Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Climate Responsive Architecture is a must in Building Design.
Architects must realize that the building skin is not just specifying materials and creating a
faade for aesthetics.
The building envelope serves as a climatic mesh that filters the outside environment to create a
proper and hopefully a comfortable indoor environment.
A climate responsive building envelope is only one functional criterion for correct design.
In the Philippines, hot humid conditions require protection from heat and maximum ventilation
for interiors, therefore, local designs should firmly consider these issues.
Proper fenestrations and building materials should be selected.
Opening fenestrations such as sun-shading devices should be considered by designers.
Good building orientation must also be looked at by architects to minimize direct solar radiation
but maximize potential for natural ventilation.
Basic Concept
"Weather" is the set of atmospheric conditions prevailing at a given place and time.
"Climate" can be defined as the integration in time of weather conditions, characteristics of a
certain geographical location.
At the global level climates are formed by the differential solar heat input and the uniform heat
emission over the earth's surface.
The movement of air masses and of moisture-bearing clouds is driven by temperature
differentials and strongly influenced by the Coriolis force.
Classification of Climates
Equatorial
Example: Those countries lying just above or below the equator, Southeast Asian Countries,
Central America and the Amazon Basin in South America
Cool Temperate
Example: N.W. Europe, Canada, and parts of North America
Warm Temperate
Example: Mediterranean Countries
Cool Temperate
Example: N.W. Europe, Canada, and parts of North America
Arctic
Warm Humid (Tropical Island) overheating is not as great as in hot-dry areas, but it is
aggravated by very high humidities, restricting the evaporation potential. The diurnal
temperature variation is small.
Hot Dry (Arid/Maritime Desert) main problem is overheating, but the air is dry, so the
evaporative cooling mechanism of the body is not restricted. There is usually a large
diurnal (day - night) temperature variation.
Hot Dry
Composite
DBT
High temp during the day, Very high temp during the day; large Mixture of
low diurnal change
diurnal range; can be quite low in warm/humid
winter
and
RH
Relatively high
Precipitation
Sky
Ground
Lesser vegetation
The general climate (macroclimate) is influenced by the topography, the vegetation and the
nature of the environment on a regional scale (mesoclimate) or at a local level within the site
itself (microclimate).
Tropical Climate
Temperature
Humidity Levels -
Wind Conditions
Sky Conditions
Overcast Sky most of the time; a lot of reflected heat/ solar gain
Precipitation
Micro-Climate
Many factors contribute to micro-climate, for instance, the location of hills, rivers, streams and
lakes, the position of buildings and trees, whether the site is on coast or inland, in a town or in
the rural areas, whether the location is above sea level, etc.
Some micro-climate phenomena are:
- land/sea breeze
- Courtyards
- Evaporative cooling
- Orientation
- Slope of land height in relation to air movement, rainfall and temperature
Urban Climate
Almost every city in the world today is hotter - usually between 1 to 4 deg C hotter - than its
surrounding area. This difference between urban and rural temperatures is called the "urban-heatisland" effect", and it has been intensifying throughout this century.
DBT (Dry-Bulb Temperature) measurement of the temperature of the air and as far as
possible excludes any radiant temperature; measured in the shade.
instrument silvered thermometer (in 0F or 0C)
- monthly mean of daily maxima (deg C)
- monthly mean of daily minima (deg C)
- standard deviation of distribution
Wind direction, frequency and force of the wind throughout the year.
instrument vane anemometer for high speeds
kata thermometer for low speeds
Sky either cloud cover, measured in 1/8 or 1/10 or % of the sky covered, or it could be
measured in hours of sunshine
Cloud cover - based on visual observation and expressed as a fraction of the sky
hemisphere (tenths, or 'octas' = eights) covered by clouds.
Sunshine duration - the period of clear sunshine (when a sharp shadow is cast),
measured by a sunshine recorder which burns a trace on a
paper
strip, expressed as hours per day or month.
Four environmental variables directly affecting thermal comfort are temperature, humidity, solar
radiation and air movement, these are the four constituents of climate most important for the
purposes of building design. Rainfall data may sometimes be needed, such as for designing
drainage systems and assessing the level of precipitation.
Tropical Design
This is concerned with countries where discomfort due to heat and humidity are the dominant
problems.
Tropical Design is applicable to Tropical and Sub-tropical climates and Equatorial Climates
covering the Southeast Asian Countries.
Vegetation
Built forms
Passive Cooling
A cooling system using a buildings design and construction to maintain a comfortable
temperature within the building.
