Impacts of Courtyard Envelope Design on Energy Performance in the Hot Summer–Cold Winter Region of China

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the effects of courtyard envelope design on the energy performance of office buildings in the hot summer–cold winter region of China. Two types of courtyard buildings were simulated with 200 energy models by changing the following variables: window–wall ratio (south, north, east, and west walls), window U-value, wall U-value, solar heat gain coefficient, and orientation. The treed Gaussian process (TGP) sensitivity analysis method was employed to quantify the contributions of parameters related to courtyard design that result in the changes of annual cooling, heating, lighting, and total energy consumption. The results show that the courtyard envelope design has a significant effect on the energy consumption in this case study. The most influential factor affecting annual cooling energy consumption and the annual total energy consumption is the orientation, which is responsible for 37% and 81%, respectively, in two layouts to annual cooling energy use. The corresponding proportion increased to 45% and 86% in terms of the total energy consumption. The most influential factor influencing annual heating energy use is the window U-value, which explained nearly 60% of the changes to the heating energy use. The effect of the solar heat gain coefficient in two kinds of layouts is as high as 82% and 79% for lighting energy use in this case study. Due to the different courtyard forms, the magnitude of the effect of the parameters on energy consumption and the main trend of the effect is slightly different.

Sensitivity Analysis and Optimization of Energy-Saving Measures for Office Building in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Regions

“…Furthermore, this study reveals that apart from the factor Th during the operational phase of the building, SC exerts the most substantial influence on heating energy consumption. This finding contrasts with those in [31], where Cheng et al considered Uwin to have the greatest influence on heating energy consumption. This disparity may be attributed to differences in sensitivity analysis methodologies employed and variations in the building model's geometry.…”

“…This disparity may be attributed to differences in sensitivity analysis methodologies employed and variations in the building model's geometry. Concerning total energy consumption, SC and WWR demonstrate notable sensitivity, while building orientation and Uwin were deemed more significant in their research [31]. The findings regarding cooling energy consumption mirror those of total energy consumption.…”

The Effects of Courtyard Envelope on the Energy Required for Cooling in the Hot Desert Climate

“…Several studies have been performed to investigate the impact of courtyard design on energy use. According to the previous studies, the energy performance of courtyard buildings varies depending on the local climate and microclimate [8]. courtyard proportions, courtyard orientations [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], materials and surface albedo of the courtyard walls, and window to wall ratio (WWR) are the most efficient parameters that affect both thermal performance and energy efficiency in these buildings.…”