Climate and Energy Responsive Housing in Continental Climates

The Suitability of Passive Houses for Iran's Dry and Cold Climate

Farshad Nasrollahi

Table of Contents

Abstract XIV

German Abstract XVI

Introduction 1 Research Problem 1 State of Knowledge 2 Research Questions 2 Research Area 2 Methodology and Structure 3

Chapter One: Climate and Architecture 6

Introduction 7

Energy 9

Climate 9 Macro Climate 10 Meso Climate 10 Local Climate 10 Microclimate 10 Climatic Factors 11

Air Temperature 12 Wind 12 Solar Radiation 12

Components of Solar Radiation 12 Amount of Solar Radiation 13 Cloudiness Index 14

Precipitation 14 Atmospheric Humidity 14

Indoor Climate 15 Comfort Zone 15

Difference in Comfort Zones 17

Climate Responsive Buildings 19 Building 19

Building Shape 19 Compactness and Elongation 20 Orientation 20 Floor Plan Design (Room Location and Arrangement) 21

Thermal Envelope 23 Windows 23 Walls 24 Roofs 24

Colours of the Wallsand Roofs 24 Materials 25 Thermal Insulation 25

Bioclimatic Chart 26 Building Bioclimatic Chart 26

Heating 28 External Gains .28

Solar Heating 28 Passive Solar Heating Systems 29

Direct Gain 29

IV

Non-Diffusing Direct Gain System 29 Diffusing Direct Gain System 29 Direct Gain Sunspace 30

Indirect Gain 30 Mass Wall 30 TrombeWall 30 Water Wall 30 Remote Storage Wall 30 Simple U-Tube Collector 30

Thermosiphoning Wall 30 Roof Pond 31 Shaded Storage Roof 31

Isolated Gain 31 Sunspace System 31 Barra-Costantini System 31 Black Attic System 31 Thermosiphon System 31

Dual Gain 31 Internal Gains 33

Household Appliances 33 Lighting 33 Occupancy Heat 33

Cooling 33 Passive Cooling 33

Solar Control 35 Shading Devices 35

Shading Coefficient 35 Typology of Shading Devices 36 Positional Typology of Shading Devices 36

External Shading Devices 36 Internal Shading Devices 37 Mid-Pane Shading Devices 37

Moveability Typology of Shading Devices 37

Fixed Shading Devices 38 Movable Shading Devices 38 Retractable Shading Devices 39

Overhang 39 Awning 39 Vegetation 40

Tree 40 Vine 41

Venetian Blind 41 Exterior Venetian Blind 41

Interior Venetian Blind 41 Louver 42 Roller Blind 42 Sunscreen 42 Drapery 43 Egg-crate 43 Conclusion 43

Thermal Mass 45 Natural Ventilation 45

Single Side Ventilation 46 Cross Ventilation 46 Stack Ventilation 46 Wind Scope 47

Evaporative Cooling 48

V

Water 48 Vegetation 49

Evaporative Cooling and Natural Ventilation 49 Natural Ventilation over Water Ponds and Vegetation 49 Wind Tower with Water Pond 50

Earth Cooling and Natural Ventilation 51 Earth Cooling, Natural Ventilation, and Evaporative Cooling 51 Green Roofs 51 Night Cooling 52

Night Structural Cooling (with Thermal Mass) 52 Night Radiative Cooling 52

Green Roofs, Evaporative Cooling and Natural Ventilation 53 Natural Ventilation and Evaporative Cooling (Wind Towers, Windows and Vents with Wet Surfaces)

53 Hybrid Cooling 53

Subsoil Heat Exchanger (Earth Cooling) 54 Night Cooling (with Storage of Night-Cooled Water) 54 Green Roof and Evaporative Cooling 55 Night Cooling and Evaporative Cooling 55

Chapter Two: Iran 57

State of Knowledge 58 Iranian Fuel Conservation Organization (IFCO) 58 Iran Energy Efficiency Organization (IEEO) 58 Renewable Energy Organization of Iran (SUNA) 59 Literature Analysis 59 Building Energy Regulations 59 Practical Experiences 60 Result 60

