AN EXHAUSTIVE SEARCH OF ENERGY OPTIMIZATION METHOD FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENVELOPE IN DIFFERENT CLIMATIC ZONES OF KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Nowadays, energy consumption in the residential sector is rapidly increasing due to global warming, population growth, and a lack of energy efficiency standards. The problem of heating and cooling energy demands is considered the central issue in residential buildings. Domestic energy constitutes about 80% of total energy use by people. The center and northeast part of Kazakhstan is heating-predominant, as high heating demand is spread almost in cities located in the north half. However, the south and west parts of Kazakhstan present the hot-summer/cold-winter climate performance. Energy poverty is noticed among Kazakhstani households due to the ineffective building insulation and lack of clean fuels to heat and cool the indoor area. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the energy estimation model for residential buildings in Kazakhstan to reduce energy consumption. The OTTV-based heat transfer analysis for residential buildings in heating and cooling periods was analyzed in terms of solar exposure into the building, corresponding to the envelope's heat gain and heat loss performances. In addition, the construction stage of the building can be investigated without any application of internal heat gain sources, such as occupancy, lightning, hot water usage, and supplementary heating equipment. Hence, in this research, the thermophysical properties of envelope configurations and solar energy exposure through wall, window, and roof were implemented as primary influential parameters. The energy analysis of the building model was investigated only based on heat transfer through the envelope. The results showed that selected cities, such as Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Karaganda, Aktobe, Atyrau, Kokshetau, and Semey, are mostly observed as heating predominant with an average reduction in heating energy estimated as 6156.8 kWh (or 5.29 Gcal), while the average cooling energy reduction was almost 1777.5 kWh (or 1.53 Gcal). The average energy reductions for heating and cooling seasons were 16.59% and 16.69%, respectively. The highest heating energy was observed in Nur-Sultan and Kokshetau cities, while Almaty presented the highest cooling energy usage. The frontage of the building model directed towards the south in the cold season and north in the hot season demonstrated around 21% and 32% of energy reduction, respectively. Thus, the numerical model analysis of heat gain and heat loss can considerably improve the heat transfer performance of a residential building in different regions of Kazakhstan by optimizing it using an exhaustive search algorithm to propose the optimal envelope configuration for cooling and heating periods.