Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted The role of inhabitants practices in energy use the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as case study(University of Sheffield, 2024-01-19) Alzahrani, Rawdah; Watson, MattSaudi Arabia is considered to be one of the highest consumers of energy per capita because around 70% of its dwellings are uninsulated, which contributed to an increase in its energy demand. Some research has been undertaken about energy consumption in Saudi houses, which has focused on the technical and simulation aspects as a mean to reduce energy demand. This research was undertaken to understand the inhabitants’ practices and how they may affect the energy demand in Saudi homes. It worked in identical regulated homes in Saudi Arabia to advance understanding of the role of inhabitants’ practices in overall residential energy demand. The research was conducted by using a mixed methods approach and with the use of a practice theory. Longitudinal and cross-sectional time horizons were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The results of this research suggest that the technological and social aspects of energy use have at least an equality of importance, and both aspects affect the energy demand of Saudi dwellings. The improvement in the building envelope helped to achieve lower energy consumption compared to the actual average energy consumption for a conventional house. However, exploration of the causes of wide variations presented in energy demand between identical homes provides deep understanding on how inhabitants’ practices influence the energy demand in Saudi homes through the investigation four elements of practices (e.g. technology, engagement, institutionalised knowledge and rules, know-how and embodied habits) and how they are brought together in the conduct of everyday life. Recommendations based on the thesis results are presented for the Saudi Royal Commission. Finally, some insights from social practices are provided for domestic policy to be considered for future housings.20 0Item Restricted Early-Stage Design Decisions Toward Better Built Environment: Its Impact on Energy Consumption, and Heat Emission(2023-04-06) Alhazmi, Mansour; Yeom, Jason; Sailor, David; Sanguinetti, PaolaCities are experiencing rapid warming due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect, which causes the city center to have higher air temperatures than the surrounding rural areas. This dissertation studies the effects of building design on the surrounding environment, particularly for heat release. The first paper in this dissertation (Chapter 2) quantifies the anthropogenic heat emissions from buildings and focuses on an archetype office building, the study is considering four U.S. cities with different climates. The results demonstrate that the building envelope is the main contributor to heat emission from a building, accounting for over 60% of the total heat emission in all cities for four-story buildings. Additionally, the study finds that substituting bare terrain with a constructed building increases sensed heat by more than 70% in all cities and building heights. The second paper (Chapter 3) of this dissertation identifies the key design variables that affect heat emissions and energy consumption in buildings. The study considers 15 U.S. cities that represents all 15 climate zones as defined by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). 10 design variables known for their impacts on energy consumption were identified via a literature review and used in the analysis. The results show that the window-to-wall ratio (WWR) consistently has a strong correlation with energy consumption in all climate zones. Roof and wall solar reflectance variables showed a very strong correlation with heat emissions from a building. The final paper of this dissertation (Chapter 4) presents the results of a survey distributed to experts in the architectural field, to evaluate the importance of different design variables that are related to heat emission and energy consumption. The survey also assessed the importance of considering heat emission as a design criterion during the design process when compared to energy consumption. These survey results provide new insights into how heat emission can be incorporated into the early design process. The dissertation then highlights the difference found via the survey results from the expert with the simulation results to identify the key design variable that relates to both heat emission and energy consumption.11 0