Climate 61 Climatic Zones 61

General Climatic Regions 61 Winter and Summer Climatic Regions 62

Cold Climatic Zone 63 Climate of the City of Tabriz 63

Climatic Parameters of Tabriz (Climatic Data) 64 Air Temperature 64 Air Humidity 65 Solar Radiation 66

Orientation and Solar Radiation 68 Solar Radiation Incident for Tilted South-Facing Surfaces 69 Orientation and Solar Radiation in Heating and Cooling Periods 70

Precipitation 70 Wind 71

Energy 72 Natural Gas 73 Electricity 74 Renewable Energy 75 Energy Consumption by Sectors 75

Energy Consumption by Buildings 77 Residential and Commercial Energy Consumption by Fuel Type 77

Energy Price 78

Building 80 Introduction 80 Traditional Housing in Tabriz 80

VI

Traditional Housing Examples for Tabriz 82 House 1 82 House 2 83 House 3 84 House 4 85 Results 85

New Individual Low-Rise Houses of Tabriz 86 Houses and Neighbourhood Typology 88 Privacy 89 Construction Materials 90 Energy Saving Regulation in Buildings 90 Heating and Cooling 91

Chapter Three: Germany 93

State of Knowledge 94 Comparison of Iran and Germany 95

Climate 96 Climatic Zones 96

Solar Radiation 100 Precipitation 102 Climate of Munich 103

Climatic Parameters of Munich (Climatic Data) 104 Air Temperature 104 Comparison of Surfaces with Different Orientations 104

Energy 106 Energy Consumption 106 Electricity Generation 106 Energy Import 107 Renewable Energy 108

Building 109 Normal Buildings 109 Low Energy Houses 110 Passive Houses I l l

Heat Loss 112 Insulation 113

Thermal Bridge 113 Air Tightness 114

Blower Door Test 115 Air Change with Ventilation Systems 115 Heat Exchanger 116 Subsoil Heat Exchanger 119 Heating System 120 Windows 120

Window Orientation 120 Window Glass 120 Solar Heat Gain of Windows 121 Window Frame 122

Passive House Windows 122 Advantages of Passive House Windows 122

External Doors 123 Passive House Characteristics 123 Passive House Standards 124

Energy Supply of Passive Houses 125 Use of Passive Solar Heating System in Passive Houses 126

Use of Direct Gain in Passive Houses 126

VII

Use of Indirect Gain in Passive Houses 126 Remote Storage Wall System 127 Use of Remote Storage Wall Systems in Passive Houses 127 Simple U-Tube Collector 127 Use of U-tube Collectors in Passive Houses 128

Passive Houses in Summer 128 Energy Use of Household Appliances 128

Chapter Four: Analysis 129

Introduction 130

Comparison of Iran and Germany 131 Climate 131

Comparison of Climate of Tabriz and Munich 131 Air Temperature 133 Relative Humidity 133 Solar Radiation 135 Wind 136 Heating and Cooling Degree Days 137 Psychrometric Chart Comparison 140

Climate Comparison Results 141 Heating (Winter) 141 Cooling (Summer) 142

Energy 143 Building 145

Indoor Air Temperature (Comfort Zone) 145 Energy Consumption of Buildings 146 Building HVAC System 146

Economy 147

Building Energy Simulation in Iran 148 Building Energy Software Tools 148

EnergyPlus 149 DesignBuilder 150 Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) 151 Climate Consultant 151 GAEA 151 Economic Evaluation (Oeko-Rat) 152 Input Data 152

Climate Data Analysis 153 Psychrometric Analysis 153

Heating 154 Cooling 154

Temperature Timetable Plot 155 Sun Chart and Sun Shading Chart 156

Passive Houses in the Cold Climatic Region in Iran 159 Introduction 159 Energy Demand of Buildings with the Same Insulation 161 Comparison of Buildings 4 and 5 162

Comparison of Buildings 4 and 5 with Equal Insulation Thickness 162 Comparison of Buildings 4 and 5 with Equal Energy Needs 164

Effect of the Number of Stories on Insulation 164 Insulation Material of Single-Level Passive Houses 164 Insulation Material of 1 and 3-Story Passive Houses 165 Insulation Material of Multi-Story Passive Houses 167

