Space heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting account for the largest amount of energy consumption in buildings. However, the proportional energy use in commercial buildings differs from other building usages. In an office building, occupancy is during the day and lighting is paramount therefor. In recent years, the application of new types of equipment in commercial buildings has contributed significantly to the increase of electricity consumption. Besides, the type of air conditioning system and its efficiency, a building’s operation details, and its construction properties have a big impact on energy use patterns.
In the following sections the effects of geometry factors on the building’s energy performance will be discussed. Building performance indicators that were used to express the simulation results are the annual total energy consumption and the breakdown of total energy into different end-uses. In this study, the total energy consumption only includes heating, cooling, electric lighting and fans for these can be affected by the design of the building.
4.1. Plan Shape and Building Energy Performance
Common shapes of floor plans for the design of high-rise office buildings were modelled in DesignBuilder and their energy performance was investigated to find the most energy-efficient form in the three climates. The study focused on 12 floor plan geometries including the circle, octagon, ellipse, square, triangle, rectangle, courtyard (or atrium), H shape, U shape, Z shape, + shape and Y shape, as can be seen in
Table 4. In this table, some useful information regarding the compactness coefficient, window distribution and plan depth of the selected geometries are summarised. All building models have the same climatically conditioned floor area, but the ratio of surface area to volume differs from one shape to another. A building with a circular plan (shape 1) has the minimum ratio of surface area to volume; hence shape 1 is the most compact form. Since the volume of all plan shapes is equal, the relative compactness of the other 11 geometries can be calculated by dividing the external surface area of each building shape (A
bui) by the external surface area of the circle shape (A
cir).
In order to investigate the effect of plan shape on electric lighting loads, a plan depth indicator was defined. Current practice suggests for ideal daylighting access in office buildings to limit the plan depth to no more than 6–8 m from a window [
17]. In this study the minimum range (6 m) was taken to calculate the plan depth indicator. This indicator shows the percentage of office spaces that can be accommodated within 6 m from the external façade. The quantity of electric lighting reduces when the percentage of peripheral offices along the external façade becomes higher.
Furthermore, the share of each façade from the total glazing area was calculated by using the following equation:
All the openings that are at an angle between 315–45° were assumed to have a north-facing orientation. Accordingly, the share of openings on the other three main directions was calculated as follows: 45–135° as east-facing windows, 135–225° as south-facing windows, and 225–315° as west-facing windows. In the case of shape 5, no window is oriented at an angle between 315–45°; hence, share of the north façade from the total opening area is 0%. While, each of the other three facades would have a one-third share of the total glazed area.
4.1.1. Temperate Climate
It is important to know the position of the sun in order to understand how the sun affects heat gains or heat losses in buildings. For higher latitudes, the sun path across the sky makes more seasonal variations. In summer, the sun path begins from north-east in the morning to a peak that is just below directly overhead in the noon, and then sets to the north-west in the evening. In winter, the sun rises south-east, paths a low arc across the sky, and sets south-west. Extending the long axis of a building along east-west has three advantages: it allows more daylight to enter a space, it limits overheating by west-facing exposures during summer afternoons, and it maximises south-facing exposure for capturing solar thermal energy on winter days. Moreover, the high summer sun during mid-day can be easily blocked by overhangs or blinds without blocking diffuse daylight and view.
The percentile difference in
Table 5 indicates a deviation in the total energy use between the most and least efficient forms. A large percentile difference by about 12.8% between the most and least efficient forms (shape 3 and 12 respectively) points to a dominant effect of plan shape on energy consumption in temperate climates. As shown in
Figure 4, to some extent there is a correlation between the annual total energy use and the relative compactness in temperate climates. Generally, the larger the envelope surface area, the higher the amount of heat gains and losses through the building skin. As a result, compact shapes are more desirable for energy saving. On the other hand, the percentage of office areas that can be accommodated along the building perimeter increases when having a narrow plan building, so that less electric lighting is needed. Depending on the climate conditions, savings achieved by electrical loads and cooling loads (reduced internal gains due to less lighting) may compensate or outperform the increased fabric losses due to an elongated form (compare shape 1 with shape 3). However, for buildings with LED lighting (instead of fluorescent or incandescent) the effect of reduced internal gains due to less lighting become negligible.
