Effect of building proportions on the thermal performance in the Mediterranean climate of the Gaza Strip

Abstract EN

This paperexamines the effect of building proportionsand orientations onthe thermal perfor-mance of housing units located in the Mediterranean climate of the Gaza Strip.

The study is carried out using computer programs, namely,ECOTECT and IES.

The study concluded that the surface to volume ratio of build-ings is considered the main geometrical parameteraffectingthe thermal performanceofdifferent geometric shapes.

About 39 % of energy consumption can be reduced throughchoosing the optimum building width to length ratio (W/L),which is 0.8.

The roof to walls ratio hasa considerable influence on the thermal responseof buildings.

Using the (roof/ walls) ratios,which rangebetween 0.4 to 0.6 is preferable for both cooling and heat-ing requirements.

The horizontal arrangements of residential apartments arethermally better than the vertical ar-rangements of the same (S/V) ratio.

Therefore, the study recommends to apply passive solar design strategies, especially with regard to geometric shape and orientation of buildings in the first stage of the design process.