Comparative Energy and Thermal Performance of Biomimetic Louver Retrofits in Hot-Arid Climate Residential Buildings

Building envelopes at this time of climate change should enhance their energy performance and, as a result, minimize undesirable environmental impacts. This study performed a comparative simulation analysis of a residential building in New Cairo, Egypt, to evaluate its performance following the implementation of a passive design element in relation to its traditional structure. The suggested passive design element consists of biomimetic louver shading devices manufactured from locally available natural and agricultural waste materials inspired by animal adaptation mechanisms in nature, including rice straw, rice husk, cotton waste fibers, palm fronds, jute fabric, and reflective aluminum foil, whereas the base-case scenario encompasses none of these. To accomplish this, the Energy Plus simulation engine was employed to conduct Design Builder simulations, and Meteonorm was employed to generate meteorological data for the site. Results indicate that biomimetic retrofit strategies achieved reductions in peak operative temperatures of 2.2–3.65 °C, improved thermal comfort conditions during summer months, and achieved cooling energy savings of 26–27% compared to the base case.