The circle (shape 1) is the most compact form among the others; however, it is not the most energy efficient form in temperate climates. The results showed that a high-rise building model with an oval form (shape 3) has the lowest total energy use (about 81.6 kWh/m
2). The external surface area of the ellipse is about 7% larger than that of the circle and this will increase the amount of heat loss through the building envelope in winter. However, the heating demand of the ellipse building is slightly lower than of the circle (0.2 kWh/m
2). This slightly better performance of the ellipse in terms of heating demand is due to a higher percentage of south-facing windows for an ellipse shape plan (35%) in comparison with a circle shape plan (25%). According to Straube and Burnett [
18], the south façade can receive twice the heat gain of east and west façades in winter at a latitude of 45°. Considering the electric lighting demand, the circle has the maximum plan depth and a large part of the floor area may need electric lighting during most of the day time. The energy consumption for electric lighting is 17.2 and 17.9 kWh/m
2 for the ellipse and the circle respectively.
According to the simulations, a high-rise building model with a square shape (1:1) and a rectangle shape (3:1) both resulted in the same total amount of energy consumption in the temperate climate. The rectangle shape used more energy for heating, cooling and fans than its deep plan equivalent (square shape) due to additional transmitted heat through the façade. On the other hand, the rectangle form has higher percentage of peripheral offices along the external façade and therefore a better access to daylighting. The energy savings by electric lighting compensate for the extra HVAC energy demand. So, these two forms might be used interchangeably by designers when there are design restrictions to choose one of them.
The triangle (shape 5) and Y shape (shape 12) forms both showed considerable increased cooling demand compared to the other forms. East- and west-facing windows are a major factor in overheating of buildings in temperate climate. These plan shapes, that maximise east- and west-facing exposures, should therefore be avoided.
Almost 90% of office spaces can be placed within 6 m from the building enclosure when having an enclosed courtyard form (shape 7). It has less external surface area compared to linear forms. As a result, it performs better than linear shapes but is less efficient than other forms with higher compactness. It is worth to mention that the central atrium’s height-to-width ratio is very limited in this case (11:1), so that it could not contribute efficiently to the reduction of energy demand for electric lighting. This indicated that atrium geometry has a crucial importance for the penetration of daylight to adjacent rooms.
Floor plan shapes that resulted in minimum lighting demand are the + shape (shape 9) and Z shape (shape 11). Shape 9 received the lowest amount of solar gains among the linear shapes during winter due to self-shading by extended wings. For that reason, it has the highest amount of heating energy use (about 19.7 kWh/m2). This plan geometry may perform better in tropical climates in which solar gain protection is critical for achieving energy-efficient buildings.
4.1.2. Sub-Tropical Climate
On the southern hemisphere, the geometry of a building should be reversed compared to on the northern hemisphere. Among the 12 studied building shapes, a 180° rotation of plan would have no impact on the building’s energy performance except for asymmetrical shapes. Therefore, the orientation of only three shapes, namely shapes 5, 10 and 12, are reversed (180° rotation) for optimal energy results. In summer, building surfaces that receive the most sun are the roof and the east- and west-facing walls. In winter, the sun paths a lower arc across the sky, and the north-facing wall receives the most solar radiation while the south wall of a building receives limited solar radiation in summer (and in winter), only in the morning and evening.
In Sydney, the solar radiation is intense and to a great extent direct. The number of cooling degree days are almost twice as much as the number of heating degree days. High internal gains from windows, occupants, lighting, computers and office appliances limit the building’s demand for heating drastically. As a result, the efficiency of plan shapes is mostly determined by the energy demand for cooling, fans and electric lighting.
