Scholarly record
OPTIMAL THICKNESS OF ROOF INSULATION FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN A HOT AND ARID CLIMATE
Abstract
Buildings consume a large quantity of energy owing to their constant operation and long lifespan. Building-energy simulations are an important element of the decision-making process because they allow designers to examine the energy and comfort effects of various building design alternatives. In hot and arid climate conditions, cooling tends to dominate building thermal energy use. Cooling loads can be reduced through the adoption of efficient building envelope materials. This study investigates the optimal thickness of roof layers for energy performance and thermal comfort in a residential building in New Minia, Egypt. The optimization process is conducted using the parametric run option in IDA-Indoor and Climate Energy (IDA-ICE 4.8) simulation tool. The examined materials for the roof layers include Concrete tiles, Egyptian Portland cement mortar, Egyptian sand, bitumen damp insulation, and Reinforce concrete. Results show that the optimal thickness of roof layers saves 27.5 %, 10.2%, and 12% reduction in heating energy demand, cooling energy demand, and total delivered energy. Carbon dioxide concentrations of the optimal solution are better than the reference scenario by 33 ppm. The outcomes of this work will enhance energy consumption decrease without the adoption of complicated constructive systems. The case study was conducted for a cold semi-arid region, where the possibility to minimize a building's energy demand by optimizing the thickness of roof layers. The technology that resulted in lower energy usage demonstrated its functioning by reducing heat gains and losses throughout a year of operation.
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References15
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