Solar performance of hemispherical vault roofs

Victor M. Gómez-Munoz, Miguel Ángel Porta-Gándara, Christopher Heard

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

In hot climates, the improvement of comfort by passive solar techniques is a very important issue. In many parts of the world such as the Middle East, vault roofs are widely used in construction. The solar and energy performance of a hemispherical vault roof is studied, including the auto-shading instant effect during several days for different latitudes and throughout the year also. The results are compared with the standard horizontal flat roofing used in the typical modern low-cost housing in Mexico. The hemispherical vault receives around 35% less energy than the flat roof between the equinoxes, besides having other advantages such as a greater ceiling height, natural ventilation and illumination possibilities, and structural stability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1431-1438
Number of pages8
JournalBuilding and Environment
Volume38
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2003
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Hemispherical vault roof
  • Shading
  • Solar control

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