Effect of courtyard shape factor on heating and cooling energy loads in hot-dry climatic zone

In hot and dry climate, the geometry of the courtyard form affects considerably the shadows produced on the building envelope, and consequently the received solar radiation and the cooling and heating loads of the building. Therefore heating and cooling loads for different courtyard shapes should be evaluated. Courtyard shape can be defined by basing on the shape factor (W/L). Shape factor is the ratio of courtyard width (W) to courtyard length (L). This paper aims to introduce a study that has produced a choice of courtyard shape varying the W/L ratios to use in their efforts to reduce heating and cooling loads. The effect of building form surrounding the courtyard is taken into account by its volume (V) and external wall area (A). In the study the V/A ratio is taken 1 for every developed courtyard building form. This study goes further to examine the variation of the obtained heating and cooling loads as a result of changing the building form with the proportion of the courtyard.