Assessment of Current Energy Consumption in Residential Buildings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), residential buildings' energy consumption accounts for almost 50% of the building stock electricity consumption. The KSA's economy relies heavily on fossil fuel sources, namely oil reservoirs, whose depletion will negatively affect the future development of the country. The total electricity consumption is...

Coolfacade: Architectural Integration of Solar Cooling Technologies in the Building Envelope

Increasing cooling demands in the built environment present an important and complex challenge for the design of sustainable buildings and cities. Even though the first course of action should always aim to reduce energy consumption through saving measures and passive design; these are often not enough to avoid mechanical equipment altogether,...

Possibilities and Constraints for the Widespread Application of Solar Cooling Integrated Façades

Cooling demands in buildings have drastically increased in recent decades and this trend is set to continue into the near future, due to increasing standards of living and global climate change, among the most relevant factors. Besides energy consumption, the use of refrigerants in common vapour compression cooling technologies is a source of...