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Caravel Press
Energy Catalyst

Volume 1, 2025, Article 2025.001

Energy Catalyst cover

Technical Article

Assessing the Energy-Saving Potential of Passive Strategies in Commercial Buildings in the Top Upcoming Megacities

, , , , , ,

1Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom

2Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3NB, United Kingdom

3Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom; The College of Built Environment, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, B5 5JU, United Kingdom

4Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom

* Correspondence: Hao Sun, [email protected]

Published
19 April 2025
Pages
1-21
Received
3 February 2025
Revised
11 March 2025
Accepted
19 April 2025
DOI
10.61552/EC.2025.001
Access
Open access, CC BY 4.0
Published 19 April 2025·Pages 1-21doi.org/10.61552/EC.2025.001
Received 3 Feb 2025·Revised 11 Mar 2025·Accepted 19 Apr 2025Open accessunder CC BY 4.0
Download PDF21 pages · 1.6 MBCheck for updates

Abstract

Buildings account for up to 50% of energy consumption in many regions. Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems consume half of that energy. Passive cooling strategies can significantly reduce energy use and associated carbon emissions, especially in high-density regions like megacities. This work aims to quantify the energy-saving potential of passive strategies in five upcoming megacities, namely Hyderabad, Bogota, Johannesburg, Bangkok and Chengdu. It assesses the potential of three strategies - natural ventilation, shading and use of appropriate materials. The aspects of energy use, thermal comfort and indoor air quality are combined to identify the strategy and the city with the most energy-saving potential. The study showed that climate and occupancy hours dictated the success of each strategy in each city. The analysis and data presented here can provide guidelines for designing new buildings and retrofitting existing ones before the upcoming population surge.

Keywords. Building energy simulation; Cooling; Passive strategies; Megacities; Natural ventilation

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How to cite this article

Suman, S., Calautit, J.K., Wei, S., Tien, P.W., Chen, X., Wang, Z. and Sun, H. (2025). 'Assessing the Energy-Saving Potential of Passive Strategies in Commercial Buildings in the Top Upcoming Megacities'. Energy Catalyst, 1, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.61552/EC.2025.001

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