Abstract
The envelope building is one of the significant indicators of the cooling energy intensity of the hotels located in the hotarid areas with the long cooling seasons and the high level of solar insolation, which makes the energy demand. This paper analyses the relationship among the envelope parameters, climatic conditions, and operating features of hotel constructions in the four cities of Rajasthan such as Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner. The data on the 3-star, 4- star, and 5-star hotels was gathered into a dataset based on publicly available energy benchmarks and climatic data. Four linear regression models with interaction terms were estimated to determine the sensitivity of cooling energy intensity to the glazing U-value, SHGC, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), shading depth, solar reflectance index (SRI), and cooling degree days (CDD). The findings indicate that climatic conditions (CDD) produce the greatest positive rate on cooling loads, and shading and high-SRI roofs are the ones with the greatest energy savings. Interaction effects between WWR and SHGC confirm the benefits of holistic envelope strategies. Fixed effects at the city level provide evidence that Jaisalmer and Bikaner have the highest cooling intensities, and thus are a retrofit priority. The results offer practical recommendations for envelope retrofit interventions and can inform policy interventions in India’s hotel industry. The methodological approach—parametric regression, sensitivity mapping, and city-level comparisons—provides a replicable strategy for climate-responsive building energy planning for other hot–arid cities.
Keywords: Building Envelope, Energy Intensity, Hot–arid Climate, Hotel Buildings, Regression Analysis, Retrofit Strategy.