Nusantara Civil Engineering Journal
Vol 5 No 2 (2026): Nusantara Civil Engineering Journal (July - December 2026 - INPRESS)

Optimizing daylighting and passive thermal comfort in office buildings:

Muhammad Aminu Musa (Department of Architecture, School of Engineering, Kampala International University, Uganda)



Article Info

Publish Date
23 Jul 2026

Abstract

There is disagreement among numerous researchers regarding sustainable office building design especially for the ideal values of Daylighting and Passive Indoor Thermal Comfort (DPITC) in tropical countries like Nigeria. The study aims to develop a framework for a sustainable office building for optimum daylighting and passive indoor thermal comfort (DPITC) in the temperate dry climate of Nigeria. Using a quantitative experimental design with OpenStudio 3.3.0 simulation tools, the study compared closed-plan (double-banked) and open-plan office building prototypes in Jalingo, Zaria, and Abuja from January to December 2024. The open-plan design demonstrated statistically significant superiority over closed-plan designs across key metrics: Daylight Autonomy (45.7%, p < .0001), Useful Daylight Illuminance (55.2%, p < .0001), Spatial Daylight Autonomy (55.2%, p < .0001), and Relative Humidity (10.6%, p < .0001). Multiple regression analysis yielded a predictive equation: A = 170.87 - 512.232WWR + 49.41PF - 8.6R, enabling architects to optimize orientation (A), window-to-wall ratio (WWR), overhang projection factor (PF), and wall R-values for DPITC. The framework provides evidence-based guidance for sustainable office design in Northern Nigeria's temperate dry climate. Findings support the hypothesis that mean effects of DPITC are significantly different for at least one of the azimuths, WWR, overhang projection factors, and R-values of external wall materials in open-plan office buildings in this climate zone.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

nuce

Publisher

Subject

Civil Engineering, Building, Construction & Architecture

Description

Nusantara Civil Engineering Journal is the open-access peer-reviewed journal of civil engineering and environment. This journal is published by the Department of Civil Engineering, Balikpapan State Polytechnics, it has scopes and focuses in: 1. Road & Bridge Construction 2. Transportation System 3. ...