Effect of Window Dimensions on Daylighting and Energy Consumption in Residential Complexes of Hot and Dry Climate of Iran; Case Study: Isfahan City

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Qom, Qom, Iran (Corresponding Author).

2 M.A of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Art, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.

10.22034/aaud.2021.174175.1822

Abstract

The present study aims to achieve daylighting (or natural lighting) and optimal energy consumption in residential buildings. This study selected District 4 of Isfahan as the case study of a city in a hot and dry climate. A mixed method was used to examine the effect of window dimensions: simulation of light and energy, by using Diva, Honeybee, and Ladybug plugins in addition to the Energy Plus simulation engine. In this case, the window percentage to the area of the southern wall was considered as the variable to measure the optimum window percentage in terms of using daylight and energy efficiency, and then the role of window shape and size in daylighting was examined. The purpose of this assessment is to provide guidelines for architects to determine suitable sizes and dimensions of windows in residential complexes located in hot and dry climates. The results of this study show that increased dimensions and size of the window do not expand daylight utilization percentage to the same extent. Although the increased size of the window reduces electrical lighting use, an excessive increase in the size of the window does not have a considerable impact on increasing electrical lighting savings. Moreover, the exposed cooling load by electrical lighting prevents very small windows from reducing cooling energy use in the building. On the other hand, heat loss through windows prevents very large windows to reduce heating energy use. According to the results of the study, around 30% of the most optimum window dimensions occurred in the southern front o the building. Although the obtained dimensions depend on some design conditions of the building, such as the plan, surrounding buildings, and other factors, these sizes and dimensions must be determined for each building separately.

Keywords

References

Carlucci, Salvatore, Francesco Causone, Francesco De Rosa, and Lorenzo Pagliano. 2015. “A review of indices for assessing visual comfort with a view to their use in optimization processes to support building integrated design.” Renewable and sustainable energy reviews 47: 1016-1033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.03.062
Dabe, Trupti J., and Alpana R. Dongre. 2018. “Analysis of performance of the daylight into critical liveable area of ‘type design’dwelling unit on the basis of daylight metrics for hot and dry climate.” Indoor and Built Environment 27(1): 129-142. DOI: 10.1177/1420326X16669844
Kasmai, Morteza. 2003. Climate and architecture. Isfahan: Nashre Khak. [in Persian]
Kubba, Sam. 2014. LEED v4 Practices, Certification, and Accreditation Handbook. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Lartigue, B., B. Lasternas, and V. Loftness. 2014. “Multi-objective optimization of building envelope for energy consumption and daylight.” Indoor and built environment 23(1): 70-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326X1348022
Lee, Jae-Wook, Hyung-Jo Jung, Ji-Young Park, J. B. Lee, and Yoonjin Yoon. 2013. “Optimization of building window system in Asian regions by analyzing solar heat gain and daylighting elements.” Renewable energy 50: 522-531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2012.07.029
Melendo, Jose Manuel Almodóvar, and P. Roche. 2017. “Effects of window size in daylighting and energy performance in buildings.” In Proceedings of the PLEA. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228471133.
Montaser Koohsari, Ayda, Rima Fayaz, and Behrouz Mohammad Kari. 2015. “The influence of window dimensions and location on residential building energy consumption by integrating thermal and lighting analysis in a mild and humid climate.” BRIS Journal Of Advances in Science and Technology 3: 187-194.
Qiyabaklo, Zahra. 2013. Fundamentals of Building Physics 5 Daylight. Tehran: Jihad University, Amirkabir Industrial Unit. [in Persian]
Sonawane, Mahesh B., and Sumedh Y. Mhaske. 2016. “Daylighting estimation and analysis in residential apartment building: GIS based approach.” In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 37(1), p. 012024.
Armanshahr Architecture & Urban Development
Volume 16, Issue 42
June 2023
Pages 17-30

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 06 March 2019
  • Revise Date: 08 January 2021
  • Accept Date: 17 January 2021

Share

How to cite

Statistics