The Effect of office building orientation on solar heat gain, energy consumption and carbon production in hot and humid, hot and dry and cold climate, Iran

The present study investigates the effect of office building orientation on energy consumption, solar heat gain and carbon production in three climates. Using Designer Builder software, simulations are performed on a sample building in Bushehr, Bandar-Abbas, Shiraz, Yazd and Tabriz in different orientations. Based on the results, building faced exactly to the south has the most favorable conditions. Buildings with 0 and 180 orientation have minimum energy consumption while maximum energy consumption is in other orientations. The most unfavorable orientations in Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Shiraz, Yazd and Tabriz are 80, 70, 85 and 68 degrees, respectively. Best orientation in terms of energy consumption and reduced carbon is the same, and only in Tabriz maximum carbon is produced at 83 degrees orientation. The difference in energy consumption is 2.9 to 5.4 percent and 1.9 to 5.6 percent for corresponding carbon production. The results are in contrast to the general recommendation for building design to face south-east orientation.