Treatment for Facade Building (Opaque Part) due to Climate Change in Various Regions of Egypt: Environmental Assessment of Office Spaces

Abstract

In recent years, the whole world has been hailed by the change in climate with global warming and its negative effects on Earth’s climate system. Increased emissions and amplified energy consumption have resulted in a remarkable rise across the various climatic regions of Egypt, intensifying the thermal stresses on building facades. So, to address this matter through a quantitative study, how climate change influences energy consumption rates will be analysed by referring back to the Egyptian Code for Enhancing Energy Efficiency (ECEEE) records and Egypt's weather data files. The weather data files follow the seven climate regions and the different cities, starting with Alexandria, then Cairo, Minya, Asyut, Hurghada, Kharga, and finally Aswan. Based on the ECEEE records, each climate region has a particular thermal resistance (R-value) regulated by its zone location and weather conditions, thereby regulating consumption and reducing energy consumption. The simulations will also compare the most recent weather data files for 2021 with the original from 2006 to determine whether they are still applicable to today's energy depletion rates. The Design Builder program will be used to examine and compare R-values for an air-conditioned office space (6x4)m with a southwest orientation between 2006 and 2021. The results show an increase in Delta and Cairo Regions (2) by 50%, South Upper Egypt Regions (4) by 57%, and East Coast Regions (5) by 43% that were treated with Extruded polystyrene Insulation (XPS)-CO2 Blowing as an insulation material addition, with its thickness adjusted according to the different regions.