Retrofitting Dwellings in Traditional Coastal Settlements in Egypt and Portugal Using Nature-Based Solutions and Conventional Thermal Insulation Materials: Technical and Economic Assessment
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 2
Abstract
Energy retrofitting is one of the critical elements in national energy efficiency action plans in Egypt and Portugal to achieve energy efficiency in the buildings’ sector. Therefore, this study explores the techno-economic feasibility of proposed simple passive retrofitting solutions using nature-based and conventional thermal insulation materials to the existing dwellings in the traditional coastal settlements under the Mediterranean climate. Two case studies, one representing a typical coastal, traditional wooden house in the west center of Portugal and another, a conventional brick house in the Delta region in Egypt, were selected. Each case study house was simulated using energy performance assessment tools (Energy+) before and after retrofitting in both locations using similar insulation properties. The results showed that energy consumption decreased by (29% and 43%) for cooling and (23% and 45%) for heating under different circumstances. Furthermore, the shortest simple payback model was projected by 16 and 25 years, with profitability achieved in 17 and 27 years for a proposed retrofitting solution. Also, a new propinquity between Portuguese and Egyptian Architecture was brought out.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The second author acknowledges the support from Project Lab2PT (Landscapes, Heritage and Territory laboratory) (Project No. UIDB/04509/2020) through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT). Thermal conductivity and resistance test results were kindly provided to the first author upon request by “The Research Institute of Structural Physics and Ambient Environmental Factors, Housing and Building National Research Centre and Mycelium Company.”
References
Abdelrahiem, A. A., A. M. A. Aboulyazed, and A. A. Abdelhamed. 2018. “Proposed approach to develop the built environment to the Egyptian village in light of lessons learned from international experiences.” [In Arabic.] Minia J. Eng. Technol. 37 (2): 54–74.
Abouaiana, A. 2021. “Retrofitting rural dwellings in Delta region to enhance climate change mitigation in Egypt.” Environ. Clim. Technol. 25 (1): 136–150. https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2021-0009.
Abouaiana, A. 2016. “Principles for existing rural house sustainability in Delta region (with special reference to energy efficiency).” [In Arabic.] M.S. thesis, Dept. of Architectural Engineering, Cairo Univ.
Akmal, T., M. Fahmy, and A.-W. El-Kadi. 2011. “Rice-straw based cement brick microclimatic thermal impact assessment in Cairo; Egypt.” In Proc., World Renewable Energy Congress, 2094–2101. Linköping, Sweden: Linköping Univ., Electronic Press.
Albadry, S. 2016. “Feasibility of converting existing residential buildings to net zero-energy buildings in Egypt energy buildings in Egypt.” Master’s thesis, Center for Sustainable Development, AUC Knowledge Fountain, American Univ in Cairo. https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/628.
Albadry, S., K. Tarabieh, and H. Sewilam. 2017. “Achieving net zero-energy buildings through retrofitting existing residential buildings using PV panels.” Energy Procedia 115: 195–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.05.018.
Al-Hagla, K. S., S. S. Limona, and Z. T. El-Sayad. 2019. “Using simulation methods to investigate the impact of urban form on human comfort. Case study: Coast of Baltim, North Coast, Egypt.” Alexandria Eng. J. 58 (1): 273–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2019.02.002.
Allam, A. K., and I. A. Amer. 2001. Rural housing in the Egyptian village. [In Arabic.] Cairo, Egypt: Anglo Egyptian Bookshop.
Almeida, F., and A. L. Virtudes. 2016. “ICT for smart evaluation of vernacular architecture in a stilt-house village.” Open Eng. 6 (1): 574–580. https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2016-0080.
Almeida, M., A. Rodrigues, I. Cabral, M. Ferreira, A. Coelho, and G. Machado. 2014. “Deep energy retrofit of vernacular housing.” REHVA J. 51 (6): 32–36.
Aminian, A. 2018. An experimental model-based energy-oriented retrofit in alignment with the enterprise architecture framework strategy. Rome: Sapienza Univ. di Roma.
Ashour, T. 2015. Beautiful houses from rice straw. Benha, Egypt: Benha Univ.
