Low energy strategies for high-rise apartments in Hong Kong

High-rise apartments provide 90% of the living requirements in Hong Kong. (Lam 1995) The construction material of these buildings is primarily concrete for both external wall and interior partitions with little or no thermal insulation. Due to the hot and humid climatic conditions and expectations of an ever-increasing standard of living, occupants are installing air-conditioning systems into their apartments. This has generated a tremendous electrical demand as well as an environmental (greenhouse gas emission) concern. This paper explores some of the low energy strategies that can be applied to this building typology. The effect of seven energy-saving strategies ranging from thermal insulation to different window systems and shading devices was investigated. The results show that there is the potential to reduce the annual cooling energy consumption and peak cooling load by 40% and 33% respectively.