Reducing the Operating Energy of Buildings in Arid Climates through an Adaptive Approach

Aiman Albatayneh, Mohammed N. Assaf, Renad Albadaineh, Adel Juaidi, Ramez Abdallah, Alberto Zabalo and Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro ()
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Aiman Albatayneh: Energy Engineering Department, School of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, German Jordanian University, Amman 11180, Jordan
Mohammed N. Assaf: Energy Engineering Department, School of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, German Jordanian University, Amman 11180, Jordan
Renad Albadaineh: Energy Engineering Department, School of Natural Resources Engineering and Management, German Jordanian University, Amman 11180, Jordan
Adel Juaidi: Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology, An-Najah National University, P.O. Box 7, Nablus 00970, Palestine
Ramez Abdallah: Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology, An-Najah National University, P.O. Box 7, Nablus 00970, Palestine
Alberto Zabalo: Department of Agroforestry Sciences, Huelva University, 21071 Huelva, Spain
Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro: Department of Engineering, University of Almeria, ceiA3, 04120 Almeria, Spain

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: Due to its excessive energy consumption, the building sector contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The type of thermal comfort models used to maintain the comfort of occupants has a direct influence on forecasting heating and cooling demands and plays a critical role in reducing actual energy usage in the buildings. In this research, a typical residential building was simulated to compare the heating and cooling loads in four different Jordanian climates when using an adaptive thermal model versus the constant setting of temperature limits for air-conditioning systems (19–24 °C). The air-conditioning system with constant temperature settings worked to sustain thermal comfort inside the building, resulting in a significantly increased cooling and heating load. By contrast, significant energy savings were achieved using the temperature limits of an adaptive thermal model. These energy savings equated to 1533, 6276, 3951, and 3353 kWh, which represented 29.3%, 80.5%, 48.5%, and 67.5% of the total energy used for heating and cooling for zones one, two, three, and four, respectively.

Keywords: adaptive thermal comfort; low building energy; energy consumption; Mediterranean climate; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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