Azevêdo, T., E. Nunes, C. Ramos, A. R. Pereira, C. Freitas, C. Andrade, and D. Pereira. 2006. “The Tagus River and its historical floods (Santarém, Portugal).” In Tagus Floods’ 06 Workshop, 64–67. Lisbon, Portugal: Centre of Geology of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
Battisti, A. 2017. “Revitalization and refurbishment of minor historical centers in the Mediterranean.” In Mediterranean green buildings & renewable energy: Selected papers from the world renewable energy network’s med green forum, edited by A. Sayigh, 235–244. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Bouchair, A., and A. Dupagne. 2003. “Building traditions of Mzab facing the challenges of re-shaping of its built form and society.” Build. Environ. 38 (11): 1345–1364. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0360-1323(03)00065-9.
Brás, A., F. Gonçalves, and P. Faustino. 2014. “Economic evaluation of the energy consumption and thermal passive performance of Portuguese dwellings.” Energy Build. 76: 304–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.01.029.
Capmas. 2017. Egypt population, housing, and establishments census 2017. Cairo, Egypt: Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
CBE (Central Bank of Egypt). 2021a. Discount rates. Cairo, Egypt: CBE.
CBE (Central Bank of Egypt). 2021b. Exchange rates: Average client rate in EGP. Cairo, Egypt: CBE.
CFA Institute (Chartered Financial Analyst). 2021. Capital budgeting: Level I|2021 curriculum|CFA program level I|Corporate finance. Charlottesville, VA: CFA Institute.
Cortiços, N. D. 2020. “Improving residential building efficiency with membranes over façades: The Mediterranean context.” J. Build. Eng. 32. http://10.0.3.248/j.jobe.2020.101421.
CYPE Ingenieros. 2021a. Price generator. [In Portuguese.] Alicante, Spain: Thermal Insulation of Plant Origin.
CYPE Ingenieros. 2021b. Price generator. [In Portuguese.] Alicante, Spain: ETICS External Facade Insulation Systems.
CYPE Ingenieros. 2021c. Prices generator for construction. [In Portuguese.] Portugal: CYPE Ingenieros.
Davico, A., and P. Mendonça. 2012. “Memory of an ephemeral architecture.” In Vol. 83 of Sustainable Mediterranean construction. Sustainable environment in the Mediterranean region: From housing to urban and land scale construction, edited by P. De Joanna, D. Francese, and A. Passaro, 335–344. Milano, Italy: FrancoAngeli SRL.
de Oliveira, E. V., and F. Galhano. 2003. Arquitectura tradicional portuguesa. [In Portuguese.] (Don Quixot). Portugal: Publicações Dom Quixote.
Diener, R., and M. Meili. 2010. Nile valley. Zürich, Switzerland: Urbanization of Limited Resources.
ECB (European Central Bank). 2021. Long-term interest rate statistics for EU member states. Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany: ECB.
El Fiky, U. 2006. Toward applicable green architecture: An approach to colonize the desert in Egypt. Eindhoven, Netherlands: U El Fiky. Technische Universiteit Eindhoven.
Elfiky, U. M. 2012. “Affordable green building alternatives for low-cost housing in Egypt.” In Proc., XVIII IAHS World Congress, edited by O. Ural, M. Şahin, and S. Ural, Istanbul. Turkey: Istanbul Technical University. https://www.academia.edu/3603727/Affordable_green_building_alternatives_for_low_cost_housing_in_Egypt.
El-Nahry, A. H., and R. Doluschitz. 2010. “Climate change and its impacts on the coastal zone of the Nile Delta, Egypt.” Environ. Earth Sci. 59 (7): 1497–1506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-009-0135-0.
Elsaid, M. A. 2007. “Planning for sustainable rural development in Egypt.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. Urban Planning, Ain Shams Univ. http://cpas-egypt.com/pdf/Marwa/English.pdf.
Emil, F., and A. Diab. 2021. “Energy rationalization for an educational building in Egypt: Towards a zero energy building.” J. Build. Eng. 44: 103247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103247.
EC (European Commission). 2010. “Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (recast).” Official Journal of the European Union of the European Union, 53. Brussels, Belgium: EC.
EC (European Commission). 2017. The third National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NEEAP). Brussels, Belgium: EC.
