Several calls have been everywhere asking for proper use of passive design tools like shading devices, insulation, natural ventilation and solar panels in building architecture of hot-dry area in order to improve the thermal performance of indoor spaces. This paper examines the effect of these...

A very large percentage of the European residential building stock is ageing and does not comply with current energy regulations. The need to complete short-term energy upgrading on these buildings in order to improve performance and meet current regulations poses a considerable challenge....

The South African Government intends to build one million houses and to electrify 2. 5 million homes in the next 5 years. Only once in a nation's lifetime does such an opportunity occur for solar and low-energy architecture to benefit all. Solar power, solar hot water and thermal design of...

Two new courses presented in this paper aim to improve the architects capacity to design low energy buildings using a project based approach, as the principles of bioclimatic design are best incorporated during project development. The first is an intensive regional course programmed by...

The concept of solar energy conscious design has emerged worldwide with the growing number of high-rise apartment buildings. It is important to think of maximizing solar energy utilization in buildings through architectural design strategies. This should lead to the setting up of mandatory...

The paper presents the results of research focused on evaluating the influence of the architectural design of apartment buildings located in different locations in Havana city. The object under study has been the volume of buildings in relation to their surroundings, which determines the...

The objectives of this work are (I) to describe the design and building technology details of a solar school built in a continental semiarid region of central Argentina, (II) to show data from energy, hygrothermal and environmental monitoring, and (III) to compare the behavior of a solar and a...

An experimental system was developed and tested in order to investigate the energetic performance of a solar photovoltaic system (PV) assisted earth-to-air heat exchanger (underground air tunnel) that is used for greenhouse cooling at the Solar Energy Institute, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey....