Evaluating passive design measures for residential energy efficiency: A parametric climate-based comparison between London (heating-dominated) and Dubai (cooling-dominated)

This study presents a comparative analysis of the space heating and cooling requirements of representative residential buildings in London (UK) and Dubai (UAE), reflecting heating-dominated (HD) and cooling-dominated (CD) climates, respectively. Using a simplified Excel-based steady-state framework, five key passive design variables, glazing type, glazing area with orientation, airtightness, thermal mass, and building layout were systematically assessed to quantify their relative impact on annual energy demand. In the HD climate, improving glazing performance from the base-case double-glazed low-e unit (U = 1.8 W/m²K) to triple-glazed configurations (U = 0.8 W/m²K) reduced annual heating demand by approximately 11%, while tightening air-change rates from 0.60 h⁻¹ to 0.25 h⁻¹ achieved the largest reduction of about 40%. Increasing thermal mass yielded a further 8% saving. In the CD climate, adopting low-e sputtered silver solar-control glazing (g = 0.34) lowered cooling demand by around 38%, and enhanced airtightness provided an additional 8% reduction. Conversely, expanding south- and west-facing glazing areas increased cooling loads by up to 35%. The results indicate that identical design strategies can yield contrasting outcomes across climates. This study offers architects a transparent and data-driven way to evaluate climate-sensitive passive design alternatives early in the design process.