IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i16p7523-d1728604.html

Effectiveness of Installing a Photovoltaic System on a High-Density Building in a Hot Climate Zone

Author

Listed:
  • Bashar Alfalah

    (College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

There is a growing global emphasis on reducing environmental pollution through innovative clean energy technologies, with photovoltaic systems gaining prominence as a sustainable solution. This study presents an integrated approach, combining advanced architectural modeling and dynamic energy simulation to evaluate the utilization of rooftop photovoltaic panels on a high-density higher educational building in Saudi Arabia. Utilizing detailed modeling involving Autodesk Revit and energy simulation through DesignBuilder to Level of Detail 3, the research provides unprecedented accuracy, validated against actual energy consumption data with a remarkable 92.28% precision. Notably, approximately 60% of the rooftop area is identified as suitable for photovoltaic installation, demonstrating a significant capacity to generate 1,028,494.50 kWh annually, covering 61.7% of the building’s energy needs. Financial analysis reveals robust economic benefits, including annual savings of USD 74,938.84, a payback period of under 7 years, and lifetime savings exceeding USD 1.87 million over 25 years. Seasonal variations and surplus energy during winter months are also detailed, highlighting the system’s resilience. Importantly, this study aligns with Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” by showcasing the feasibility and strategic importance of rooftop photovoltaic solutions in urban educational settings within hot-climate regions, offering a pioneering contribution to sustainable urban energy planning.

