Publications

There is an increasing demand for energy in the world, and a shortage in supplying the required energy, especially in Lebanon, which has been suffering from a shortage of an electrical power supply since the civil war. To overcome this shortage, there is a trend to use natural resources. The atrium top materials affect the amount of heat gain and the daylight level, which could reduce or increase the energy consumption in Lebanon, especially in the coastal zone where there is a sufficient amount of solar radiation that can be used for this purpose. This research focuses on the effect of the atrium top materials on these two parameters together for good daylight and suitable heat gain. The theoretical approach, a field survey to define the problem, and a simulation of the Lebanese coastal zone through case studies, was applied to obtain a tangible result regarding the priority of these parameters and the differences between the most suitable atrium top materials that could be used for these purposes.