Applied Energy 65 (2000) 349±353

www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Design and simulation of a new energy

conscious system, (basic concept)
Mohamed B. Gadi*
Member of International Advisory Committee for the IEF, School of the Built Environment,
The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK

Abstract
A new passive cooling and heating system is introduced in this paper. The system was
designed to be adaptively, integrated into the fabric and layout of buildings in North Africa.
After discussion of the passive thermal design principles, a number of traditional and modern
passive cooling and heating strategies are reviewed and analysed. Lessons learned from these
examples have greatly helped design the new system. Development of the new system was
based on both architectural design and principles of building engineering. # 1999 Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Energy conscious; North Africa; Passive cooling; Passive heating; Traditional

1. Introduction

For a human to be thermally comfortable, means to experience a condition of

mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment [1]. The body
usually exchanges heat with the enclosing environment by radiation, convection and
evaporation. The rate of radiative heat exchange, for instance, is largely in¯uenced
by the temperature di€erence between the body and the enclosing surfaces. Con-
vective heat transfer can be promoted by natural or mechanical air movement. Air
movement occurs due to wind induced pressure di€erence through the space and to
a lesser extent, as a result of density di€erence within air layers enclosed. Metabolic
heat lost by convection from the body surface is approximately 35% [2]. Evaporative
heat loss from the skin may also take place and continue provided the vapour pressure
on the skin is higher than the ambient vapour pressure and the room temperature is

* Tel.: +44-115-951-3118; fax: +44-115-951-3159.

E-mail address: [email protected] (M.B. Gadi).

0306-2619/00/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0306-2619(99)00118-X
350 M.B. Gadi / Applied Energy 65 (2000) 349±353

lower than the skin temperature. In hot dry regions, the radiation heat loss in sum-
mer is highly potential due to large di€erences between day and night temperatures.
This feature also means the possibility of utilising night time cooling, through
introducing outdoor cooler air into the building. For the heating season, there is
usually a high level of solar radiation, which could be collected, stored and radiated
to indoor space.

2. System design

2.1. Learning from traditional forms

Along the coastal part of North Africa, the open courtyard is the most noticeable
form of traditional architecture, which is believed to be related to the warm and
humid summers and mild winters, Fig. 1. Moving towards the desert, one begins to
see a change in the courtyard form, as a result of local climatic and social impacts.
There is, however, a transition zone where the courtyard opening reduces to a
smaller rectangle covered with local vegetation elements. Within the desert land-
scape, where stormy and dusty summer prevails, the courtyard opening is further
reduced to small openings, (holes). One reason for this is to reduce the amount of
sand thrown into the house and to avoid unpleasant glare e€ects from the strong
sunlight. In addition to the courtyard, also appeared domed and vaulted roofs, Fig. 2.
In summer, about 40% of domed or vaulted roof would be shaded from direct sun-
light. Compared with a fully exposed ¯at roof, a dome or vaulted roof would have
part of its indoor surface cooler than the rest. A curved roof, on the other hand, can
be much more load bearing. It is also possible to incorporate an opening at the apex of
the dome without the structural safety problems associated with a ¯at roof. Besides
the dome, vault and the courtyard, also appeared the Malqaf (wind catch), Fig. 3, an
indication, perhaps, that other forms were not sucient in conditioning the indoor
space. The Malqaf seemed more appropriate for dense areas, where wind induced
ventilation through wall openings was not e€ective. The Malqaf can also be used to
cool and moisten the air introduced into the indoor space by water along its passage.
In some parts of the region the Malqaf was integrated into buildings together with

Fig. 1. Some of the concepts which inspired development of the new system. Traditional house with a
courtyard.
 M.B. Gadi / Applied Energy 65 (2000) 349±353 351

domed roofs, apparently in an attempt to produce both pressure and suction regions
to generate maximum air¯ow through the Malqaf tower.

2.2. Learning from modern forms

Using water as a heat storage and transfer medium has been a common feature in
many passive cooling and heating systems, Fig. 4. Besides being one of the cheapest
materials, water also has a very high capacity to store heat. Another important
property of water is its high heat transfer coecient, which is very useful in a heating
mode. Water, unfortunately, has the disadvantage of corroding some metals. Extra
care is also required when used in climates with below freezing ambient tempera-
tures, to avoid water freezing in its containers. The volume of contained water may
also increase when it heats up, due to expansion. Most of such disadvantages, how-
ever, have been dealt with by using galvanised metals, anti-freezing ¯uids and incor-
porating an air gab above water to absorb the increase in pressure due to increase in
volume. Passive heating systems also need glazing. Glazing used in systems which are

Fig. 2. Traditional house with a domed roof.

Fig. 3. Traditional house with a Malqaf.

Fig. 4. Water roof operation in summer.

352 M.B. Gadi / Applied Energy 65 (2000) 349±353

designed to provide cooling and heating, must have certain properties. It must be
transparent to short wave radiation in winter days and must permit heat loss by
long-wave radiation during summer nights. A certain level of contradiction between
both functions may occur resulting from undesirable heat loss in winter. Such a
problem however, has not been felt as a serious drawback, particularly where high
levels of solar radiation in winter are available. Bene®ts gained from summer cooling
further supports the argument. Passive systems also need some form of movable
insulation. In winter, night insulation can signi®cantly reduce heat loss and enhance
system performance. Movable insulation can also prevent solar heat gain through the
system in summer. In winter, movable insulation needs to maintain good air-tightness
for the system.

2.3. Main features of the new system

The new passive cooling and heating system proposed in this paper was developed
with consideration to the following:
1. Courtyard.
2. Roof vent.
3. Domed roof.
4. Solar collector.
5. Water-based thermal storage.
In the proposed system, shown in Fig. 5, the dome has two main functions. In
winter days it allows transfer of short wave solar radiation to the thermal storage.
During summer nights it permits long-wave radiation heat loss from the thermal
storage to the sky. The dome also induces air movement through the indoor space
during windy days in summer. For the dome to perform its seasonal function with
respect to radiation heat transfer, it needs to be made of proper material, such as

Fig. 5. North-south section showing details of Gadi system.

 M.B. Gadi / Applied Energy 65 (2000) 349±353 353

polyethylene. Two techniques are possible for the dome fabric. One technology may
use transparent sheets stretched over a lightweight aluminium frame. Another tech-
nique may be based on hard sheets ®xed between the frame panels. Accumulation of
dust on building surfaces is a common problem in the hot dry regions. In such
regions, however, dusty days are usually associated with active wind. Dust accumu-
lating on a domed roof could, therefore, be swept away by wind action. The pro-
posed system also incorporates a south facing thermal storage roof which is sloped
to 45 and made of a water volume contained in metal. The outside surface of the
metal container is painted to function as a solar collector in winter. Rolling, mova-
ble insulation, on the collector, is used to minimise heat loss on winter nights and
heat gain during summer days. On the northern side, the system is glazed to allow
for daylighting of the living space.

References

[1] ASHRAE Standards 55±66, 1966.

[2] Homma H, Yakiyama M. Examination of free convection around occupant's body caused by its
metabolic heat. ASHRAE Tr. 1988;94(1).