Greening Strategies for Improving Existing Residential Buildings’ Performance in Bahrain’s Tropical Desert Climate

Year 2025, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 19 - 33, 12.06.2025

Motaz Mestarehi Najla Allani

Abstract

Bahrain’s tropical desert climate significantly challenges existing buildings’ energy efficiency and indoor comfort. The residential sector in Bahrain consumes up to 48% of national energy production. Cooling accounts for up to 80% of domestic energy use. Moreover, existing buildings require envelope renovation, and one of the least intrusive methods is greening strategies. The study’s main objective is to assess the impact of retrofitting greening strategies on energy consumption and specify its optimum configuration. Simulations through DesignBuilder were conducted to model a typical housing unit in Bahrain. Results indicated that greening provides effective protection from solar radiation and reduces solar heat gains through building envelopes. Furthermore, the configuration of the green roof combined with the South and West green walls offered the best results in limiting indoor cooling energy demand. Findings suggest that retrofitting existing residential units could significantly reduce cooling loads and, therefore, reduce energy consumption.

Keywords

Building performance , Energy efficiency , Greening Strategies , Sustainable Building , Retrofitting

References

• He, B. J., Sharifi, A., Feng, C., Yang, J., Prasad, D., Jupesta, J., & Pignatta, G. (2022). Climate Emergency, Actions and Environmental Sustainability. Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12015-2
• Al-Saeed, Y. W., & Ahmed, A. (2018). Evaluating design strategies for nearly zero energy buildings in the Middle East and North Africa regions. Designs, 2, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs2040035
• Ismaeil, E. M. H., & Sobaih, A. E. E. (2023). Heuristic approach for net-zero energy residential buildings in arid regions using dual renewable energy sources. Buildings, 13(3), Article 796. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030796
• Alsabbagh, M., & Alnaser, W. E. (2022). Transitioning to carbon neutrality in Bahrain: A policy brief. Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, 40, 25–33. https://doi.org/10.1108/AGJSR-03- 2022-0004
• Radhi, H., & Sharples, S. (2013). Quantifying the domestic electricity consumption for airconditioning due to urban heat islands in hot arid regions. Applied Energy, 112, 371–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.06.013
• Jaysawal, R. K., Chakraborty, S., Elangovan, D., & Padmanaban, S. (2022). Concept of net zero energy buildings (NZEB) - A literature review. In Cleaner Engineering and Technology (Vol. 11). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2022.100582
• Brito Filho, J. P., & Santos, T. V. O. (2014). Thermal analysis of roofs with thermal insulation layer and reflective coatings in subtropical and equatorial climate regions in Brazil. Energy and Buildings, 84, 466–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.08.042
• Santamouris, M. (2014). Cooling the cities - A review of reflective and green roof mitigation technologies to fight heat island and improve comfort in urban environments. Solar Energy, 103, 682–703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2012.07.003
• Halwatura, R. U., & Jayasinghe, M. T. R. (2008). Thermal performance of insulated roof slabs in tropical climates. Energy and Buildings, 40(6), 1153-1160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2007.10.006
• Santamouris, Gaitini, Sapnou, S. (2011). Improving the microclimate in urban areas: a case study in the centre of Athens. 1, 53–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143624410394518
• Gill, S. E., Handley, J. F., Ennos, A. R., & Pauleit, S. (2007). Adapting cities for climate change: The role of the green infrastructure. Built Environment, 33(1), 115-130. https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.33.1.115
• Alexandri, E., & Jones, P. (2008). Temperature decreases in an urban canyon due to green walls and green roofs in diverse climates. Building and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.10.055
• Djedjig, R., Belarbi, R., & Bozonnet, E. (2017). Experimental study of green walls impacts buildings in summer and winter under an oceanic climate. Energy and Buildings, 50, 403-411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.06.032
• Widiastuti, R., Prianto, E., & Budi, W. S. (2018). Investigation on the Thermal Performance of Green Facade in Tropical Climate Based on the Modelling Experiment. International Journal of Architecture, Engineering and Construction, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.7492/ijaec.2018.004
• Daemei, A. B., Shafiee, E., Chitgar, A. A., & Asadi, S. (2021). Investigating the thermal performance of green wall: Experimental analysis, deep learning model, and simulation studies in a humid climate. Building and Environment, 205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108201
• Alnaser, W. E. (1995). Renewable energy resources in the state of Bahrain. Applied Energy, 50, 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-2619(95)90761-5
