ABSTRACT
The paper presents the mathematical model used to estimate the energy performance of a dome-covered house, as an example of designing sustainable buildings by learning from the optimized biological forms from the nature. The model includes the following five parts: (1) the heat balance of the dome glazing, (2) the heat balance of the air inside the dome, (3) the heat transfer through the house walls/roof, (4) the heat transfer through the ground inside the dome, (5) the heat balance for the room air. Results from the implementation of the mathematical model are presented. The energy performance of the dome-covered house is presented and compared with that of an isolated house, under the same environmental conditions. The use of dome is expected to reduce the heating load of a house located in Montreal by 89.2% on January 21st, 100% on February 21st and 93.9% on December 21st.
