A proposal for an energy-efficient school building model in Kirkuk/Iraq

Despite the global trend towards reducing and rationalizing energy consumption in all of its forms of lighting, heating and cooling, building constructions in Iraq related to energy consumption and resources still proceed without awareness or study. The conservation of energy in the built environment should become one of the most important topics in both political and scientific programs in Iraq as a global trend issue. The growing population of Iraq, the decreasing fossil-based energy resources and the increasing emissions of harmful gases has emerged as a collection of major catalysts for energy efficiency in buildings. In addition, cost efficiency, safety and the need to reduce carbon emissions are the key reasons for energy conservation. At the moment, there has been an incredible increase in the amount of energy used in Iraq and there is an increasing reliance on energy resources and energy consumption in the most efficient way in every sector, and in the building sector especially. Construction buildings in Iraq ignore thermal design calculations, which has led to an uncomfortable indoor climate and the use of a lot of energy during the year. Achieving the energy efficiency of buildings particularly in Kirkuk city is critical due to the continuous energy crisis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the Passive and Active Design parameters in the building design to reduce energy consumption. For this purpose, a School Building Model (SBM) was determined in the Kirkuk/ Iraq region. The amount of energy savings resulting from the application of thermal insulation, building orientation, building forms and window area according to the wall or floor ratio in the buildings was examined. There re two programs (Revit and green building studio) used to simulate the thermal loads and the amount of energy needed for the determined school building sample for the year period. The (SBM) building will be useful at reducing the energy consumption to a more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient level. In addition, the pvSOL tool was employed to simulate the photovoltaic (PV) panels assumed to be installed on the top of the roof of the (SBM).