Comparison of two architectural intervention strategies for climate resilience : floor-to-ceiling height and overhang depth

We compare two different design intervention strategies for building resilience to climate change in Austin, Texas. The impact on the total energy use and cooling load are analyzed, with both projected to increase from 2020 to 2100[1]. The comparison uses a building designed to 2015 IECC standards and is modeled in the eQuest 3.65 energy modeling tool. The design intervention strategies compared are floor-to-ceiling height and overhang depth to determine their impact on reducing the total energy use and cooling load of a mid-rise office building. The simulations in eQuest are modeled for three different decades; 2020, 2050, and 2100. These are compared through the use of projected weather files generated by the IPCC. Compared to a baseline building with nine foot ceiling levels and zero foot overhangs, two additional building models are simulated for each year using two design intervention strategies. 1: Adding a three foot overhang to the baseline building. 2: Reducing the baseline line ceiling height to eight feet with a zero foot overhang. The results of the simulation show that a) an overall energy use reduction of up to 5219 kWh (1.182%) by 2050 and 7058 kWh (1.517%) by 2100 occurs using design intervention 1:, b) an overall energy use reduction of up 5246 kWh (1.188%) by 2050 and 6937 kWh (1.276%) by 2100 occurs using design intervention 2:, and c) the cooling load distribution does not follow this same pattern with design intervention strategy 2: reducing the cooling capacity the most in both 2050 and 2100.