Investigating the role of high-rise building shell elements in reducing energy consumption (case example: Isfahan Cascade doctors' residential towers)

Significant energy is used to provide and maintain environmental conditions for thermal comfort in high-rise residential buildings, which largely depends on the components of the shell design. Therefore, to achieve high amounts of energy savings in buildings, high-impact design measures must first be defined and then optimized. This study seeks to answer the question of how the components of the building shell affect the energy consumption of high-rise residential buildings in hot and dry climates. Therefore, the present study aimed to achieve the optimal components of shell design in high-rise buildings in hot and dry climates to establish thermal comfort conditions and primary energy storage (electricity and natural gas). For this purpose, an existing high-rise residential building was selected as a case study in Isfahan to compare energy consumption before and after optimization using DesignBuilder computer simulation software. Analysis according to energy simulations has shown that each of the shell components is subject to many changes in reducing the energy consumption of the building. The three components selected to enhance the energy performance of the building shell include the window-to-wall ratio (WWR), the glass properties, and the shell material. The results show that the window to wall ratio of 20% to 11.04% is better than the base model (50%). Also, the appearance of a shell with clear triple glazing with a thickness of 4 mm and a layer of argon gas of 10 mm results in the highest total energy savings. In hot and dry climates, cement plaster has shown better performance than other materials. This study results in a highly efficient shell design with significant energy savings (approximately 12.5% ​​for total energy, 16% for heating and 29% for cooling). It also increases electrical lighting energy by 2.5%.