For the sub-tropical climate of Sydney, the results show that the ellipse (shape 3) has the lowest total energy use (72.0 kWh/m
2), while the highest energy use was found for the Y shape (shape 12) (83.3 kWh/m
2 or 15.7% higher than shape 3) (see
Figure 5). According to the results, the amount of energy used for space cooling and fans is slightly lower in compact forms. The energy use for fans is calculated based on the supply air flow rate, pressure drop and fan efficiency. The supply fan only runs when either cooling or heating needs to be supplied to the zone. For elongated shapes, the increased length of ducts increases the energy use for fans due to higher pressure drops (compare shape 1 and shape 6). Contrary to this, a very deep plan like the circle shape would demand more electrical lighting; hence more cooling is needed to compensate the excessive internal gains by lighting and more energy is required for the distribution of cold air by fans.
The rectangle is the second most efficient shape after the ellipse. According to the results, the lowest cooling demand is around 32.3 kWh/m
2 and 32.8 kWh/m
2 for the ellipse and rectangle respectively (see
Table 6). As can be seen, reducing the west-facing exposure is of great importance to limit overheating during the hot afternoon hours in summer. The compactness of the circle (shape 1) and the octagon (shape 2) are almost equal and therefore the energy use for cooling and fans are almost the same as well. Nonetheless, the 8-sided polygon resulted in 0.8 kWh/m
2 lower energy use for electric lighting, which is closer to that of the rectangle and the ellipse.
The Z shape (shape 11) has the best energy performance among the linear shapes and even outperformed the courtyard and the triangle (that both have higher relative compactness). The extended top-side wing of the Z shape design helps to minimise afternoon solar gains by providing self-shading for a part of the north- and west-facing walls. The H shape (shape 8) also benefits from self-shading by means of external wings, however the distribution of windows being not as effective for daylighting as the U shape (shape 10).
After the circle, the triangle has the second largest energy use for electric lighting. The two sides of the inverted triangle shape are facing toward morning and evening solar radiation during summer. Low sun angles in the morning and evening are a source of glare when daylighting is provided through east- and west-facing windows. For all building models, high reflective blinds are adjusted inside the building to provide visual comfort for office occupants. Shading is on if the total daylight glare index exceeds the maximum glare index specified in the daylighting input for an office zone. The high amount of electric lighting demand for the triangle shape is probably caused by longer shading hours, so that less daylight can enter the space.
4.1.3. Tropical Climate
At latitudes closer to the equator, such as Singapore, the solar radiation is intense and to a great extent diffuse due to clouds. The sun rises almost directly in the east, peaks out nearly overhead, and sets in the west. This path does not change much throughout the year and the average air temperature is almost constant. On the one hand, a major design objective is reducing the heat transfer through the external surfaces exposed to outside high temperatures. For this purpose, a compact shape has less surface-to-volume ratio and can save more energy. On the other hand, the shape and orientation of the building should minimise the solar heat gains to lighten the cooling load. East- and west-facing walls and windows are a major factor in overheating. Therefore, the best orientation of the building for sun protection is along the east-west axis. The design objectives above are often contradictory.
In Singapore, cooling is paramount. Three shapes including the octagon, the ellipse and the circle require a lower amount of cooling energy and perform better than the others. The breakdown of annual energy consumption results for these three shapes indicates the superior function of the octagon shape for saving electric lighting which makes the octagon to have a better performance than the ellipse (+0.4%) and the circle (+0.5%) (see
Figure 6 and
Table 7).
The east and west-facing facades of the rectangle (shape 6) have the smallest portion of glazing area (glazing is only 12% on each side). Enclosing 1500 m2 of floor area by a rectangle shape will increase the building’s external surface area to 130% of the most compact form (shape 1). The results show an increase of total energy use by 3% compared to the most efficient form (shape 2).
