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Green-roofs are becoming a popular breathing roofing alternative to traditional roofing systems. Green-roofs were mentioned as an ecological-economical solution; however, limited work has been carried out on the potential life cycle cost savings of green roofs in arid climates. This paper present costs savings by green roofs in arid climates. The model accounts for energy savings, structural considerations as well as other variables. Detailed thermal simulations for various configurations of green roofs are performed to assess energy savings using DesignBuilder. Experiments are performed for a two story residential building in Egypt with a base case control that uses a traditional roof meeting standard model energy codes. One local sub-climatic zone was simulated while changing the thickness of the green-roof soil, the conductivity of the green roof and building aspect ratio. Costs for green-roof saving potentials were estimated according to Egyptian electricity consumption calculator, other parameters as retrofit potential and structure allowances to withhold the required layers with different thicknesses. The results demonstrate the economic benefits of using green-roofs under different design situations and provide guidance for the selection and design of green-roofs systems in similar climates. Savings varied from 15-32% compared to traditional and un-isolated roofs. It was also found that reducing soil thickness to 15 cm results in 15% annual savings, Moreover, conductivity of soil has significant impact on amount of savings. The research shows that the most energy saving realized when the aspect ratio of the building is 1:1.5.

Increased urbanization have many negative effects on human well-being, city infrastructure, electricity usage and the increase of indoor temperatures. A solution may be to retrofit existing buildings, with implementing a vegetated layer to roofs and walls, this may enhance building performance, reduce consumption and improve indoor comfort. Cities with tall buildings may be more adequate to implement a green-wall as it have more area to make impact. This paper examines the energy reduction advantages of adding greenery on buildings in the hot arid climate of Egypt by considering three typical types of residential buildings in the city of Cairo as a case study. Designbuilder software was selected to stimulate the buildings chosen in this research. The results shows that an extensive soil thickness of 15cm performs better in the arid climates. electricity consumption for the base case is 52 kWh/m2 annually when used a traditional external envelop and dropped to 43 kWh/m2 when a vegetated layer added to the whole building (roof & wall), annual electricity consumption reduced by 17% to 25% per annum when added a vegetated layer. In addition to enhancing the indoor thermal comfort by 3 PMV values and indoor air temperature by 5°C.

Egypt has been facing a vast power crisis in the past few years. A dilemma is projected to surge on the long run if not properly dealt with. The power sector is totally dependent on fuel, which is a primary source of energy in Egypt, and since the production of energy is not equivalent to the rising demand, so it becomes a major cause behind the power crisis. Efforts so far had been concentrating on the supply side, while neglecting an equally important part of the equation presumed by the demand side. On the other hand, energy efficiency is fast becoming an integral part of the demand, where the residential sector in Egypt plays a very important part with around 47% of power consumption, making it the highest sector consuming energy from the demand side, and hence presents a good opportunity to investigate in term of energy efficiency and the promotion of its applications in order to solve the energy problem, so that later the same concept can be applied in other sectors for a holistic solution to the both the power and the energy problem in Egypt. This study will focus on generating a political framework to promote energy efficiency as a solution to the energy problem in Egypt at end-user's level.

A sacred building is defined as a comfortable place that holds certain qualities similar to those originated from nature in harmony with its surroundings. The sacredness quality, though, usually pertains to Religious Buildings that allow for human comfort and a unique state of mind. This paper investigates the effect of sacred buildings on human brain. It concentrates on measurements of brain waves during the presence of the user at certain Paths (coordinates) in these buildings. The variation and intensity of these measurements indicate the effect of “sacredness” as a quality on the user along his/ her journey through the building. This could be used in architecture as evidence of the presence of the sacred quality; and to study the intensity of the positive effect of these buildings. This process is based on a scientific experiment to determine whether or not buildings affect the brain wave frequencies of users, and, measures these effects in terms of Brain Wave Frequency Charts through EEG Devices.