Envelope and internal space performance of office buildings in a hot climate.

States that buildings in Saudi Arabia are often constructed without attention to the occupant discomfort caused by hot summer temperatures. Single-zone thermostats tend to limit comfort to the sun-side of office buildings, and there is also a possibility of asymmetrical radiation. Describes a pilot study conducted in a room in which airflows and temperatures were measured and then simulated using CFD techniques. Several factors were identified which contributed to the problem. The simulations showed that modifications in the envelope specification would improve thermal comfort for a larger area of the occupied space.