Energy-efficient retrofitting strategies in mosque buildings: a review

Abstract

The mosque is a large-space building typology often face indoor air temperature issues caused by outdoor temperature. The excessive use of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to achieve thermal comfort can result in the overcooling of mosques, leading to increased annual energy consumption. Researchers have extensively explored buildings retrofitting in recent years to enhance energy efficiency and thermal comfort. However, there is a lack of review of the existing literature on retrofitting strategies and their potential for improving the performance of mosques. This study reviewed various retrofitting strategy implemented to improve mosque performance. In addition, several strategies are more prominent in improving the performance of mosques. The study found that optimising mosque design and effective operations can reduce energy consumption by half. The most substantial annual energy savings were observed by implementing a zoning strategy in which the air conditioning system only served a small partitioning area, not the whole praying hall. In addition, this study suggests that an efficient cooling system and an advanced air-conditioning design with intermittent operating system management can lead to energy savings and satisfy thermal comfort standards. The combination of these strategies with appropriate operational management and thermal envelope design can lead to substantial improvements in the buildings’ performance. The results of this study form a reference for architects and engineers in mosque design, in particular on the air conditioning system at the prayer hall and for mosque administrators in managing the operational of the air conditioning system.