EC (European Commission). 2018a. “Directive (EU) 2018/844 of the European Parliament and of the council of 30 May 2018 amending directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency (Text with EEA relevance).” Official Journal of the European Union 61.Brussels, Belgium: EC.
EC (European Commission). 2018b. “Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the council of 11 December 2018 on the governance of the energy union and climate action, amending regulations (EC) no 663/2009 and (EC) no 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council.” Official Journal of the European Union, 61. Brussels, Belgium: EC.
EC (European Commission). 2019a. “COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document communication from the commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions United in delivering the Energy Union and Cl (SWD(2019) 212 final).” Brussels, Belgium: EC.
EC (European Commission). 2019b. National energy and climate plan 2021–2030 (PNEC 2030). Brussels, Belgium: EC.
Eurostat. 2021. Electricity price statistics. Luxembourg: Eurostat.
Fathy, H. 1989. Architecture of the poor: Experience in rural Egypt. [In Arabic.] Cairo, Egypt: American Univ.
Fernandes, J., M. Dabaieh, R. Mateus, S. M. Silva, L. Bragança, and H. Gervásio. 2017. “Thermal performance and comfort of vernacular earthen buildings in Egypt and Portugal.” In Vernacular and earthen architecture: Conservation and sustainability, edited by C. Mileto, F. V. López-Manzanares, L. García-Soriano, and V. Cristini, 95–100. Valencia, Spain: Aalborg Univ.
Fernandes, J. E. P., M. Dabaieh, R. Mateus, and L. Bragança. 2014. “The influence of the Mediterranean climate on vernacular architecture: A comparative analysis between the vernacular responsive architecture of southern Portugal and north of Egypt.” In World Sustainable Buildings SB14, 16–22. España, Madrid: Green Building Council.
Fernandes, J. E. P., and R. Mateus. 2012. “Energy efficiency principles in Portuguese vernacular architecture.” In Proc., 1st Int. Conf., on Building Sustainability Assessment, 561–572. Barcelos, Portugal: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development.
Fernandes, M., and H. Varum. 2011. “Adobe construction in Portugal, there is a future for vernacular architecture?” In Proc., Heritage, A Driver of Development, 17th General Assembly Scientific Symp., 339–341. Paris, France: ICOMOS.
Gao, Y. 2016. “Top-down and bottom-up processes for rural development and the role of architects in Yunnan, China.” Buildings 6 (4): 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings6040047.
Gaspar, P. M. d. L., and J. Palla. 2009. Stilt buildings in the Tagus basin Survey and diagnosis of the built heritage of the Aveiros culture. [In Portuguese.] Lisbon, Portugal: CEFA (Editorial of the Faculty of Architecture)+CIAUD (Center for Research in Architecture, Urbanism and Design).
Good Calculators. 2021. “Home|sales and investments calculators|profitability index calculator.” Accessed June 18, 2021. https://goodcalculators.com/profitability-index-calculator/.
Guimarães, E. T., L. Bragança, M. G. de Almeida, and R. Mateus. 2015. “Analysis of Portuguese residential buildings’ needs and proposed solutions.” In Vols. 1–3 of Proc., Euro-ELECS, edited by L. Bragança, A. N. Yuba, and C. E. de Alvarez. https://civil.uminho.pt/Euro-ELECS-2015/files/Euro-ELECS_2015-Proceedings_Vol2.pdf.
Haya Karima. 2021. About Haya Karima. Cairo, Egypt: Haya Karima.
HBRC (Housing and Building National Research Center). 2008. Egyptian code for improving the efficiency of energy use in buildings, part 1: Residential buildings, ECP306-2005. [In Arabic.] Cairo, Egypt: Ministry of Housing, Arab Republic of Egypt.
Hegazy, I. R., W. S. Moustafa, and M. H. Akl. 2019. “Effect of building forms on energy consumption in coastal rural communities in Egypt.” J. Urban Regener. Renewal 12 (3): 269–285.
Ibrahim, A. M. n.d.-a. Characteristics of rural housing in Egypt. [In Arabic.] Cario: Characteristics of Rural Housing in Egypt. https://www.cpas-egypt.com/Articles/Baki/Study/14.html.
