Evaluation of Thermal and Energy Performance in Mosque Buildings for Current Situation (Simulation Study) in Mountainous Climate of Abha City
Date Added
02/07/2022
Content Type
Article
Category
Magazine
Link to Content
Subject Area
Mosques
Author
Ahmed Ali A. Shohan & Mohamed B. Gadi
Publisher Name
Sustainability Journal
Year of Publication
2020
Description
Achieving and maintaining indoor thermal comfort is a crucial factor for energy saving
and human health, especially in heavily occupied public buildings, such as mosque buildings.
The acceptable level of thermal comfort should not be achieved at the expense of damaging the
environment by using preventable energy depletion. This study aims to investigate what level thermal
comfort is achieved and related issues in mosque buildings in Abha city, which has a semi-arid
moderate/cold mountainous climate. The research involved a computer modelling investigation by
using Thermal Analysis Software (TAS). A number of comparisons of the simulation results with
actual measurement data in mosque buildings, such as temperature, relative humidity, and energy
demand were conducted. Main factors influencing thermal comfort and PMV were investigated for
the selected mosques. In addition, thermal performance of mosques’ fabrics and envelopes in terms of
solar gain and heat loss/gain by conduction and its impacts on thermal comfort and energy demands
were also discussed. The outcome showed some discomfort due to heat gain in summer and heat
loss in winter. The results also revealed that the main factors behind heat gain or loss were the poor
quality of the investigated mosque buildings’ envelopes, including walls, roofs, floors, windows,
and doors.
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