My name is Yahya Ibraheem, a practicing architect and a lecturer at Department of Architectural Engineering, University of Technology, in Baghdad, Iraq, where I act as a Year 1 Coordinator, module leader for Design Studios and Building Construction. I have served as a member of architectural design studio team for more than twelve years. My research, in Architectural Technology, focuses on improving building energy performance using integrated solutions. I finished my PhD at School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, United Kingdom. Address: University of Technology, Iraq, Baghdad, Al-Sina'a Street
Abstract Cooling buildings in summer is one of the main environmental problems for architects and... more Abstract Cooling buildings in summer is one of the main environmental problems for architects and builders in many Middle East countries. The weather during that period reaches peaks of more than 50 C in some. Compressor air conditioners can solve the ...
The purpose of this paper is to test the use of an evaporative air cooler to cool the roof of a b... more The purpose of this paper is to test the use of an evaporative air cooler to cool the roof of a building. It was hoped that this would reduce the temperature inside the building and the cooling load as well when a compressor air conditioning unit is installed. Evaporative cooling is cheap and only uses a fraction of the power that compressor units do. Furthermore its cooling effect increases with the rise in temperature and drop in humidity, conditions that prevail in large parts of Iraq including Baghdad. The test included setting up a thermally insulated compartment above a room inside the campus of the University of Technology. The compartment was cooled by an evaporative cooler. The walls of the room were insulated by adding a 2cm layer of Styrofoam as well as a 10cm air cavity. The readings were taken after three days of operation. The results showed that the combination of roof cooling and wall insulation resulted in a 5.5oC drop in inside temperature. Further calculations sho...
Much research has been done recently attempting to reduce the cooling energy loads in hot countri... more Much research has been done recently attempting to reduce the cooling energy loads in hot countries. The countries of the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf in particular are in dire need of new solutions to contain their rising energy needs. The weather in July and August reaches peaks of more than 45°C. Some 70-80% of electricity consumption in most of these countries is spent on air conditioning. Several new methods have been developed and tested recently to cool building interiors through cooling the structural envelope. The best results led to a drop of over 80% in the cooling load. This paper contains an attempt to employ such research into house designs, and to examine the affect it has on the energy loads. The designs are tested by simulating the house’s thermal performance by computer.
The weather in Baghdad, Iraq is hot dry in the summer while water is plentiful and cheap. These a... more The weather in Baghdad, Iraq is hot dry in the summer while water is plentiful and cheap. These are conditions which encourage the use of evaporative cooling. A building with one space in it was used to test the effect of a roof pond which was ventilated mechanically for summer cooling. Thermal measurements were taken for the room in normal conditions without a pond, with a lone pond and no mechanical ventilation, and then finally with mechanically forced ventilation. The results showed a marked improvement in the space temperature with a significant reduction during the peak time outside temperatures at 3 O’clock reaching 6.0 °C between the room without the pond and with a ventilated one and 6.5° at 18:00 during peak inside temperatures. The study also showed that improvements would be better in real-life conditions where exterior wall area is less than the test room.
Cooling buildings in summer is one of the main environmental problems for architects and builders... more Cooling buildings in summer is one of the main environmental problems for architects and builders in many Middle East countries. The weather during that period reaches peaks of more than 50 °C in some. Compressor air conditioners can solve the problem but they put a heavy strain on the electricity load. Evaporative coolers consume far less but sometimes do not lower the temperature enough for comfortable living. A procedure was tested for this research to combine the best of both by employing evaporative systems to cool only the structural envelope. A test building was modified in Baghdad, Iraq to test the system. The roof was cooled using a pool in a tunnel like compartment. The latter was ventilated by a small fan. The walls enclosed a 10 cm cavity. Cooled air from a small evaporative cooler was pumped into it. The test results showed a drop in interior temperature of more than 10 °C to an average of 31.76 °C. This system allows a compressor air conditioner to be used to further cool the interior. Calculations revealed that after using it to reduce temperatures to comfortable levels, the cooling load was less by up to 88% compared to untreated rooms.
The purpose of this paper is to test the use of an evaporative air cooler to cool the roof of a b... more The purpose of this paper is to test the use of an evaporative air cooler to cool the roof of a building. It was hoped that this would reduce the temperature inside the building and the cooling load as well when a compressor air conditioning unit is installed. Evaporative cooling is cheap and only uses a fraction of the power that compressor units do. Furthermore its cooling effect increases with the rise in temperature and drop in humidity, conditions that prevail in large parts of Iraq including Baghdad. The test included setting up a thermally insulated compartment above a room inside the campus of the University of Technology. The compartment was cooled by an evaporative cooler. The walls of the room were insulated by adding a 2cm layer of Styrofoam as well as a 10cm air cavity. The readings were taken after three days of operation. The results showed that the combination of roof cooling and wall insulation resulted in a 5.5oC drop in inside temperature. Further calculations showed that this would reduce the cooling load on a compressor air condition by around 38%.
