This paper presents the impact on energy performance and visual comfort of retrofitting photovoltaic integrated shading devices (PVSDs) to the façade of a prototype office building in a hot desert climate. EnergyPlus™ and the DIVA-for-Rhino© plug-ins were used to perform numerical simulations and parametric analyses examining the energy performance and visual comfort of five configurations, namely: (1) inclined single panel PVSDs, (2) unfilled eggcrate PVSDs, (3) a louvre PVSD of ten slats tilted 30° outward, (4) a louvre PVSD of five slats tilted 30° outward, and (5) an STPV module with 20% transparency which were then compared to a reference office building (ROB) model. The field measurements of an off-grid system at various tilt angles provided an optimum tilt angle of 30°. A 30° tilt was then integrated into some of the PVSD designs. The results revealed that the integration of PVSDs significantly improved overall energy performance and reduced glare. The unfilled eggcrate PVSD did not only have the highest conversion efficiency at ȵ 20% but generated extra energy as well; an essential feature in the hot desert climate of Saudi Arabia.

Value management (VM) is one of the principles adopted by stakeholders to manage issues in the building industry. This paper aims to examine VM diffusion between residential building entities in the Egyptian residential building industry. This research was confined to the Cairo and Giza regions, with enough residential building experience from clients, consultants, and contractors. A quantitative questionnaire survey was generated to find answers from those active in the residential building industry. The results show that although VM’s most widely practiced activities in the Egyptian construction industry are only information phase activities, professionals in Egyptian building projects agreed that all VM activities are important. The results also demonstrated that there is a significant positive correlation among VM phases. The results constitute activities for the adoption of VMs in Egypt. Its guidelines will dramatically enhance the implementation of VMs both in Egypt and in other developing countries where similar projects are conducted. Finally, this research strengthens the residential building industry’s present management by enhancing VM tools and elements to generate value for money.

Engineers use double-skin façades (DSF) to lower the energy consumption of buildings as they can potentially control incoming wind speeds and the amount of solar heat gain. The purpose of this present study was to (1) evaluate the use of DSFs, (2) its efficacy in improving the energy performance of high-rise office buildings in the hot, dry summer climate of the Mediterranean, and (3) to develop an optimum DSF model for this climate based on industry standards and recommendations for high-performance DSF parameters. In order to determine the efficiency of DSFs, two distinct variables, building orientation and the number of DSFs used, were taken into consideration. This study adopted an experimental (generate and test) research design and used Autodesk^® Ecotect^® Analysis software to develop computer simulations with which to assess 15 single façades, juxtaposed façades, three façades, and four façades on cardinal orientations. The recorded energy consumption and savings were then compared with that of the reference model. The results indicated that the three DSF model, i.e., the S14 model, reduced energy consumption during heating by 28% and by 53.5% when cooling a high-rise office building located in the hot, dry summer climate of the Mediterranean (Csa).

In modern architecture, highly glazed commercial buildings account for considerable amount of energy, specifically in cold and hot climates because of heating, cooling, and lighting energy load demand. Abatement of this high building energy is possible by employing semitransparent photovoltaic (STPV) window which has triple point advantages as they control the admitted solar gain and daylight and generates benign electricity. Integration of internal light shelves (ILS) to this STPV window assists in controlling visual comfort. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the impact of a nonuniform layout of double‐glazing (DG) low‐e STPV and DG low‐E argon‐filled clear glass integrated into a fully glazed open‐office facade combined with ILS in cardinal orientations under Riyadh, London, Kuala Lumpur, and Algiers climates. Comprehensive energetic and radiance simulations were conducted to evaluate three groups of STPV configurations. The first group replaced the glazing area with amorphous silicon (a‐Si) modules with different transparencies; the second and third groups changed only 75% and 50% of the glazing area, respectively, with STPVs integrated with the ILS. The results revealed that the integration of a‐Si modules did not meet the visual comfort requirements but obtained the maximum saving in the east‐west axis. It was also found that the optimum design on the south‐facing facade with the nonuniform facade achieved 50% of STPV10 coverage in clear glazing windows combined with ILS; the energy saving ratios comparing the reference models were 76%, 83%, 65%, and 70% in Riyadh, London, Kuala Lumpur, and Algiers, respectively. Thus, the integration of STPVs with ILS is considered a more efficient way and effective solution to reduce the possibility of glare discomfort.