Thermal Analysis Using Revit BIM for Housing Units in Hot Arid Regions ? A Case of Mafraq City, Jordan

The goal of this study is to examine the thermal performance of three building material types in hot-arid regions. As a case study, a typical house in Mafraq city, Jordan, was thermally analyzed. Revit 2023 was used to design the house and to conduct a thermal analysis. Three construction materials for the exterior wall were applied to the house, including a natural stone wall, a concrete block wall, and a double wall (two layers with an insulating material). Thermal analysis was conducted on the house model three times with different external wall materials, in order to compare the energy efficiency of each wall system. The results indicate that the double-wall with an insulating layer is the most energy-efficient of the three wall types. This wall system achieves the lowest cooling and heating demand throughout the year. While the natural stone wall is moderate and the concrete block wall is the lowest, these empirical findings demonstrate the direct impact of wall construction on overall building energy performance. The findings were compared to select the best external wall materials that achieve the lowest energy consumption. Overall, the results show that applying double walls with an insulating layer can significantly reduce electricity consumption and create a comfortable indoor environment compared to stone and block walls, indicating the reasonable implication of passive design strategies in hot-arid regions.