Impact of building morphology, thermal inertia and glazed area on theenergy consumption of residential houses

This paper presents the energy savings thatcould be obtained by the appropriate design ofthe building in terms of morphology, thermalinertia and glazed area. Based on an extendeddatabase of values obtained by simulations, thisparametric study gives a new approach for thearchitects or design engineers as supportguidelines in the very first stage of their projectsin finding efficiently energetic solutions.One of the analyzed parameters is the buildingshape coefficient which is defined as the ratiobetween the volume of a built form and itsexternal heating losses area. It is shown thatthere is strong relationship between the shapecoefficient and the heating demand, majorenergy reductions being possible with the rightbuilding form, values that could reach up to40%. Another aspect of this study is to illustratethe interaction between different designparameters and what it is their impact on theenergy demand of residential houses during thewinter season. It was also investigated thebuilding time constant that characterizes thethermal inertia and which is defined as the ratioof the effective thermal capacitance to thesteady-state heat-loss coefficient of the building.The most noticeable effect of inertia on thebuilding was seen especially in mid-seasonperiod when the heating energy demand ishighly reduced when using a heavyweightbuilding by comparison to a light one. A 10-12% energy reduction on the heating demandcould be achieved with the correct glazingsurface and building time constant. These twoparameters were found to be connected andmust be analyzed in the same time.