Climatology & Architecture (original) (raw)
Climate-responsive Building Design in North-East India
2008
Energy, environment and architecture are closely related, the more is the energy consumption the worse is the environmental degradation. With rapid economic growth and improvement in people's living standard, the building sector will continue to be the key energy end user. Hence energy conservation becomes a necessity rather than an option in both commercial and residential buildings and hence it becomes desirable to design climate responsive buildings by incorporating appropriate solar passive features. Climate responsive building design is a concept that integrates the micro-climate and architecture with human thermal comfort conditions. This concept takes into account the solar passive techniques, micro-climatic conditions and thermal comfort conditions that improve the building artificial energy efficiency. This fact is well supported by various studies on vernacular architecture as well as on modern architecture throughout the world. Thermal comfort not only makes the occupants comfortable but also decides the energy consumption in the building and thus its sustainability. Throughout the world, from ancient times people have used solar passive techniques that have evolved through generations. These structures got attention for detailed study among the researchers at present times. Different researchers had done extensive study on thermal performance of vernacular buildings in the different parts of the world. However, vernacular architecture of North-Eastern India which perfectly represents the principle of climate-oriented architecture still lacks experimental validation and quantitative analysis.
Vernacular Architecture of Lucknow is the outcome of centuries of optimisation of material use, construction techniques and climate considerations. In contrasts modern buildings of Lucknow are being built with little or no consideration of climate which increases the buildings appetite for energy. This paper aims to investigate the design strategies for energy efficiency and thermal comfort specific to contemporary buildings of Lucknow. Bioclimatic Chart, Psychometric chart, Degree Days and Mahoney's Table are used to analyse the climate of Lucknow in order to formulate the building design guidelines. These guidelines will provide appropriate information at project design stage which would help architect in making better use of natural resources, reduction of operational energy and maintaining indoor thermal comfort by the use of passive solar techniques.
Comprehensive Advanced Specific Summarised Studies -For Architecture Studies (CASS Studies) ISSN 2581-6403 , 2022
One of the prime determinants of how comfortable an occupant feels inside a building is the indoor thermal comfort, which in turn depends on the outer climatic conditions, and the architectural interventions carried out in the building design as well as the materials and methods of construction used. To evaluate various strategies for passive building design and suggest best design techniques to achieve maximum indoor thermal comfort, appropriate technology in the form of using a building bio-climatic analysis is essential. One of the commonly used tools for building bioclimatic analysis is the Climate Consultant 6 software developed by a team of University of California, LA Energy Design Tools Group for the main purpose of interpreting outdoor climatic conditions to indoor occupant comfort. Using a characteristic analysis, Climate Consultant proposes various appropriate design strategies for a specific climate.
Climate and building design - tradition, research and design tools
Energy and Buildings, 1984
Important design paramaters that influence the building thermal behavior and in particular natural cooling are discussed. Among these design parameters are: ventilation, evaporation, proper shading, orientation of the building and its proportions with respect to the orientation, the color of the building's envelope and its conductivity, the thermal mass of the building, night radiation to the sky and the stack effect. The latter is the katabatic and anabatic cooling.
2021
While world is marching on with the population growth and urbanization issues, it has witnessed the high energy demand in trying to satisfy people with thermal comfort. In the warm and temperate city like Biratnagar, Nepal which has been rapidly urbanizing since the 1990s where the random construction practice has led most of population high time trouble in dealing with indoor comfort. The deal of achieving thermal comfort in the residential building of Biratnagar primarily by the means of passive design strategies is obtained through the application of strategies like suitable opening size and proper shading devices in the existing building.This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods which included field survey of both the vernacular and contemporary buildings of Biratnagar followed by the questionnaire tools based on which refernece building was selected. The data collected from the department of Hydrology and meteorology were analyzed using climate analysis tool bio...
Journal of Advanced Research in Construction and Urban Architecture, 2020
Buildings consume a lot of operational energy primarily due to their cooling requirements. Increasing consumption of energy has led to global warming resulting in ozone layer depletion. The key to conserving energy in buildings is to design buildings according to climate. Since most of the population in India is concentrated in hot arid and composite climate regions, a substantial amount of energy can be conserved using proper climatic design. The design factors which affect the design of a residential building in a hot arid climate include features like compact form, orientation, high thermal mass, shading the building, use of internal courtyards, small openings, evaporative cooling, use of reflective surfaces, etc. These important building design determinants and their significance in climatic control and conserving energy in residential buildings in hot and arid regions have been discussed.
