Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC)
Volume 14, April 2018, Pages 79 - 92
Mina Michel Samaan, Osama Farag, Magdi Khalil
1 April 2018
Abstract
This article presents a case of heuristic optimization of cooling loads and daylightinglevels in deep halls of Egyptian Universities, using DesignBuilder software, with EnergyPlus andRadiance engines, in order to show the vital role of simulation tools in architects’ hands. Generallyspeaking, campus buildings in Egypt reflect real problems of energy efficiency and indoor environ-mental quality of the overcrowded educational spaces. The case, studied in the article, is for threedrawing halls of different specifications, located in the main building of the Faculty of Engineeringat Mansoura University. The simulation work is processed along a road map of three consequentphases: simulating the existing situation of thermal and visual comfort inside the three halls; optimiz-ing cooling loads by testing various alternatives of design parameters; and including daylightinglevels in the optimization process. The study found that optimizing windows shading of overhangsand louvers, low-transmittance characteristics of glazing, and ventilation system would provide from26% to 31% reduction of cooling loads compared to base case, without taking into account daylight-ing requirements. While, opening skylight strips, perpendicular to the external facade, with 8%window–roof-ratio, would provide required daylighting levels with minimum increase of coolingloads. The principle objective, attained through this article, is to underline the significance of usingbuilding performance simulation (BPS) tools in the architectural educational and research work.Ó2016 Housing and Building National Research Center. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V
Keywords
BPS tools;Heuristic optimization;Deep halls;Egyptian campus buildings;Cooling loads;Daylighting levels