الفهرس 
Energy Loss through Building Envelope in Commercial BuildingsOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The decrease of energy resources became a widespread problem in the whole world, especially Egypt which faces huge problems from electricity cut off and loss of energy. The building sector of the economy currently draws upon 40% of total energy use according to the US Department of Energy, and is responsible for almost half (48%) of all Green House Gas emissions annually (Vanderpool, April 2010). Thus reducing energy usage in buildings has become one of the widespread goals by international energy laws. The study of energy use in buildings is becoming more important every day, especially with the historic agreement of the COP21. Amongst the countries that have signed the COP21 agreement is Egypt; a country that especially needs thorough studies into the way of achieving such strict goals. The country has not enacted long term renewable energy use or energy conservation goals. Egypt is also struggling with meeting the rising demand coupled with very fast urbanization rate. One of the critical ways of energy conservation is strict regulations and laws. Egypt has had the energy code (EC) for energy conservation in buildings since 2009, and yet it is not actively enacted. The code is considered the first in Egypt and has not undergone further updates. The investigation of Egypt’s EC revealed that it is typically concerned with the use of natural forces to save energy (e.g natural ventilation requirements), as well as the requirements of electromechanical systems for reduced energy. The code also discusses the building envelope requirements, yet surprisingly; it neglects mentioning the role of envelope tightness on energy conservation. Air tightness of the building envelope has been found to lead to energy conservation as high as 40 percent of the heating and cooling loads. For this a study of why the Egypt’s EC has neglected such a critical factor, and how it is dealt with in other reputable codes. Methods used include comparative analysis in which Egypt’s EC is compared to Passivhaus, UK’s Part L and ASHRAE to identify and evaluate the envelope requirements for air tightness in different countries, taking into consideration regional variations. The research concluded in a set of points that defines the required energy code amendment; specifically in the scope of building’s envelope for the North Coast region. Results show that Egypt’s EC doesn’t indicate specific requirements on envelope tightness as well as maximum indoor-outdoor temperature differential.