Abstract Cooling buildings in summer is one of the main environmental problems for architects and... more Abstract Cooling buildings in summer is one of the main environmental problems for architects and builders in many Middle East countries. The weather during that period reaches peaks of more than 50 C in some. Compressor air conditioners can solve the ...
The purpose of this paper is to test the use of an evaporative air cooler to cool the roof of a b... more The purpose of this paper is to test the use of an evaporative air cooler to cool the roof of a building. It was hoped that this would reduce the temperature inside the building and the cooling load as well when a compressor air conditioning unit is installed. Evaporative cooling is cheap and only uses a fraction of the power that compressor units do. Furthermore its cooling effect increases with the rise in temperature and drop in humidity, conditions that prevail in large parts of Iraq including Baghdad. The test included setting up a thermally insulated compartment above a room inside the campus of the University of Technology. The compartment was cooled by an evaporative cooler. The walls of the room were insulated by adding a 2cm layer of Styrofoam as well as a 10cm air cavity. The readings were taken after three days of operation. The results showed that the combination of roof cooling and wall insulation resulted in a 5.5oC drop in inside temperature. Further calculations sho...
Much research has been done recently attempting to reduce the cooling energy loads in hot countri... more Much research has been done recently attempting to reduce the cooling energy loads in hot countries. The countries of the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf in particular are in dire need of new solutions to contain their rising energy needs. The weather in July and August reaches peaks of more than 45°C. Some 70-80% of electricity consumption in most of these countries is spent on air conditioning. Several new methods have been developed and tested recently to cool building interiors through cooling the structural envelope. The best results led to a drop of over 80% in the cooling load. This paper contains an attempt to employ such research into house designs, and to examine the affect it has on the energy loads. The designs are tested by simulating the house’s thermal performance by computer.
The weather in Baghdad, Iraq is hot dry in the summer while water is plentiful and cheap. These a... more The weather in Baghdad, Iraq is hot dry in the summer while water is plentiful and cheap. These are conditions which encourage the use of evaporative cooling. A building with one space in it was used to test the effect of a roof pond which was ventilated mechanically for summer cooling. Thermal measurements were taken for the room in normal conditions without a pond, with a lone pond and no mechanical ventilation, and then finally with mechanically forced ventilation. The results showed a marked improvement in the space temperature with a significant reduction during the peak time outside temperatures at 3 O’clock reaching 6.0 °C between the room without the pond and with a ventilated one and 6.5° at 18:00 during peak inside temperatures. The study also showed that improvements would be better in real-life conditions where exterior wall area is less than the test room.
Cooling buildings in summer is one of the main environmental problems for architects and builders... more Cooling buildings in summer is one of the main environmental problems for architects and builders in many Middle East countries. The weather during that period reaches peaks of more than 50 °C in some. Compressor air conditioners can solve the problem but they put a heavy strain on the electricity load. Evaporative coolers consume far less but sometimes do not lower the temperature enough for comfortable living. A procedure was tested for this research to combine the best of both by employing evaporative systems to cool only the structural envelope. A test building was modified in Baghdad, Iraq to test the system. The roof was cooled using a pool in a tunnel like compartment. The latter was ventilated by a small fan. The walls enclosed a 10 cm cavity. Cooled air from a small evaporative cooler was pumped into it. The test results showed a drop in interior temperature of more than 10 °C to an average of 31.76 °C. This system allows a compressor air conditioner to be used to further cool the interior. Calculations revealed that after using it to reduce temperatures to comfortable levels, the cooling load was less by up to 88% compared to untreated rooms.
The purpose of this paper is to test the use of an evaporative air cooler to cool the roof of a b... more The purpose of this paper is to test the use of an evaporative air cooler to cool the roof of a building. It was hoped that this would reduce the temperature inside the building and the cooling load as well when a compressor air conditioning unit is installed. Evaporative cooling is cheap and only uses a fraction of the power that compressor units do. Furthermore its cooling effect increases with the rise in temperature and drop in humidity, conditions that prevail in large parts of Iraq including Baghdad. The test included setting up a thermally insulated compartment above a room inside the campus of the University of Technology. The compartment was cooled by an evaporative cooler. The walls of the room were insulated by adding a 2cm layer of Styrofoam as well as a 10cm air cavity. The readings were taken after three days of operation. The results showed that the combination of roof cooling and wall insulation resulted in a 5.5oC drop in inside temperature. Further calculations showed that this would reduce the cooling load on a compressor air condition by around 38%.
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