The impact of passive design strategies on cooling loads of buildings in temperate climate

Abstract

Residential and commercial buildings consume over a third of the world's total energy. The residential sector accounts for most energy use in the Gaza Strip, necessitating the development of feasible energy-saving techniques. Herein, a simulation-based study has been prepared to examine the integration of some practical passive design strategies into a generic residence. The study aims to optimize thermal performance by minimizing the building's cooling loads. A detailed examination is conducted for the literature on similar research and passive design techniques to investigate a city's state and climate. Three passive parameters, namely, shading devices, natural ventilation, and thermal insulation, were investigated using Climate Consultant and IESve as assessment software. Accordingly, their impacts on the building's indoor temperature and cooling load were evaluated. The findings suggest that the implementation of such passive design parameters can reduce energy consumption by 9.89 kW, representing 59% of the total energy consumption of the building. Such integration in residential buildings could be significant in cities with limited natural resources and would guide architects, designers, engineers towards the potential of passive measures in building design.

Keywords

• Gaza
• Passive design
• IESve
• Temperate climate
• Thermal performance