Building Energy Efficiency in Nigeria Major Climatic Zones

Energy consumption in both residential and public buildings has been established globally as been significantly high. The need to incorporate energy efficiency in building therefore becomes imperative in order to minimize the consumption level. This work therefore examines the effect of building orientation coupled with different building material composition on energy efficiency in building within major Nigeria climatic zones. The methodology adopted in this study entails carrying out a load survey and thereby calculating the cooling load required to condition the building space in two selected different orientations within the major Nigerian climatic zones. The standard cooling load equations were utilized in the evaluation of the various cooling loads. The selected locations considered within major Nigerian climatic zones are Ibadan in the South West, Jos in the middle belt and Maiduguri in the North East. The cooling load results obtained for the two different orientations are as follows; 151.45 kW and 163.17 kW for Ibadan, Maiduguri: 164 kW and 175.78 kW, and 131.77 kW, 143.4 kW for Jos. The first orientation being North/South longitudinal placement of the building while the second orientation is East/West longitudinal placement respectively. The study established that the second orientation generated more cooling load. It is therefore concluded that the first orientation which is the North/South longitudinal placement of the building is best recommended. It also established the dependence of cooling load on the climatic condition of the building’s location. Both building material compositions coupled with its orientation and climatic condition therefore play major significant role on the energy consumption in a building space.