Suggested Citation

  • Bashar Alfalah, 2025. "Effectiveness of Installing a Photovoltaic System on a High-Density Building in a Hot Climate Zone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-20, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:16:p:7523-:d:1728604
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7523/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7523/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Prataviera, Enrico & Vivian, Jacopo & Lombardo, Giulia & Zarrella, Angelo, 2022. "Evaluation of the impact of input uncertainty on urban building energy simulations using uncertainty and sensitivity analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    2. Deng, Gary & Newton, Peter, 2017. "Assessing the impact of solar PV on domestic electricity consumption: Exploring the prospect of rebound effects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 313-324.
    3. Woldeyohannes, Abraham Debebe & Woldemichael, Dereje Engida & Baheta, Aklilu Tesfamichael, 2016. "Sustainable renewable energy resources utilization in rural areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 1-9.
    4. Mika Goto & Hiroshi Kitamura & Daishi Sagawa & Taichi Obara & Kenji Tanaka, 2023. "Simulation Analysis of Electricity Demand and Supply in Japanese Communities Focusing on Solar PV, Battery Storage, and Electricity Trading," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-24, July.
    5. Jing Zhao & Yahui Du, 2019. "A Study on Energy-Saving Technologies Optimization towards Nearly Zero Energy Educational Buildings in Four Major Climatic Regions of China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-31, December.
    6. Dehwah, Ammar H.A. & Asif, Muhammad, 2019. "Assessment of net energy contribution to buildings by rooftop photovoltaic systems in hot-humid climates," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 1288-1299.
    7. Liobikienė, Genovaitė & Butkus, Mindaugas, 2017. "The European Union possibilities to achieve targets of Europe 2020 and Paris agreement climate policy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 298-309.
    8. Bashar Alfalah, 2025. "Assessing the Availability and Adoption of Advanced Battery Storage Systems for Solar Photovoltaic Applications in Saudi Arabia Residential Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-16, May.
    9. Yasser Farghaly & Fatma Hassan, 2019. "A Simulated Study of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) as an Approach for Energy Retrofit in Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-15, October.
    10. Miroslaw Zukowski & Marta Kosior-Kazberuk & Tomasz Blaszczynski, 2021. "Energy and Environmental Performance of Solar Thermal Collectors and PV Panel System in Renovated Historical Building," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, November.
    11. Karol Bot & Laura Aelenei & Maria da Glória Gomes & Carlos Santos Silva, 2020. "Performance Assessment of a Building Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal System in Mediterranean Climate—A Numerical Simulation Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, June.
    12. De Rosa, Mattia & Bianco, Vincenzo & Scarpa, Federico & Tagliafico, Luca A., 2014. "Heating and cooling building energy demand evaluation; a simplified model and a modified degree days approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 217-229.
    13. Kočí, Jan & Kočí, Václav & Maděra, Jiří & Černý, Robert, 2019. "Effect of applied weather data sets in simulation of building energy demands: Comparison of design years with recent weather data," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 22-32.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Agnieszka Malec & Tomasz Cholewa & Alicja Siuta-Olcha, 2021. "Influence of Cold Water Inlets and Obstacles on the Energy Efficiency of the Hot Water Production Process in a Hot Water Storage Tank," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-26, October.
    2. Fikru, Mahelet G. & Gautier, Luis, 2023. "Consumption and production of cleaner energy by prosumers," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    3. Omar, M.N. & Samak, A.A. & Keshek, M.H. & Elsisi, S.F., 2020. "Simulation and validation model for using the energy produced from broiler litter waste in their house and its requirement of energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 920-928.
    4. Liang Chen & Yuanfan Zheng & Jia Yu & Yuanhang Peng & Ruipeng Li & Shilingyun Han, 2024. "A GIS-Based Approach for Urban Building Energy Modeling under Climate Change with High Spatial and Temporal Resolution," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-24, August.
    5. Gigih Rahmandhani Setyantho & Hansaem Park & Seongju Chang, 2021. "Multi-Criteria Performance Assessment for Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic Windows in Different Climate Contexts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    6. Shi, Peng & Wang, Lin-Shu & Schwartz, Paul & Hofbauer, Peter, 2020. "State-wide comparative analysis of the cost saving potential of Vuilleumier heat pumps in residential houses," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    7. Makarichi, Luke & Jutidamrongphan, Warangkana & Techato, Kua-anan, 2018. "The evolution of waste-to-energy incineration: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 812-821.
    8. Papada, Lefkothea & Kaliampakos, Dimitris, 2016. "Developing the energy profile of mountainous areas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 205-214.
    9. D'Amico, A. & Ciulla, G. & Panno, D. & Ferrari, S., 2019. "Building energy demand assessment through heating degree days: The importance of a climatic dataset," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1285-1306.
    10. Bhowmik, Chiranjib & Bhowmik, Sumit & Ray, Amitava & Pandey, Krishna Murari, 2017. "Optimal green energy planning for sustainable development: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 796-813.
    11. Alkan, Ömer & Albayrak, Özlem Karadağ, 2020. "Ranking of renewable energy sources for regions in Turkey by fuzzy entropy based fuzzy COPRAS and fuzzy MULTIMOORA," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 712-726.
    12. Juan Pablo Fernández Goycoolea & Gabriela Zapata-Lancaster & Christopher Whitman, 2022. "Operational Emissions in Prosuming Dwellings: A Study Comparing Different Sources of Grid CO 2 Intensity Values in South Wales, UK," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-24, March.
    13. Jiang, Hou & Yao, Ling & Lu, Ning & Qin, Jun & Zhang, Xiaotong & Liu, Tang & Zhang, Xingxing & Zhou, Chenghu, 2024. "Exploring the optimization of rooftop photovoltaic scale and spatial layout under curtailment constraints," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    14. Xiaohang Ren & Cheng Cheng & Zhen Wang & Cheng Yan, 2021. "Spillover and dynamic effects of energy transition and economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions for the European Union: A dynamic spatial panel model," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 228-242, January.
    15. Magdalena Tutak & Jarosław Brodny & Peter Bindzár, 2021. "Assessing the Level of Energy and Climate Sustainability in the European Union Countries in the Context of the European Green Deal Strategy and Agenda 2030," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-32, March.
    16. Kim, Jae D. & Trevena, William, 2021. "Measuring the rebound effect: A case study of residential photovoltaic systems in San Diego," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    17. Aydın, Erdal & Brounen, Dirk & Ergün, Ahmet, 2023. "The rebound effect of solar panel adoption: Evidence from Dutch households," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    18. Olga Alcaraz & Pablo Buenestado & Beatriz Escribano & Bàrbara Sureda & Albert Turon & Josep Xercavins, 2018. "Distributing the Global Carbon Budget with climate justice criteria," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 131-145, July.
    19. Riccardo Fraboni & Gianluca Grazieschi & Simon Pezzutto & Benjamin Mitterrutzner & Eric Wilczynski, 2023. "Environmental Assessment of Residential Space Heating and Cooling Technologies in Europe: A Review of 11 European Member States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-22, February.
    20. Federica Cucchiella & Idiano D’Adamo & Massimo Gastaldi, 2018. "Future Trajectories of Renewable Energy Consumption in the European Union," Resources, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:16:p:7523-:d:1728604. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.