Exploring Sustainable Residential Building Solutions Through Green Engineering: A Saudi Arabian Case Study

The word “green” has become associated with sustainable products and environmental awareness, while the ‘green engineering’ term is used to describe building design that seeks to minimise pollution and promote human health, as well as promoting sustainability and nurturing the environment. Efficient green buildings can potentially boost economic growth, enhance social development, and promote the sustainability of the environment. Hence, buildings featuring minimal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use while delivering thermal comfort are among the contemporary challenges of building design. The building industry plays a crucial role in Saudi Arabia due to its intricate national economy, as its growth is closely tied to the progress of various other economic sectors Additionally, Saudi residential buildings consume almost half of the total national electricity consumption, so it will play a pivotal role in addressing energy and sustainability issues. Thus, ensuring the exploitation of the advantages of green engineering solutions to improve the energy consumption and thermal comfort performance of such residential buildings without impacting their architectural values should be a national goal. Therefore, in this study, the author aims to illustrate the integration of energy-efficiency strategies, renewable energy technologies (low-carbon technology), and passive traditional architectural design into the framework of sustainability principles. As a result, highly sustainable building methods are facilitated by designing in accordance with the three essential pillars of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental. This is achieved by combining the best features of traditional passive architectural design with low-carbon technologies, all while incorporating the latest energy-efficient measures.