Sensitivity Analysis of Passive Design Strategies for Residential Buildings in Cold Semi-Arid Climates

Abstract

Buildings are significant drivers of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Improving the thermal comfort of occupants in free-running buildings and avoiding active and fossil fuel-based systems is the main challenge in many cities worldwide. However, the impacts of passive design measures on thermal comfort in cold semi-arid regions are seldom studied. With the rapid urbanization and the widespread use of personalised heating and cooling systems, there is a need to inform building designers and city authorities about passive design measures that can achieve nearly optimal conditions. Therefore, in this study, a global sensitivity analysis of the impact of passive design parameters on adaptive comfort in cold semi-arid climates was conducted. A representative residential building was simulated and calibrated in Quetta, Pakistan, to identify key design parameters for optimal thermal comfort. The results list and rank a set of passive design recommendations that can be used widely in similar climates. The results show that among the investigated 21 design variables, the insulation type of roof is the most influential design variable. Overall, the sensitivity analysis yielded new quantitative and qualitative knowledge about the passive design of buildings with personalised heating systems, but the used sensitivity analysis has some limitations. Finally, this study provides evidence-based and informed design recommendations that can serve architects and homeowners to integrate passive design measures at the earliest conceptual design phases in cold semi-arid climates.

Evaluation of capabilities of different global sensitivity analysis techniques for building energy simulation: experiment on design variables

“…Encinas and De Herde (2013) used the Monte Carlo method with the Spearman coefficient to analyse the thermal discomfort of users in a building in Chile by considering variables related to ventilation, air infiltration and internal loads. Mahar et al (2020) used the Monte Carlo approach to assess design variables in a residential building in Pakistan. The authors used twenty-one design variables, sampled using the Latin Hypercube sampling, by considering both discrete and continuous distribution, depending on the variable.…”

Development of a Mosque Design for a Hot, Dry Climate Based on a Holistic Bioclimatic Vision

“…Sensitivity analysis is a valuable tool for observational studies in buildings and energy simulations to help the design decision-making for bioclimatic and climate-responsive design [38,39]. Sensitivity analysis has been largely applied to explore the parameters of building thermal performance in several applications, such as the impact of climate change on buildings [40], building stock [41], building retrofits [42], calibration of energy models [43] and building design [44].…”

Impact of Passive Energy Efficiency Measures on Cooling Energy Demand in an Architectural Campus Building in Karachi, Pakistan

“…The results showed that by adopting passive measures in the building envelope, significant energy savings for heating, cooling, lighting, and appliances could be achieved while creating a thermally comfortable indoor environment [30]. Several studies in Pakistan examined the relationship between IEQ, thermal comfort, and passive design measures [8,22,[31][32][33][34][35]. However, no research on reducing the indoor temperature and energy demand for cooling through the building envelope and PEEMs in educational buildings in Karachi, Pakistan, has been conducted.…”