THE EFFECT OF ASPECT RATIO ON THE THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE OF THE GAZA STRIP

Abstract

Street canyons play an important role in creating the urban climate and determining the thermal performance of buildings [1]. Street configurations with various canyons and axis orientations have an impact both on outdoor and on indoor conditions, ie the potential for passive solar gains inside and outside the buildings [2]. Swaid et al.(1993) conducted one of the first investigations on outdoor thermal comfort directly associated with street design. The study indicated that the main factors that affect the solar insolation level on building facades are Height to Width (H/W) ratio and the street orientation [3]. It was found also by Krüger, et al.(2010) that the aspect ratio (H/W), which is the relationship between the building’s height and the street’s width, affects considerably the shaded areas of the street during the daytime [4]. Toudert & Mayer,(2007) analyzed the dependence of outdoor thermal comfort on upon street design under typical summer conditions in Ghardaia, Algeria. The results of the simulations related to PET (Physiologically Equivalent Temperature) showed that the thermal comfort in urban street canyons varies with changing the street orientation [5]. Pearlmutter et al.(1999) carried out an investigation to estimate the amount of solar radiation within urban canyons and consequently to find out its impact on the human body. Measurements were carried out in the arid Negev region. The study found that the absolute dimensions of the street in respect to human size (H= W= 3m) are responsible for significant shading benefits and this may differ in larger canyons [6]. Similarly, Coronel & Alvarez (2001) studied the thermal properties of confined …