The Y shape (shape 12) has the lowest energy performance. In tropical climates, cooling is the main end-use of energy; it considerably increases as the solar gains increase. In general, the risk of overheating is higher for buildings that have larger east- and west-facing walls. Having a wind turbine shape, about one third of the façade is irradiated half a day: during the morning the east façade is irradiated, and during the afternoon the west façade. As a result, shadings are required during a longer period to control the excessive glare, so that less daylight can enter the space. Moreover, the Y shape has the highest ratio of volume-to-external-surface area among all plan shapes (178%). Due to the aforementioned reasons, a high-rise building with a Y shape plan has the lowest performance of the investigated shapes, showing up to 11% increase in total energy use.
4.1.4. Suitability of Plan Shape for Architectural Design
In this study, energy efficiency was the main indicator for investigating the optimal plan shape. Other factors that might play a role for selecting the plan shape are space efficiency, natural ventilation, material use, structure, and aesthetic qualities [
19]. Obviously, for two plan shapes that have almost the same energy performance, the priority would be with the one that can provide multiple benefits rather than mere energy efficiency. Therefore, it is worth to briefly discuss the suitability of plan shapes from different perspectives for architectural design of tall buildings.
In terms of space efficiency, the floor slab shape is of great importance. It influences the interior space planning and structural system. Generally, the planning and furnishing of right angled or asymmetrical shapes are easier than floor slabs with sharp corners, and curved or irregular shapes. Furthermore, the plan shape can affect the choice for the internal circulation pattern; hence the space efficiency. In case of H shape, + shape or Y shape more floor area is taken up by corridors due to longer circulation routes in comparison with compact forms with a central service core. This may reduce the percentage of usable space.
The application of natural ventilation has a major impact on selecting the plan shape. Narrow plan depth and aerodynamic building form (e.g., circle or ellipse) can assist in natural ventilation. The aerodynamic form encourages the flow of wind around the external envelope and into the building from a wide range of directions [
17]. This also reduces turbulence around the building and improves pedestrian comfort at street level. The narrow plan depth facilitates the flow of air across the space and enhances the effectiveness of natural ventilation. In contrast, for buildings with a deep plan cross-ventilation can hardly occur, so that buildings require vertical shafts such as an atrium or solar chimney to facilitate natural ventilation. The application of large elements like that can minimise the efficient use of floor space [
17].
Looking from the structural perspective and material use, asymmetrical compact forms, with the structural and functional core in the centre, are more resistant to lateral loads (e.g., due to wind or earthquakes) and require less material for the bracing structure [
20]. On the other hand, the surface of curvilinear shapes (circle or ellipse) represents a smaller physical barrier against wind as compared to flat surfaces (square or rectangle), so that wind loads significantly reduce. Shape (size and configuration of the floor plan) is the most important cost driver for the construction of tall buildings. It can contribute up to 50% of total net cost due to its profound impact on the cost of structure and façade [
21]. The two key ratios that represent the relationship between shape and cost are: wall-to-floor ratio and net-to-gross floor area ratio. The latter determining the efficient use of floor space. While the former represents the amount of wall area that is required to enclose a certain area of floor space. From a cost perspective, the lower wall-to-floor ratio is better, so that a compact shape is the most economical choice [
21].
Elongated floor plates that have an increased perimeter area (or deep plan shapes that have a central atrium) are favouring shapes for daylight access and views out in workplaces [
17]. However, the elongated sides should not be oriented toward east or west; since there is a risk of overheating and glare discomfort. Curvilinear shapes can provide a panoramic view to outside and improve the aesthetic qualities of design. Curvilinear shapes might also contribute in building’s energy efficiency and provide more sustainable solutions [
22].
4.2. Plan Depth and Building Energy Performance
The optimal balance of plan depth and building external surface area for energy efficiency of a 40-storey office building was investigated by modelling seven aspect ratios of an equiangular four-sided shape with 1500 m
2 of office area per floor (
Table 8). The aspect ratio is a measure of the building’s footprint that describes the proportional relationship between its length and its width (
x:
y). For an equal floor area, changing the aspect ratio will result in different external surface area and plan depth. An aspect ratio of 1:1 represents a square plan shape which has the lowest envelope area and the largest plan depth (38.7 m) among the rectangular shapes. Other aspect ratios have been made by extending the length of the floor plans along the east-west axis. So, the long sides of the building will face in the direction of north and south.
