in the Early Stages of Design

The urgency to address climate change, the energy crisis, and indoor air quality underscores the importance of utilizing daylight as a renewable energy source in urban environments. This study delves into passive design strategies to facilitate access to sunlight and daylight within urban contexts and architectural designs, aggregating essential parameters identified in the existing literature to improve building forms for daylight accessibility. The study then develops a multi-scale, multi-objective framework integrating these passive strategies to optimize building performance in densely populated areas. Suitable approaches for incorporating daylighting at both building and urban scales are identified by examining existing passive form-finding strategies and rules of thumb. Given the implications for dense urban areas, floor area is used as an evaluation criterion, with energy use intensity (EUI) and carbon footprint serving as additional criteria in the optimization process through manual analyses and computer-based tools. By adopting a workflow that considers multiple objectives and parameters, this study aims to guide designers in integrating optimal daylighting strategies during the initial design phases.

ANALYSING THE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURAL TYPOLOGY OF SINDH AND BALOCHISTAN: DWELLINGS AND THEIR VERNACULAR DESIGN

This paper analyzes the vernacular architecture in the hot-arid regions of Balochistan and Sindh to identify indigenous construction techniques and design strategies that have been part of the vernacular architectural tradition of the aforementioned regions. The paper aims to connect the age-old oral traditions of the remote region concerning construction techniques and materiality that have been translated into the vernacular architectural language/construction methodologies, dwelling layouts, and the overall identity of the region. Through a case study methodology of the local housing typologies found in the selected regions, the research will analyze various dwelling archetypes and their construction materials found in the highlighted region, such as the Chapper House, Kothi House, Chaunro House, built using rammed earth, compressed earth blocks, bamboo, and adobe. Furthermore, the research methodology also involves the analysis of relevant passive design strategies found in the identified vernacular case studies, such as verandahs, courtyards, clustering of houses, ventilation, and Jaali's, which will be identified and analyzed to understand their effectiveness as vernacular design strategies in combating the challenges of the harsh desert climate. Keywords: Vernacular architecture, Passive Design, Dwellings, Extreme Climate, Vernacular Materials