Energy savings approaches of buildings in hot-arid region, Saudi Arabia: case study

Abstract

Recently, the energy savings have become more pronounced as a result of the worldfinancial crises as well the unstable oil prices. Certainly all entities need to adapt EnergyConservation and Management Strategies. This is due to high monthly consumptionof energy; energy bills of Saudi telecom exchange buildings are a good example. Toimprove energy savings of such installations, it is necessary to either provide welldesigned new buildings, or enhance existing buildings with more energy saving strategypractices. This paper investigates the impact of heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC) system characteristics, designed spaces of buildings, operational strategies,the impact of envelope thermal characteristics and energy conservation measures.These measures are classified under three types; i.e. zero-investment, low-investmentand high-investment energy conservation measures. The study shows that the energyconservation measures (ECMs) pertaining to the HVAC system characteristics andoperation represent the highest potential for energy reduction. Attention should begiven to window thermal and solar radiation characteristics, when large window areasare used. The type of glazing system needs to be carefully considered in the earlydesign phase of future buildings. The HVAC set points to provide optimal operation oftelecom devices in the exchange center. The Paper presents the thermal optimizationof centers of different size in the hot–arid regions, Saudi Arabian city of Al Khobar,eastern province and the effect of adding wall and roof insulation on cooling energyis evident. Also the total reduction of around 3-20% is obtained by applying both walland roof insulation.