The building performance simulation results of the seven plan aspect ratios are provided in
Figure 7 and
Appendix A. In temperate climates, the most compact form (1:1) requires the lowest amount of heating and cooling energy. On the other hand, the deeper the plan, the harder it will be to naturally light the interior space, so that the electric lighting demand would be higher. Therefore, the 2:1 shape is slightly better than the 1:1 shape in the temperate climate. A large deviation in total energy use by about 12.8% can be observed between the most efficient (2:1) and least efficient (10:1) plan in the temperate climate. Having a plan aspect ratio of 1:1 or 3:1 can result in a minor 0.8% increase of the total energy use from the most efficient one.
In sub-tropical climates, the impact of plan depth on total energy use is less significant both in relative value (6%) and in absolute value (4.4 kWh/m2). A plan aspect ratio between 2:1 and 5:1 is ideal in the sub-tropical climate of Sydney. Although reducing the external shell is critical for energy saving in tropical climates, reducing the plan depth can improve the access to daylight and compensate for the extra cooling energy demand due to solar gains. Consequently, the same as in the temperate climate, a plan ratio of 2:1 is the most efficient aspect ratio in the tropical climate, while a square plan shape (1:1) could be the next alternative for good energy-based design in tropical climates.
4.4. Window-to-Wall Ratio and Building Energy Performance
Simulations were performed on a 40-storey office building to investigate the optimal size of the windows in temperate, sub-tropical and tropical climates. Since plan depth is a major determinant in finding the optimal solution, two plan scenarios were selected: a deep plan (1:1) and a narrow plan (5:1). Discrete window-to-wall ratio variations were studied, starting with a minimum value of 0% and increase with 10% increments to a maximum of 100%. For the deep plan scenario, the windows were distributed evenly among all directions. For the narrow plan scenario, the north- and south-facing walls (long sides of the building) are the focus of the investigation, while the east- and west-facing walls have no glazing.
Results for the optimal window-to-wall ratios are shown in
Appendix B. The energy efficiency indicator is the annual total energy use for heating, cooling, electric lighting and fans. Although there is an optimal WWR for each climate, the recommended values can be classified in four categories based on their degree of efficiency as shown in
Figure 9. The most ideal WWR can be found in a relatively narrow range in which the total energy use deviates by less than 1% from the optimal results.
The energy consumption trend shows that in a temperate climate a window-to-wall ratio between 20% and 30% would result in the highest energy-efficiency for both the narrow and the deep plan due to lower heat transfer through the façade during winter and summer. Through using a similar approach—the integrated thermal and daylighting simulations in the temperate oceanic climates—earlier studies obtained the optimal WWR at slightly different ranges. Kheiri [
27] found the optimal value in the range of 20–32% for a building that was featured by a low-performance façade (U values for windows and walls were 2.4 W/m
2K and 2.6 W/m
2K respectively) and had no shading system. However, Goia et al. [
28] found the optimal value in the range of 35–45% through the integration of external solar shading devices with a high-performance façade (U values for windows and walls were 0.7 W/m
2K and 0.15 W/m
2K respectively). Therefore, it can be inferred that the optimal WWR value depends on the envelope properties employed in the simulations and can influence the results to some extent. The higher thermal resistance of the envelope, the lower impact of WWR on total energy use; hence, building can take advantage of larger windows for energy saving. Furthermore, our findings show that for WWR values smaller than 20%, the energy use for electric lighting incredibly increases. In a temperate climate, the upper limit of the recommended WWR is 60%; higher values result in up to 10% increase in total energy consumption due to additional transmission heat losses through the façade.
