The Influence of a Building’s Orientation on the Overall Thermal Performance

Containing and then reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions require designing energy efficient buildings which save energy and emit less GHG. Orientation has an impact on the building's overall thermal performance and designing heating and cooling to reach occupants' thermal comfort. Correct orientation is a low cost option to improve occupant's thermal comfort and decrease cooling and heating energy. An appropriate building orientation will allow the desirable winter sun to enter the building and allow ventilation in the summer by facing the summer wind stream. In this paper, a building module in Jordan will be assessed using DesignBuilder Simulation packages to find the effect of the building orientation on the overall thermal performance. It was found that the larger windows should be in the southern walls in the northern hemisphere to provide the most heat to the building through the window which allows the sun in winter to enter the building and heat it up. This will reduce the amount required for heating by approximately 35% per annum.