• Alnaser, N. W. (2023). A domestic rooftop PV system: A step towards retrofitting the built environment to combat climate change in Bahrain. Frontiers in Built Environment, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2023.1178512
• Silva, J. P., Abdulkarim, A., Haji, S., Mestarehi, M., & Lamela, S. (2017). Preliminary Quantification of the Passive Role of Solar Rooftop Shading in Bahrain: Towards energy reduction for cooling and energy resilience Keywords.
• Buettner, T. (2020). Perspectives de population Mondale – Une vision sur le long term. Econ. Stat, 520, 9–29.
• Chel, A., & Kaushik, G. (2018). Renewable energy technologies for sustainable development of energy efficient buildings. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 57, 655–669.
• Jenkins, J. D., Luke, M., & Thernstrom, S. (2018). Getting to zero carbon emissions in the electric power sector. Joule, 2(12), 2498–2510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.11.013
• Tyagi, L., Devi, R., Tyagi, S., Kumar, V., Sharma, K., Gautam, Y. K., … Kumar, A. (2025). Environmental impacts and recent advancements in the sensing of methane: a review. Environmental Technology Reviews, 14(1), 191–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622515.2025.2470448
• Hamburg, A., Kuusk, K., Mikola, A., & Kalamees, T. (2020). Realisation of energy performance targets of an old apartment building renovated to nZEB. Energy, 194, 116874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116874
• Radhi, H., Sharples, S., Taleb, H., & Fahmy, M. (2016). Will cool roofs improve the thermal performance of our built environment? A study assessing roof systems in Bahrain. Energy and Buildings, 135, 324–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.11.048
• https://weatherspark.com/y/150203/Average-Weather-in-Bahrain-Year-Round Accessed: 02/06/2025
• Dubey, K., & Krarti, M. (2017). An evaluation of high energy performance residential buildings in Bahrain. 1–36.
• Alnaser, N. W. (2015). Building integrated renewable energy to achieve zero emission in Bahrain. Energy and Buildings, 93, 32-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.2015.01.022
• https://www.ewa.bh/en/AboutUs/AnnualReport/2022.pdf Accessed: 02/06/2025
• Voss, K., & Musall, E. (2011). Net zero engery buildings. In DETAIL - Institut für internationale Architektur-Dokumentation GmbH & Co. KG eBooks. https://doi.org/10.11129/detail.9783955530433
• Athienitis, A. K., & O’Brien, L. (Eds.). (2015). Modeling, design, and optimization of net-zero energy buildings. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn.
• Paoletti, G., Pascual Pascuas, R., Pernetti, R., & Lollini, R. (2017). Nearly zero energy buildings: An overview of the main construction features across Europe. Buildings, 7(43). https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings7030043
• Nduka, D. O., Ede, A. N., Oyeyemi, K. D., & Olofinnade, O. M. (2019). Awareness, benefits and drawbacks of net zero energy building practices: Construction industry professional’s perceptions. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 012026). IOP Publishing.
• Wells, L., Rismanchi, B., & Aye, L. (2017). A review of Net Zero Energy Buildings with reflections on the Australian context. Energy and Buildings, 158, 616–628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.10.055
• Moran, P., O’Connell, J., & Goggins, J. (2020). Sustainable energy efficiency retrofits as residential buildings move towards nearly zero energy building (NZEB) standards. Energy and Buildings, 211, 109816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.109816
• https://housing.gov.bh/UnitDesign/HousingSite-637171065400407487.pdf Acessed: 02/06/2025.
• https://www.ewa.bh/en/Conservation/Electricity/Documents/Air%20conditioning/AC%20REGU LATIONS-%20BAHRAIN.pdf Acessed: 02/06/2025.
• Charoenkit, S., & Yiemwattana, S. (2016). Living walls and their contribution to improved thermal comfort and carbon emission reduction: A review. Building and Environment, 105, 82–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2016.05.031
• Raji, B., Tenpierik, M. J., & Van Den Dobbelsteen, A. (2015). The impact of greening systems on building energy performance: A literature review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 45, 610– 623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.02.011
• Andric, I., Kamal, A., & Al-Ghamdi, S. G. (2020). Efficiency of green roofs and green walls as climate change mitigation measures in extremely hot and dry climate: Case study of Qatar. Energy Reports, 6, 2476–2489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2020.09.006
• Widiastuti, R., Prianto, E., & Budi, W. S. (2018). Investigation on the Thermal Performance of Green Facade in Tropical Climate Based on the Modelling Experiment. International Journal of Architecture, Engineering and Construction, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.7492/ijaec.2018.004
• Meral, A., Başaran, N., Yalcinalp, E., Dogan Meral, E., Ak, M., & Eroglu, E. (2018). A Comparative Approach to Artificial and Natural Green Walls According to Ecological Sustainability. Sustainability, 10, 1995. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061995
• Hamid, A., Roozbeh, A., & Leyla, F. (2016). Thermal performance of the extensive green roofs in hot dry climate. International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, 3(5), 85-94.