The traditional house with horizontal opening: a trend towards zero-energy house in the hot, dry climates

The aim of this article is to study by numerical simulation with the TRNSYS-COMIS software, the thermo-aeraulic behavior of a traditional house with a horizontal opening in the central space of the house, and in the city of Kenadsa (southwestern Algeria, hot dry climate). In these regions with hot, dry climates, traditional architecture was developed using empirical knowledge provided by a combination of passive strategies for thermal control, results of a thorough knowledge of weather conditions. The paper presented in the context of this work is related to an attempt to bioclimatic architectural approach, to reduce the energy consumption of heating and cooling of buildings in these areas, while improving thermal comfort. This approach aims to improve the quality of the built environment by developing a new or updated conceptual model, firstly by enhancing local natural resources, and secondly by processing information through scientific tools [1]. Several variants were examined: dimension of the horizontal opening, combination with other openings (of ventilation holes in the parts around the central space, and stairwell) and the effect of building materials used in the building fabric. The proposed model for the simulation of horizontal opening home is validated with an experimental study [2]. The results of this study are presented in the form of hot and cold hours in a year, maximum and minimum indoor comfort temperatures, and frequency of effective ventilation per person as air quality performance indicator in each room. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.