Assessment of building design strategies to enhance energy efficiency and thermal comfort: Case study in Morocco’s climate zones

Energy efficiency in the context of building design is a significant concern in Morocco. This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of how various design variables can impact both energy consumption and thermal comfort in the Moroccan context. Rather than isolating individual design variables, we investigate synergistic combinations of these variables. To achieve this, we develop multiple building design scenarios, each employing different combinations of design options, focusing on building orientation, window-to-wall ratio, building envelope construction, and window shading. We use EnergyPlus to conduct energy simulations for all scenarios under the hypothesis of air-conditioned houses and free-running houses with and without natural ventilation. Our results reveal that building design has the potential to significantly enhance energy efficiency and thermal comfort, but not for the same design strategies. In comparison to the most energy-efficient design scenario, the least favorable design scenario can lead to an increase in energy consumption between 237% in Agadir and 130% in Ifrane. Meanwhile, design scenarios favoring comfort can increase the number of comfortable hours by 85% in Agadir and 59% in Ifrane. We identify optimal building design scenarios that simultaneously offer the highest comfort levels with the lowest energy requirements. The findings provide valuable guidance for architects, allowing them to design high-performance buildings in all climate zones in Morocco.