Impact of Urban Geometry on Cooling Loads in Egypt : Case study: A social residential compound in New Aswan City
Hatem Mahmoud, Ayman Ragab
Abstract
In Egypt, the buildings sector is responsible for around 62% and 26% of total electricity consumption and total national energy consumption respectively. Despite the increased energy consumption, there is a great potential to save energy by minimizing the energy demand for space cooling. this study aims to quantify the relation between residential clusters configuration, heat stress on the surrounding building facades, and associated cooling loads to achieve indoor thermal comfort. The study uses the numerical modelling to identify the influence of residential clusters' microclimate on the energy demand for space cooling of residential buildings. The ENVI-met and Design Builder software were used to simulate both the exterior microclimate and the energy needed for cooling in adjacent buildings and the surface temperature of the surrounding building facades captured by a thermal camera. Analytical results indicate that the north-east residential clusters with a sky-view factor (SVF) of less than 0.5 have a lower surface temperature of the building facade of less than 45 °C in the neighboring building facades, which in turn decreases the cooling energy requirement by more than 50%. Moreover, reducing the required cooling load is associated with achieving a better thermal performance for the outdoor space.