Comparison of Buildings with and without a Basement 168

VIII

Building Components of Passive Houses 169 Windows 169

Effect of Triple Glazed Windows on Energy Need 169 Effect of Double Glazed Window on Energy Need 170 Comparison of Double and Triple Glazed Windows 171

Use of Conventional Masonry Materials for Walls of Passive Houses 172 Thickness of Brick Walls in Passive Houses 172 Use of Hollow Clay Tile or Solid Brick in the Walls 173

Proportion of Wall and Roof Insulation Thickness 174 Thickness of Insulation Material in Iran's Passive Houses 175 Depth of Subsoil Heat Exchanger 175 A Simulation of the Subsoil Heat Exchanger 177 Results of Simulations 179

Simulation of Architectural Elements 180 Introduction 180 Windows 181

Different Window Area for a Single Orientation 181 Triple Glazed Window with External Blind 181

Matching Window Ratio at Every Orientation 185

Double Glazed Windows with External Shading Devices 185 Varying Amounts of East, West and North-Facing Window Areas in Buildings with a 100% South-

Facing Window Ratio 186

East and West-Facing Windows 186 North-Facing Windows 187

Shading Devices 188 Effect of Shading Devices on Energy Demand in Triple Glazed Windows with Same Window Ratio in

Different Orientations 188 Effect of the Size of External Shading Devices on Energy Demand 190

Comparison of Different External Shading Devices 192 Comparison of Internal and External Blinds 193 Operation Type of Shading Devices (External Blinds) 193

Effect of External Blinds and Overhangs 194 Effect of Overhang Size on Buildings with External Blinds 195 Result of Shading Devices 196

Elongation 197 Orientation 198 Roof 199

Roof Pitch 199 Skylights on Flat Roofs 200

Simulation of Buildings with Different Architectural Designs 201 Introduction 201 Comparison of Energy Demand of All Simulated Buildings 208 Comparison of Energy Demands of Similar Buildings 208

Effect of Insulation on Energy Consumption 208 Comparison of Building 2 and Similar Buildings 209 Comparison of Building 3 and a Similar Building 209 Comparison of Building 4 and a Similar Building 210 Comparison of Building 5 with a Similar Building 210 Comparison of Building 6 with a Similar Building 211 Comparison of Building 7 with a Similar Building 211 Comparison of Building 8 with Similar Buildings 212 Comparison of Building 9 and Similar Buildings 212

Comparison of Heating and Cooling Energy Demands 213 Comparison of an Existing Building and Other Insulated Buildings 213 Comparison of Insulated and Uninsulated Existing Buildings and Other Insulated Designed Buildings

213 Comparison of Insulated Designed Buildings (in Four Groups) 214

IX

Comparison of Heating, Cooling and Total Energy Demands of Insulated Buildings 214 Comparison of the Least and the Most Efficient Buildings 215 Results 219

Economic Analysis 221 Economic Evaluation with the Energy Price in Iran 223 Economic Evaluation with the Average Energy Price of other Countries 224

Heating and Cooling Mechanical Equipment (HVAC System) 226 Introduction 226 Heating Systems 226

Classification of Central Heating Systems Based on Fuel Type 226 Classification of Central Heating Systems Based on the Type of Medium 226

Cooling Systems 227 Classification of Cooling Systems Based on Cooling Medium 227

Heat Pump 227 Choosing an Appropriate HVAC System for Passive Houses of Iran 228 Ventilation System 230 Results 232

Heater-Cooler System 232 Heat Pump System 233

Chapter Five: Conclusion and Recommendation 235

Conclusion 236 Technological Evaluation... 237 Economic Evaluation 237 Results 238

Windows 239 Shading Devices 239 Results of Simulation 240 Recommendations 243 Recommendations to the Government and Energy Authorities 243 Recommendations to the Researchers 243

Discussion 244

References 24S

Appendix 258 Climate 258 Cloudiness Index 259 Energy Consumption of Buildings in Tabriz and Munich 261 Atmospheric Comfort and Danger Zones 262 Daily Graphs of Simulated Buildings 263 EnergyPlus output data of simulation of one of simulated buildings 272

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