Evaluating and improving thermal and energy performance of 3D-printed and conventional residential buildings in Saudi Arabia
Publication Date
July 27, 2026
Creator
Khalid Abdulrauof A Mirza
Abstract
Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest energy producers, with high rates of energy consumption and carbon emissions. The domestic demand for energy is on the rise despite governmental efforts to promote sustainability and improve energy efficiency. Among all sectors, the building and construction industry contributes significantly to this high demand, with approximately half of the KSA’s electricity being consumed by residential buildings. Statistics suggest that about 65% of existing houses lack thermal insulation, leading to poor thermal performance and heavy reliance on active cooling systems, which account for 70% of total energy use. Given the severe local climate conditions, coupled with a fast-growing population (at an annual rate of 2.5%) and a corresponding surge in housing demand, improving the thermal performance of modern residential buildings is becoming increasingly urgent. This is particularly critical as modern construction technologies and materials, including large-scale 3-dimensional concrete construction techniques, are being adopted without evaluating their thermal performance and suitability for the local climate.
To foster sustainable development in KSA’s residential sector, this study explores the thermal performance of contemporary dwellings. The study selected two distinct houses as case studies, each constructed with a different construction method: 3D concrete printing and conventional construction techniques. The investigation of these two cases helped determine the current performance of modern Saudi dwellings (both conventional and 3D printed) and identify parameters that require further improvements. Additionally, the study goes on to explore various solutions learned from vernacular architecture and modern sustainable building technology and to assess their effectiveness through simulations.
To assess the indoor thermal environment of the selected cases, two primary methods were used in this study: field monitoring and computer energy simulation. Field monitoring was conducted with specific scientific instruments used to monitor environmental parameters during the summer. For computer energy modelling and simulations, Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment computer simulation software was utilized. Findings from both methods were compared and analysed. The thermal performance of the simulated models was validated by comparing the predicted indoor temperatures against actual in-situ measurements for each house over the same period and under identical conditions, at hourly intervals.
Dynamic thermal simulations revealed that external heat gain through the building envelope was the most influential factor affecting the indoor thermal environment and cooling requirements. Upon identifying key areas of the building envelope for potential improvements, various improvement measures were proposed and simulated to enhance the buildings’ thermal performance and reduce energy consumption and associated carbon emissions. From these simulations, a combination of the proposed measures was suggested to construct the improved model for each house.
The findings indicated that applying the proposed measures could reduce cooling load by up to 68.5% for the 3D-printed house and 57.7% for the conventionally constructed house. Furthermore, an additional 10% saving in cooling load is possible by allowing natural ventilation, resulting in a total savings of 77.5% and 67.4%, respectively. Consequently, this achieved a total reduction in electricity consumption and associated carbon emissions of 45.5% in the 3D-printed house and 34.1% in the conventionally constructed house, with annual electricity consumptions of 104.47 kWh/m2 and 81.49 kWh/m2, respectively. The study demonstrates that adopting simple design strategies can offer significant benefits to improve energy efficiency and thermal performance of KSA’s residential buildings.
The study concludes that while the 3D-printed house demonstrated superior thermal behaviour in terms of inner surface temperatures and indoor thermal comfort hours, the conventional house achieved lower energy consumption per square meter. The research findings are based on two case studies in Riyadh that differ in design, construction methods, and urban context. Additionally, the simulations relied on simplified modelling of the 3D-printed walls, historical weather data, and typical occupancy and load profiles derived from older datasets, which may not fully reflect actual behaviour, operational patterns, or recent climate trends.
Item Type
ethesis
Thesis Type
PhD
Supervisors
Department of Architecture and Built Environment (UK)
Subjects (LC)
Associated Schools / Departments
Author URL(s)
UoN Repository URI
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