Impact of building envelope parameters on occupants’ thermal comfort and energy use in courtyard houses

Courtyard houses constructed recently with air-conditioning systems need to increase efficiency by simultaneously reducing thermal load and improving thermal comfort in all seasonal zones around the yard. The envelope design is one of the effective parameters in reducing energy consumption and increasing thermal comfort. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of some design parameters related to the envelope of the building on Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and thermal loads. The design parameters were Wall Construction (WLC) and Window Construction (WID) with different U-values (thermal transmittance), Window to Wall Ratio (WWR), Depth of Shading (DSH), and the Number of Shading (NSH). This research proposed a parametric study process that can simultaneously help designers evaluate the PMV values and thermal loads of numerous design options in four seasonal zones around the courtyard and generate optimized design solutions. According to the results, the PMV of best design solution (BS) compared with the worst design solution (WS) increased by 8%, 9%, 8%, and 12% in different zones. The thermal load decreased by 21%, 26%, 22%, and 21%. According to the sensitivity analysis, PMV values for most zones were negatively affected (decreased) by WID.