NUMERICAL CASE-STUDY INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VARIOUS EXTERNAL BIOCLIMATIC MEASURES IN AN ATRIUM SPACE OF A RESTAURANT BUILDING IN KRAGUJEVAC, SERBIA: THERMAL COMFORT AND ENERGY PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Restaurants are a category of commercial buildings highly sensitive to dynamic changes in ambient parameters, such as thermal, internal air quality, luminous, and acoustic conditions. These fluctuations in environmental comfort yield distinct energy, ecological, and economic implications, posing a significant challenge to understanding building behavior, particularly during the cooling season. The subject of this case study is a restaurant building featuring an atrium space located in Kragujevac (Central Serbia). Its unique architectural form, which aligns with national energy efficiency principles, combined with favorable local parameters characteristic of a moderate continental climate, enables the implementation of bioclimatic measures for the passive reduction of final energy consumption during the cooling season. Therefore, using Google SketchUp 8 and EnergyPlus 7.1 software, eight bioclimatic measures, classified into three groups, were investigated: horizontal overhangs, horizontal pergolas, and deciduous plants. The numerical simulations show that using V. coignetiae as a roof covering for restaurant buildings is optimal across all the criteria. It achieves a one-season payback period, with seasonal specific metrics of 58.2 kWh/(m2season) for total final energy consumption, 145.5 kWh/(m2season) for total primary energy consumption, and 77.11 kg/(m2season) for total CO2 emissions. In addition, a moderate continental climate suits green architecture and passive solar systems. This study confirms that the bioclimatic measures achieve energy, ecological, and economic justification solely through an integrated approach and a detailed analysis. Integrating these measures during architectural design maximizes their positive effects, ensuring optimal building performance throughout its entire operational life.