Ibrahim, A. M. n.d.-b. “Rural housing project presented to the rural housing committee of the supreme council for research support.” [In Arabic.] Cairo. Accessed February 27, 2021. http://www.cpas-egypt.com/Articles/Baki/Study/27.html.
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2018. Summary for Policymakers. In Global warming of 1.5 C an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty, edited by V. Masson-Delmotte et al., 1–24. Geneva: IPCC.
Lawrence, D. L., and S. M. Low. 1990. “The built environment and spatial form.” Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 19: 453–505. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.an.19.100190.002321.
Mahdy, M. M., and M. Barakat. 2017. “Thermal behaviour assessment for the different building envelope parts in Egypt under climate change scenarios.” J. Eng. Sci. Mil. Technol. 1 (2): 72–85. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejmtc.2017.396.1003.
Mahgoub, Y. 2001. “The transformation of traditional rural settlements in Egypt.” In Proc., 2nd Int. Symp. Built Environment, Traditional Environments in a New Millennium: Defining Principles and Professional Practices. IAPS. https://www.slideshare.net/ymahgoub/the-transformation-of-traditional-rural-settlements-in-egypt.
Mastrangelo, N., D. Francese, P. Mendonca, and F. Amorim. 2016. “Bioclimatic performances of traditional straw construction in Italy and in Portugal.” Athens J. Mediterr. Stud. 2 (4): 315–330. https://doi.org/10.30958/ajms.2-4-2.
Mata, É, J. Wanemark, V. M. Nik, and A. S. Kalagasidis. 2019. “Economic feasibility of building retrofitting mitigation potentials: Climate change uncertainties for Swedish cities.” Appl. Energy 242: 1022–1035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.042.
Mehibel, M., A. Pitts, and Y. Gao. 2014. “Sustainability and the urban planning context: Housing development in Algeria.” In Passive and Low Energy Architecture Conf. Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India: CEPT University.
Mendonça, P. 2005. “Living under a second skin—Strategies for environmental impact reduction for solar passive constructions in temperate climates.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Minho.
Mendonça, P., and F. Amorim. 2016. “Environmental benefits from the use of vegetable materials in building construction: Case study in the South of Portugal.” Int. J. Environ. Sci. Dev. 7 (6): 431–435. https://doi.org/10.7763/IJESD.2016.V7.814.
Mendonça, P., and B. Martins. 2015. “Environmental impact reduction from using local natural construction materials: Case study in the North of Portugal.” Int. J. Environ. Sci. Dev. 6 (11): 833. https://doi.org/10.7763/IJESD.2015.V6.708.
MHUC (Mental Health Urgent Care). 2021. Building materials price bulletin. [In Arabic.] San Jose, CA: MHUC.
MOEE (Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy). 2020. The press conference to announce the selling prices of electrical energy during the next five fiscal years (2020/2021–2024/2025). [In Arabic.] Cairo, Egypt: MOEE.
Mycellium. 2021. “Mycelium A Biomaterial from nature to nature.” Accessed June 17, 2021. https://en.mycellium.co/.
NEEAP (National Energy Efficiency Action Plans). 2012. Arab guideline to improve electric power efficiency and rational use of electricity of the end user energy efficiency plan in the electricity sector. LAS-RCREEE-Med-EMIP. Cairo, Egypt: NEEAP.
Oberegger, U. F., R. Pernetti, and R. Lollini. 2020. “Bottom-up building stock retrofit based on levelized cost of saved energy.” Energy Build. 210: 109757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.109757.
Oliveira, F., P. Mendonça, J. P. Couto, A. Camões, and E. Silva. 2014. “Comparative environmental and economic analysis of south European building constructive systems.” WSEAS Trans. Environ. Dev. 10: 509–528.
Petrović, B., X. Zhang, O. Eriksson, and M. Wallhagen. 2021. “Life cycle cost analysis of a single-family house in Sweden.” Buildings 11 (5): 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11050215.
Ramadan, S. 2013. “Aftershocks of ‘Dakahlia cyclone’: Darkness in ‘Gamasa’ and the collapse of houses and power towers.” [In Arabic.] Cairo: Elwatannews. Accessed January 2022. https://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/179908.
