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Bio-Climatic Analysis and Thermal Performance of Upper Egypt A Case Study Kharga Region
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Date
2012
Authors
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Publisher
Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu)
Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu)
Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu)
Abstract
As a result of the change and development of Egyptian society, Egyptian government has
focused its attention of comprehensive development to various directions. One of these
attentions is housing, construction and land reclamation in desert and Upper Egypt. In the
recent century the most attentions of the government is the creation of new wadi parallel to
Nile wadi in the west desert. Kharga Oasis is 25 degrees 26'56?North latitude and 30 degrees 32'24?East
longitude. This oasis, is the largest of the oases in the westren desert of Egypt. It required the
capital of the new wadi (Al Wadi Al Gadeed Government). The climate of this oasis is
caricaturized by; aridity, high summer daytime temperature, large diurnal temperature
variation, low relative humidity and high solar radiation. In such conditions, man losses his
ability to work and to contribute effectively in the development planning due to the high
thermal stress affected on him. In designing and planning in this region, it is necessary not only
to understand the needs of the people but to create an indoor environment which is suitable for
healthy, pleasant, and comfortable to live and work in it. So, efforts have been motivated
towards the development of new concepts for building design and urban planning to moderate
the rate, direction and magnitudes of heat flow. Also, reduce or if possible eliminate the energy
expenditure for environmental control. In order to achieve this, attention has to be focused on
building design to improve its thermal performance, which is a function of building form,
orientation, location, and materials used and produce comfortable environmental conditions
without increasing of energy consumed. This can be valid in three stage, the first one by using
the bio-climatic analysis, the 2nd one by the handle and simplified calculation methods (Uvalue,
Thermal time constant, and Degree day), and the 3rd one is by the simulation method.
The admittance procedure is a technique for estimating cooling/heating load and temperature
changes under cyclic conditions by using the thermal characteristics (Y-value, lambda, phi, Sf) of the
building structure. It dependent on determining the daily means value and the swing about the
mean. The admittance method is used and a computer program is developed to predict the
heating and cooling load as well as the environmental air temperature by the author. This study
deals with the bio-climatic analysis and thermal performance of building in Kharga Oasis. The
results show that, the air catcher, court and Passive cooling systems (evaporative cooling),
maintained the indoor climate in the thermal human comfort zone during the hottest period
under the effect of climatic conditions of Kharga. Also shading devices, and suitable
orientation achieve a harmony building with environment. Using insulating materials in
exposed walls and roof save energy by about 60%. The Thermal insulation thicknesses
between 0.03-0.05m for exposed walls and 0.05m for exposed roofs are suitable to valid the
required thermal resistance in Kharga Oasis according to the Egyptian Residential Buildings
Energy Code, ECP 306-2005.
Description
Keywords
Admittance, Building envelope, Cooling and heating load, Kharga Oasis, Thermal performance