Bioclimatic Building Design Guidelines For Lucknow City: Use Of Various Climate Analysis Methods
International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 2017
Vernacular Architecture of Lucknow is the outcome of centuries of optimisation of material use, construction techniques and climate considerations. In contrasts modern buildings of Lucknow are being built with little or no consideration of climate which increases the buildings appetite for energy. This paper aims to investigate the design strategies for energy efficiency and thermal comfort specific to contemporary buildings of Lucknow. Bioclimatic Chart, Psychometric chart, Degree Days and Mahoney's Table are used to analyse the climate of Lucknow in order to formulate the building design guidelines. These guidelines will provide appropriate information at project design stage which would help architect in making better use of natural resources, reduction of operational energy and maintaining indoor thermal comfort by the use of passive solar techniques.
LAUTECH Journal of Civil and Environmental Studies, 2023
Tropical region is characterized by high temperature, arising from high solar radiation. Incoming nearinfrared energy emanating from excessive direct sunlight leads to increase in the indoor temperature with its attendant indoor thermal discomfort. Thus, there is the need for protection of the interior from this excessive direct heating. One of such protective approaches is the introduction of exterior shading elements to block the incoming solar energy. To achieve this in a typical tropical city of Ogbomoso, Nigeria, several forms of exterior window shading elements are adopted predominantly based on individual preferences, fancies, etc., without scientific consideration for their effectiveness. This study therefore investigated performance effectiveness of each type, with a view to identifying the most effective shading element in the study area. The study adopted the use of multiple/iterative building performance simulation tool, DesignBuilder for evaluating indoor thermal performance of a typical three-bedroom residential building, with regard to four predominantly adopted fixed external shading elements in the study area. Virtual models of five variants of the building were subjected to energy performance simulation analysis, using weather data for Ogbomoso. While the first building tagged Building I was modelled without any shading element, to serve as the control building, the remaining four tagged Building II, Building III, Building IV and Building V were modelled with overhangs, sidefins, hybrids and louvres shading system respectively. Building V recorded highest reduction (56.55%) in the indoor solar gains. This was followed in the order of Building IV (23.90%), Building II (16.00%), and Building III (7.63%). Thus, effectiveness of external louvres system as an external shading device over side-fins and overhangs in the study area could be established. This research is necessary to minimize additional active energy required to reduce the indoor thermal discomfort arising from solar gains (through reduced annual space cooling loads). This will increase building energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions for overall clean and safe global environment.
Design Optimization of Vernacular Building in Warm and Humid Climate of North-East India
Vernacular buildings are evolved through trial and error method over the period of time. These buildings are constructed more on ‘design-based approach’ suited to a particular climatic condition and socio-cultural setup rather than emphasizing technological solutions or prescriptive requirements. However, in recent times, due to quest for better thermal comfort, energy consumption is increasing in these naturally ventilated buildings. So, it is an urgent need to analyse the present level of thermal comfort and the occupant’s expectation in these buildings. In case of design based approach, passive solar design, ventilation, insulation on the building envelope, shading and glazing area, proper orientation of buildings etc. are the key parameters for optimization process. In this study, a vernacular building of warm and humid climatic zone of North-East India is considered. Thermal performance study has been done by carrying out year long measurements of environmental parameters both ...
Thermal comfort and daylight assessment of vernacular house in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh
Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 2025
Vernacular architecture, deeply rooted in local traditions, reflects the socio-cultural and climatic influences of its region. However, modernization and structural modifications have led to changes in indoor thermal conditions and daylighting. This study evaluates thermal comfort and daylight performance in a traditional vernacular house in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, emphasizing the role of passive design strategies in enhancing indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Using Design Builder software, this study assesses the impact of passive cooling techniques and daylight optimization in a heritage dwelling. The results indicate a 20% improvement in thermal comfort due to passive strategies, but a 25% reduction in natural lighting due to structural modifications. This highlights the need for context-specific retrofitting strategies that balance thermal and visual comfort while preserving the architectural integrity of heritage structures. This is the first study to quantitatively assess passive techniques for improving IEQ in vernacular houses of Amaravati, contributing to sustainable design and heritage conservation.