The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia
In this paper, the authors explored the hypothesis that the most common approach to improve a building’s energy efficiency in the hot climate of Saudi Arabia, which focuses on engineering parameters, is not sufficient and architectural design parameters should be adopted to reduce cooling loads. In...
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| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42958/ |
| _version_ | 1848796611280371712 |
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| author | Ghabra, Noura Rodrigues, Lucélia Taranto Oldfield, Philip |
| author_facet | Ghabra, Noura Rodrigues, Lucélia Taranto Oldfield, Philip |
| author_sort | Ghabra, Noura |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | In this paper, the authors explored the hypothesis that the most common approach to improve a building’s energy efficiency in the hot climate of Saudi Arabia, which focuses on engineering parameters, is not sufficient and architectural design parameters should be adopted to reduce cooling loads. In order to investigate this hypothesis, 27 sets of dynamic thermal simulations were compared. The best and worst combinations of glazing ratio, wall and glazing type were identified in order to understand the most influential parameter impacting the cooling energy loads in the building. The findings demonstrated that the reliance on a prescriptive approach for building envelope ‘engineering parameters’ specifications does not achieve the required levels of energy efficiency, and the thoughtful consideration of the ‘design parameters’, such as shading elements, could have a significant impact on cooling energy loads. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:50:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-42958 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:50:44Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-429582020-05-04T19:20:27Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42958/ The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia Ghabra, Noura Rodrigues, Lucélia Taranto Oldfield, Philip In this paper, the authors explored the hypothesis that the most common approach to improve a building’s energy efficiency in the hot climate of Saudi Arabia, which focuses on engineering parameters, is not sufficient and architectural design parameters should be adopted to reduce cooling loads. In order to investigate this hypothesis, 27 sets of dynamic thermal simulations were compared. The best and worst combinations of glazing ratio, wall and glazing type were identified in order to understand the most influential parameter impacting the cooling energy loads in the building. The findings demonstrated that the reliance on a prescriptive approach for building envelope ‘engineering parameters’ specifications does not achieve the required levels of energy efficiency, and the thoughtful consideration of the ‘design parameters’, such as shading elements, could have a significant impact on cooling energy loads. Oxford University Press 2017-12-01 Article PeerReviewed Ghabra, Noura, Rodrigues, Lucélia Taranto and Oldfield, Philip (2017) The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, 12 (4). pp. 411-419. ISSN 1748-1325 Energy efficiency Tall buildings Residential Façade design Building envelope https://academic.oup.com/ijlct/article/12/4/411/4431020 doi:10.1093/ijlct/ctx005 doi:10.1093/ijlct/ctx005 |
| spellingShingle | Energy efficiency Tall buildings Residential Façade design Building envelope Ghabra, Noura Rodrigues, Lucélia Taranto Oldfield, Philip The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia |
| title | The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in saudi arabia |
| topic | Energy efficiency Tall buildings Residential Façade design Building envelope |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42958/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42958/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42958/ |