Remodelling façade design for improving daylighting and the thermal environment in Abuja’s low-income housing

Abdulkareem, M; Al-Maiyah, SAM; Cook, M

Abstract

The housing typologies that were developed as part of Abuja’s master plan over 30 years ago are still in use today as prototypes for low-income housing developments. The value of the local climate received only cursory consideration in the early developments; as the process was mainly focused on the delivery of units needed to accommodate those involved in the construction of the city. More detailed records of the climate have become available since the mid-1990s. Yet, despite the availability of such data and the global interest in eco-friendly architecture, energy use per household has increased in Abuja over the last two decades. Nigeria is already struggling to meet its current energy demands; therefore, it is important to examine whether improvements made to future housing design can assist in reducing their energy use.

This paper evaluates the performance of four of Abuja’s common housing types and examines the impact of changing their fenestration design on occupants’ comfort, using validated simulation. Assessing the performance of the buildings in their existing state revealed clear overheating problems and excessive natural lighting. However, the investigation indicated a 4-6% reduction in the frequency of thermal discomfort and a 4-29% reduction in visual discomfort by adjusting the orientation of the
facades. Integrating external shading components can also reduce thermal and visual discomfort by up to 4% and 29%, respectively.

Citation

Abdulkareem, M., Al-Maiyah, S., & Cook, M. (2018). Remodelling façade design for improving daylighting and the thermal environment in Abuja’s low-income housing. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82(3), 2820-2833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.010

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 3, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Oct 25, 2017
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 25, 2018
• Journal: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
• Print ISSN: 1364-0321
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 82
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 2820-2833
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.010
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.010
• Related Public URLs: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-and-sustainable-energy-reviews