Rodrigues, F., M. Parada, R. Vicente, R. Oliveira, and A. Alves. 2015. “High energy efficiency retrofits in Portugal.” Energy Procedia 83: 187–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.12.209.
Santamouris, M., and D. Asimakopoulos. 1996. Passive cooling of buildings. London: James & James.
Santarém. 2021. “Homepage.” Accessed June 03, 2021. https://www.cm-santarem.pt/.
Schweser, K. 2018. Schwesernotes 2019 level i CFA book 1: Ethical and professional standards and quantitative methods. Fort Lauderdale, FL: Kaplan.
Shabakat Rasd. 2013. “Hurricane gamasa and losses of the industrial area and shops.” [In Arabic.] Youtube. Accessed January 15, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERhCF_UtEE&t=5s.
Silva, M., P. Mendonça, and J. Branco. 2012. “Traditional wooden buildings in Portugal. The avieira house.” In Vol. 83 of Sustainable Mediterranean construction. sustainable environment in the Mediterranean region: From housing to urban and land scale construction, edited by P. De Joanna, D. Francese, and A. Passaro, 129–137. Milano, Italy: FrancoAngeli S.R.L.
Silva, M., P. Mendonça, and J. M. Branco. 2011. “Rehabilitation of traditional wooden houses on the north coast and center of Portugal.” [In Portuguese.] In CIMAD 11—1o Congresso Ibero-Latino Americano Da Madeira Na Construção, 7-9/06/2011, Coimbra, Portugal: Coimbra University. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316890432_Reabilitacao_de_casas_tradicionais_em_madeira_do_litoral_norte_e_centro_de_Portugal.
Silvestre, J. D., A. M. P. Castelo, J. J. B. C. Silva, J. M. C. L. de Brito, and M. D. Pinheiro. 2020. “Energy retrofitting of a buildings’ envelope: Assessment of the environmental, economic and energy (3E) performance of a cork-based thermal insulating rendering mortar.” Energies 13 (1): 143. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13010143.
Sousa, J., L. Bragança, M. Almeida, and P. Silva. 2013. “Research on the Portuguese building stock and its impacts on energy consumption—An average U-value approach.” Arch. Civ. Eng. 59 (4): 523–546. https://doi.org/10.2478/ace-2013-0029.
Sweedan, M. A., M. A. Elbatran, and N. M. Nazmy. 2007. “The role of the state in the urban development of the Egyptian village.” [In Arabic.] In Proc., 4th ERD6 Conf., Faculty of Engineering, Shebin El-Kom Center of Rural, 622–639. Accessed March 12, 2019. http://www.cpas-egypt.com/pdf/Neamat Nazmy/Research’s/2.pdf
Tuominen, P., F. Reda, W. Dawoud, B. Elboshy, G. Elshafei, and A. Negm. 2015. “Economic appraisal of energy efficiency in buildings using cost-effectiveness assessment.” Procedia Econ. Finance 21: 422–430. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00195-1.
UNEP SBCI. 2009. “Buildings and climate change: Summary for decision-makers.” In United Nations environmental programme, sustainable buildings and climate initiative, 62. Paris: United Nations Environment Programme. https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/32152/BCC_SDM.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
Verbeeck, G., and H. Hens. 2005. “Energy savings in retrofitted dwellings: Economically viable?” Energy Build. 37 (7): 747–754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2004.10.003.
Watts, D. J. 1981. “Recurring patterns in traditional Afghan settlements.” Afghanistan J. 8 (2): 66–72.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 28 • Issue 2 • June 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 13, 2021
Accepted: Jan 13, 2022
Published online: Mar 10, 2022
Published in print: Jun 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Aug 10, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Ahmed Abouaiana, Alessandra Battisti, Multifunction Land Use to Promote Energy Communities in Mediterranean Region: Cases of Egypt and Italy, Land, 10.3390/land11050673, 11, 5, (673), (2022).
- Y. Elaouzy, A. El Fadar, Energy, economic and environmental benefits of integrating passive design strategies into buildings: A review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 10.1016/j.rser.2022.112828, 167, (112828), (2022).