In a sub-tropical climate, the optimal WWR value is 35–45% for a deep plan and 30–40% for a narrow plan building. WWR variations that contain average performance (1–5% deviation) cover a relatively big range. For example, in case of the narrow plan scenario, window-to-wall ratios between 25–30% and 40–70% have average performance, but in a temperate climate this range limits to between 10–20% and 30–40%. Since the heating energy required is not significant for buildings in sub-tropical climates, a larger window area can result in a smaller demand for electric lighting; hence a better total energy performance. However, values higher than 80% and 90% are not recommended, respectively for a deep plan and narrow plan building because these have to high solar heat gains.
In a tropical climate, the optimal window-to-wall ratio is higher than that in a temperate climate but lower than in a sub-tropical climate. It is in a range of 30–40% for a deep plan and 25–35% for a narrow plan building. According to
Figure 3, in the tropical climate, the share of electric lighting loads from the total end-use of energy is lower than in the sub-tropical climate. As a result, the energy savings for electric lighting (due to higher WWR values) in the tropical climate cannot be as much as in the sub-tropical climate. In addition, the difference between the indoor and outdoor air temperature in the tropical climate is not as high as in the temperate climate. So in the tropical climate, buildings can have a wider range of WWR values compared to that in temperate regions; especially when the proper type of glazing (low U value and solar heat gain coefficient) and the shading systems are employed in the facades for solar gain control.
4.5. Window Orientation and Building Energy Performance
In the previous sub-section, optimal WWR values of the façade, were determined for two plan scenarios regardless of the window orientation. In this part of the paper, the effect of window orientation on the total energy demand of the building will be investigated. Discrete window-to-wall ratio variations were tested, ranging from 10% to 90%, in incremental steps of 10%. One side of the plan was the subject of change on every iteration while the WWR for the other three sides was kept at the optimal value that was previously determined. The inputs of the simulation for the optimal WWR are 20% for the temperate climate, 40% for the sub-tropical climate, and 30% for the tropical climate.
The investigation was carried out on the four main orientations of the deep plan scenario and the two north- and south-facing facades of the narrow plan scenario. For the purpose of readiness, few graphs containing simulation results for the effect of window orientation on total energy use and energy end-uses (heating and cooling) are not shown in the text, but they can be found in
Appendix C,
Appendix D and
Appendix E. Sensitivity of different window orientations to a change in the WWR value was analysed in regards to total energy use variations and the results are provided in
Table 9. Accordingly, the recommended values of WWR for different orientations and climates are summarised in
Figure 10. The efficiency indicator for defining the recommended values is the total of all energy end-uses. As can be seen in
Table 9, the acceptable window-to-wall ratio can range from 10% to 90% depending on the effectiveness of different window orientations for energy saving. For WWR increments of less than 10%, the average energy performance from two consecutive WWR values was obtained. Recommended values represent a range of WWR in which the deviation of total energy use is smaller than 1% from the optimal value in each orientation.
In temperate climates, the north-facing façade was found to be the least sensitive orientation, with no significant variation in energy use when relatively high insulation values were included in the simulations for windows (U value: 1.50 W/m
2K) and opaque surfaces (U value: 0.35 W/m
2K), and indoor blinds were adjusted only for glare control. In case of a deep plan, the ideal WWR for north-orientated windows can be found in a considerably wide range (10–90%) in which the deviation of total energy use is less than 1% from the optimal results. For the south-facing façade, the best energy performance is achieved with large windows when WWR is in a range of 65–75%. The optimal WWR for the west-facing façade is the lowest value of the investigated WWR range. According to
Figure A3a and
Figure A4a, the heating and cooling energy demand both increased significantly when the WWR percentage changed from 10% to 20%. The east-facing façade does not increase the cooling energy demand as much as the west-facing façade and does not contribute to capturing solar thermal energy on winter days as much as the south-facing exposure; therefore, the optimal range of WWR is 35–60%. In case of a narrow floor plan, lower values of the optimal WWR are achieved for the north- and south-facing facades due to a higher impact of the cooling energy use in the total energy balance. A wrong selection of WWR in the south-facing façade of a narrow floor plan can cause a greater increase of the cooling energy use (up to 68%) than of a deep plan building (13%).
