Studying Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort Conditions in Heritage Buildings: A Case Study of Murabba Palace

Abstract

Heritage buildings are significant historical and architecture added value, which requires deep and precise preliminary brainstorming when considering upgrading or retrofitting these valuable buildings. In this study, we opted to highlight some passive design architecture interventions to improve the thermal comfort and the required cooling energy for buildings. The Murabba Palace in Riyadh was selected as a case study. DesignBuilder software was used to evaluate the energy performance of ten passive architectural design alternatives throughout different seasons in an attempt to improve the energy performance and thermal comfort of heritage buildings. The ten passive design scenarios encompassed double low-E glass, double reflected glass, double low-E glass and double wall with an air gap, double low-E glass and double wall with thermal insulation, double low-E glass and double wall with lightweight thermal insulation, double low-E glass and double wall with sprayed foam insulation, double reflected glass and double wall with an air gap, double reflected glass and double wall with thermal insulation, double reflected glass and double wall with lightweight thermal insulation, and double reflected glass and double wall with sprayed foam insulation. The results show that using double low-E glass and applying a double wall with polystyrene thermal insulation can enhance the thermal comfort inside the building and reduce the energy performance and CO2 emissions to 17% and 9%, respectively.

Effect of Different Proportions of Courtyard Buildings in Hot-Dry Climate on Energy Consumption (Case Study: Traditional Courtyard Houses of Kerman, Iran)

“…DesignBuilder is added to the Energy Plus software calculation model and provides a convenient graphical interface. The simulation used by DesignBuilder is the most accurate simulation with dynamic parameters that include all energy calculations [36,37].…”

Life-Cycle Assessment of Sculptured Tiles for Building Envelopes in Mediterranean Climate

“…In addition, the data was modified to present locally used cement (CEM I and CEM II), as well as current (2020) and future (2025) electricity sources. Electricity, hard coal, at power plant/ES 4 Electricity, natural gas, at power plant/ES 4 Electricity, PV, at 3 kWp flat roof installation, multi-Si/CH 3 Notes: 1 Cement was modified to present Portland cement with 95% clinker (CEM I) and Portland cement with 65% clinker (CEM II) used in Israel. 2 Electricity was modified to present Israeli electricity sources: 31% coal, 56% natural gas, and 13% PV, used in 2020, and 8% coal, 57% natural gas, and 35% PV, planned for 2025.…”

“…2 Electricity was modified to present Israeli electricity sources: 31% coal, 56% natural gas, and 13% PV, used in 2020, and 8% coal, 57% natural gas, and 35% PV, planned for 2025. 3 Switzerland. 4 Spain.…”

“…This large amount of energy consumption can be significantly reduced with proper insulation of the building's envelope. For example, Sbrogiò et al [2] and Al-Saqqaf et al [3] used typical energy-saving technologies (e.g., cladding all exterior walls with mineral wool, insulating panels for floor slabs, double walls with polystyrene insulation, installation of a green roof and double low-E glass) to reduce energy consumption in heating and cooling old or heritage buildings. In both cases, the authors reported a significant energy-saving effect for the operational energy (OE) stage.…”

Computational Modeling of the Thermal Behavior of a Greenhouse

“…The computer application EnergyPlus version 8.1 with graphical user interface De-signBuilder version 3.4.041 was used to simulate the dynamic thermal behavior of the greenhouse model. This well-known computational tool was developed and applied mostly for more traditional structures, such as residential, office, and commercial buildings [19][20][21][22][23]. However, it has been used successfully in simulating considerably different structures from the aforementioned ones, such as data centers, outdoor telecommunications cabinets, or greenhouses [19,24,25].…”