The Effect of Architectural Standards on Energy Consumption in High-Rise Residential Building in Northern Iraq

Abstract

Energy consumption is indeed a significant challenge in many countries. It is important to promote sustainable practices for energy and resource conservation for future generations. Sustainable practices may be developed through architectural standards. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of architectural standards on energy consumption, especially in high-rise residential buildings located in Northern Iraq. To meet our aim, we collected primary data through a survey of five high-rise residential buildings that had different architectural standards located in Northern Iraq. Smart PLS-SEM was used for data analysis to obtain the results of the investigation. Our findings show that all the architecture standards, such as residential building envelope design, residential building system and control, residential building shape and massing, green roof and facade design, ventilation and natural ventilation, orientation and solar gain, and thermal comfort and insulation, have positive impacts on energy consumption, indicating the selected high-rise residential building have not followed the international standard in Iraq and have high energy consumption that is not cost-effective. Moreover, window design has a significant negative impact on energy consumption, indicating low energy consumption due to attractive and international standard window design. This study has significant implications for government, policy makers, architects, engineers, and stakeholders.