Comparison of Energy Efficiency Strategies for Mosques in the United Arab Emirates

As public buildings that are typically financed by charities, mosques are commonly designed, built, and operated using very limited resources. Hence, failure to design energy efficient mosques either affects occupants' thermal comfort or re-orients the limited resources from other important activities to achieve that comfort. This paper documents part of an on-going study to determine the best allocation of limited financial resources to reach the most feasible energy saving in mosques in the United Arab Emirates. At this stage of the study, energy modeling is used to compare the impact of using various energy efficiency strategies on the cooling load. The results show the importance of controlling infiltration. They also show the value of insulating the walls and roof. However, a significant reduction in cooling load is achieved by splitting the mosque into two zones of operation. A similar result is demonstrated by using fans along with the air conditioning set at a higher temperature.