Conference Paper

Proceedings of Building Simulation 2021: 17th Conference of IBPSA

Optimum daylighting and thermal comfort simulation framework for school buildings in hot arid climate

Muhammad Adel Ahmed Mahmoud ¹, Medhat Dorra ¹, Khaled Nassar ², Ayman Hassan El Hakea ³, Mohamed Shaltot ^4
1 Department of Architecture, Cairo University, Egypt
² Construction Engineering Department, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
³ Construction and Building Engineering Department, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Cairo, Egypt
⁴ EGEC Qatar for Engineering Consultations, Doha, Qatar

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2021.31132
Abstract: Traditional dependence on Daylight Factor (DF) and thermal charts in daylighting and thermal simulation is challenged by holistic Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools. Nevertheless, BIM-enabled performance simulation for schools is scarce in literature, especially in hot arid zones. This research proposes a daylighting and thermal comfort optimization model for school buildings in hot arid climate. Considering Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR) and building orientation angle as the decision variables, optimum designs are identified based on multiple criteria, ranked using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHO), and expressed using a holistic Criteria Combined Score (CCS). Three case studies are presented, criteria AHP weights are verified arithmetically, and results are validated using questionnaires. Increasing WWR from 5% to 29%, irrespective of orientation, increased CCS by almost 30%.
Keywords: Building Performance Simulation, Sustainable Design, School Buildings, Hot Climate, Multi-objective Optimization
Pages: 2929 - 2937
Paper: