Sustainable design alternatives and energy efficiency for public rental housing in Korea

Abstract

The orientation and shape of a building can influence energy efficiency in both heating and cooling mechanisms. Given the climatic conditions of Korea, many people are concerned about housing orientation and prefer south-oriented locations. As such, many housing complexes consist of a series of long narrow units that are south-facing. The purpose of this study is to investigate design alternatives for the layout of a building complex, size of households, width to depth ratios of floorplans, and design and type of façade; to examine energy efficiency using energy simulation programs; and to suggest diverse design alternatives for public rental housing, as well as energy-efficient options. The alternative housing units, which are more square-shaped than the typical long and rectangular type, resulted in higher energy costs. Simulation results show that as the solar radiation load increases or the window area increases due to plan alteration, there is simultaneously a significant increase and decrease in the cooling and heating loads, respectively. The performance of the suggested layout alteration greatly increased the heating load and slightly decreased the cooling load with similar total energy costs.