In sub-tropical climates and for the deep plan scenario, the north-facing façade is the most sensitive orientation to a change in the WWR value, showing up to 11% deviation in total energy use. In order to achieve the highest energy performance (<1% deviation) it is important to reduce the size of east- and west-facing windows (10–20%) to protect the building against overheating, while for the south-facing exposure the total energy use is barley influenced by the WWR value. In case of a narrow plan building, the north- and south-facing facades present relatively similar trends and the recommended WWR ranges for those exposures are very close too (around 10–40%).
For all orientations in tropical climates, the cooling energy use is the driving force for selecting the recommended WWR range. The highest increases in cooling energy use are observed when a high WWR value is adopted for the west and east orientation, respectively. Therefore, the east- and west-facing walls should particularly avoid high WWR values. In the tropics and during mid-day, the building surface that receives the most sun is the roof since the sun paths a high arc across the sky. In case of a deep plan building, a wrong selection of WWR in north- and south-facing facades can cause a lower increase in the total energy use (+2.1% and +1.1%, respectively). For a building with a plan aspect ratio of 5:1, the recommended WWR values are found in a relatively narrow range; 10–35% for north-facing façade and 10–55% for south-facing façade.
4.6. Research Limitations and Recommendations
There are several points that need to be further discussed for the proper use of findings and for the future development of this research. First of all, single-zone open-plan layout offices were defined for the entire floor space in all building models. Using one activity template has both advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, it reduces the model’s complexity, hence speeds up the simulation. In contrast, design potentials that some geometries might have in comparison to others, and their consequent effect on energy consumption cannot be reflected (e.g., usability of space). Furthermore, an increase of usable space can increase the internal gains due to occupancy, computers and lighting, which might have impact on the heating and cooling demands.
The optimal design solution depends on the exact set of variables for the properties of the building and the operation details. A sensitivity analysis was performed to obtain the glazing types and shading strategies for each of the climates used in this study. It was found that external shading performed better in terms of energy saving; however, the vulnerability of external shadings to high wind speeds at high levels in tall buildings is an important barrier for the application of them. Moreover, indoor shading devices are not prone to damage due to wind. They, however, reduce the view out and increase the need of artificial lighting and cooling. Hence, all simulations were carried out by using indoor blinds to control only glare. This means that cooling demands were probably less favourable than in reality.
Amsterdam, Sydney and Singapore were the representative cities for the investigation of the impact of geometric factors on energy use in the three main climate categories where the majority of tall buildings are being constructed. In general, for each latitude, the course of the sun and local microclimate conditions might influence a building’s performance to some extent, so it is important to use the specific site location data as input for the simulations when the aim is finding the optimal results. The main objective of this study was to propose early-stage design considerations for the energy-efficiency of high-rise office buildings in three specific climates, so that these can be used to increase the awareness of designers regarding the consequences on energy consumption of decisions in the early phases of the design process.
Small to significant deviations may exist between the simulated and actual energy consumption for buildings. According to Wang et al. [
29] these deviations can be attributed to uncertainties related to the accuracy of the underlying models, input parameters, actual weather data and building operation details. There are some uncertainties related to the accuracy of simulation tool to consider thermal performance of curved shapes, and the optimal choice of number of timesteps per hour for heat balance model calculation. Furthermore, high-rise buildings are exposed to variable micro-climate conditions that changes gradually with the increase in building height. In tall buildings, the top levels are exposed to higher wind speeds and slightly lower air temperature as compared to the levels that are within the urban canopy. Additionally, at the higher altitude, the stack effect and wind pressures increase so that the air leakage through the building envelope and the consequent heat losses and gains might vary along the height. When using the weather data from a certain height, the impact of changing outdoor conditions and infiltration rates along the height could not be taken into account.
Finally, the investigation highlights that focusing on just one entry of the total energy balance is not correct and may lead to wrong conclusions. Therefore, determination of the optimal building geometry factor requires the analysis of heating, cooling, electric lighting and fans altogether, since these can be affected by the design of the building.