Evaluation of the relationship between the orientation of the summer and winter rooms in Yazd traditional houses and solar energy received and thermal loads

One of the most critical architectural challenges in hot and dry climates is the significant temperature difference during the day and night and during the hot and cold months due to low humidity. There have been different solutions to balance the temperature and provide comfort at different times in the traditional architecture of Iran. The features of traditional architecture for the use of solar energy are the orientation of the building according to climatic factors and weather characteristics and seasonal migration in the houses. Seasonal rooms on different sides around the central courtyard are intended to use in specific seasons and times. Yazd is located in the central part of Iran. Yazd enjoys hot and dry weather conditions. The fluctuations of temperatures between summer and winter and through days and nights are high and variable. In the traditional houses of Yazd city, the majority of native houses belong to Qajar houses. The four-season houses are built in Yazd. In this way, the winter-summer rooms are very efficiently located around the central courtyard. In this paper, plans of eight Qajar houses in Yazd city were selected. The angle of the seasonal spaces was measured and the amount of received energy was calculated with numerical model. furthermore, the influence of other factors such as the prevailing wind direction in the region was analyzed. Various methods have been developed to calculate the amount of radiant energy received in the vertical surfaces of the building. Hottel model is selected based on the most accurate and practical energy calculation methods in Iran. Next, the results were analyzed using the Design Builder simulator. Design Builder software was used for modeling various aspects of building such as the physics of the building (materials), architecture, heating and cooling systems, lighting systems, etc.; and has the capability to model nearly all aspects of building; it can simulate the consumption of different types of energy in building as a dynamic model, including energy consumption for heating, cooling, lighting, appliances, domestic hot water, etc. Design Builder software calculated receiving, solar energy and energy consumption based on climatic conditions of building site. The results of the survey show that the maximum energy received in the three cold months, the most significant amount of energy is received on the walls of zero, 15 and -15 degrees. Furthermore, the northern walls have the lowest energy received in the three warm months. The lowest thermal load in the building was predicted in the direction of the winter space to the south and in the range of rotation of 15 degrees to the east and west. In the current research, to compare the side angle of the seasonal rooms with the received solar energy and thermal loads, the analysis of the angle of the winter and summer rooms was used. The angles of the winter rooms in the traditional houses and the angles of the summer rooms do not correspond to the angles calculated by methods. Certain other factors have influenced the orientation of seasonal spaces, which have taken precedence over received energy. Favorable and unfavorable winds can be considered as another factor affecting the orientation of the building.