Optimization and enhancement of building envelope characteristics for implementing energy-efficient buildings
Omar BOURASS, Khalid EL HARROUNI, Aziz ET-TAHIR
Abstract. The purpose of this scientific paper is to study the impact of optimizing the characteristics of the envelope of a house localized in a desert climate, on the annual energy needs in terms of heating and cooling, solar energy, and internal gains and losses. In this regard, simulations were carried out, first on a basic house which took into consideration the characteristics of the usual construction method in this specified geographical area, and secondly, on the same basic house but improved in terms of its envelope characteristics and taking in consideration some of the strongest point of vernacular architecture in this area, namely, the harmony between environment and buildings. Based on our analysis, it turns out that by simply optimizing the characteristics of the envelope, we can save a considerable amount of energy throughout the life cycle of a house and we manage to save three times less energy, more energy gains, and less energy losses compared to the basic method of construction.
Keywords
Energy-Efficient Buildings, Thermal Comfort, Sustainable Architecture, Building Envelope, Thermal Performance, Thermal Dynamic Simulation, Energy Needs Gains and Loss
Published online 1/10/2025, 11 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Omar BOURASS, Khalid EL HARROUNI, Aziz ET-TAHIR, Optimization and enhancement of building envelope characteristics for implementing energy-efficient buildings, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 47, pp 343-353, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903391-39
The article was published as article 39 of the book Vernacular Architecture
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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