Simulation study on influence of residential building orientation on building energy consumption based on natural ventilation—Taking Ankang as an example

Optimizing the building orientation is an effective way to reduce building energy consumption. While optimizing the building orientation, the impact of natural ventilation on the building energy consumption should also be considered, which can reduce the building energy consumption to a further extent. In this paper, the ventilation and the energy consumption of residential buildings with different orientations under real terrain conditions are simulated in Ankang city, Shaanxi province by PHOENICS and DesignBuilder softwares. The annual building energy consumption data are compared by simulating energy consumption under different orientations and natural ventilation conditions. The orientation range of buildings that contributes to lower energy consumption is obtained. The results show that the building orientation has a significant influence on the effect of indoor natural ventilation. After considering the factor of natural ventilation, the energy consumption of buildings with different orientations can be reduced by more than 10.73%. The optimal building orientation changes, and when the building orientation is south by east 10° and south by west 10°, the building model is the most energy efficient.