Passive design is essentially low-energy design achieved by the buildings particular
morphological organization rather than electro-mechanical means.
SUNSHADE ANALYSIS
1. Solar paths requiring shade
2. Sunshade analysis (vertical and horizontal)
The diagrams show the optimum location of vertical sun shading, shielding the building from
low sun angles in the morning and evening, and horizontal sun shading blocking the high midday
sun. Tropical regions need both vertical and horizontal shading throughout the year.
3. Insolation
4. Sun requirements during winter
WIND ANALYSIS
Wind direction
Desirable and undesirable winds in each the climatic zones depend largely on local conditions.
Any breeze in the lower latitude (tropical and arid climates) is beneficial for most of the year.
Cross ventilation
Cross ventilation is far more important in the tropics than in temperate zones. The theoretical
strategy for blocking or inducing wind flow into a building is based on local prevailing wind
conditions. Generally, for the tropical zones as much ventilation as possible is desired.
Relationship between the centre of the comfort zone and the annual mean temperature (Carl
Mahoney):
Tcc = Tam/4 + 17.2
where Tcc is the center of the comfort zone in E.T. oC
and Tam is the annual mean temperature
*Always correct to the nearest 0.5 upwards
To get the Tam (annual mean temperature):
Tam = (Highest DBT of the Year + Lowest DBT of the Year) / 2
Psychrometric Chart
A chart relating the wet-bulb and dry-bulb readings from a psychrometer to relative humidity,
absolute humidity and dew point
COMFORT ZONE
The comfort zone criteria given above are for sedentary activities:
discomfort due to slight sweating in sedentary activities may be more uncomfortable and
disturbing as it interrupts concentration.
The comfort zone is compared with the mean maxima (day) and minima (night) effective
temperature for each month to find out if the climate is comfortable or uncomfortable.
Recommendations to achieve comfort can be made for a great number of aspects from space
between buildings, building form, down to detail aspects of design. consider window size
together with other factors such as glazed area, orientation, shading and building form consider
thermal characteristic of roofs and walls, i.e., absorption of the surface and the insulation of the
construction.
HEAT TRANSFER
Heat transfer in buildings may take place in four (4) different ways:
Conduction
Convection
Radiation
Evaporation and condensation
CONDUCTION
The flow of heat through a material by transfer from warmer to cooler molecules in contact with
each other.
Conductivity is the rate of heat transfer that occurs through a unit thickness of material for a unit
area subjected to a unit difference in temperature.
Conductivity =
Conductivity (K value) =
W/moC
Example:
If wall thickness is 0.2m, area of wall is 12m2 and temperature difference is 3oC, then:
Conductivity = 0.2m/(12m2 * 3oC) = 0.0056W/moC
Resistance is the ability of a material to resist the flow of heat and is measured by the resistivity.
Resistivity =
1 / Conductivity
moC / W
Example:
If wall thickness is 0.2m, area of wall is 12m2 and temperature difference is 3oC, then:
Resistivity = (12m2 * 3oC) / 0.2m = 180 moC/W
For a given thickness of material, resistance to heat transfer is:
Resistance = Resistivity * t(mtrs)
m2 oC / W
Example:
If wall thickness is 0.20m, and resistivity is 180 moC/W, then:
Resistance = 180 moC/W * 0.20m = 36 m2 oC/W
CONVECTION
Convection is the transfer of heat from one place to another by the flow of molecules from one
place to another.
Natural Convection is the movement of the molecules as a result of the heat energy they possess
(i.e. hot air rising).
Forced Convection results from the movement of molecules by pumps, fans, or other movement
caused by external forces.
The rate of flow of heat due to natural condition is usually measured by the conductance of a
surface or an air movement to a building construction.
Units are Watts / m2 oC
Examples:
1. Warm air rising from register (forced convection).
2. Warm air rising from all surfaces of radiator (after air in contact with radiator has
been heated by conduction).
3. Warm air rising from (free convection).
RADIATION
Radiation is the transfer of energy through space by electromagnetic waves.
Radiation travels through air and the rate of transfer of energy is independent of the temperature
of the air.
The rate of radiation transfer is measured in Watts per m2.
The rate of flow of radiant heat from the sun can be found from the radiation overlay when it is
placed over the sun path diagram.
There are two terms commonly encountered while discussing radiant heat transfer:
Emittance (or emissivity), refers to the ability of a materials surface to give off radiant
energy. All materials have emissivities ranging from zero to one. The lower the emittance of a
material, the lower the heat radiated from its surface. Aluminum foil has a very low emittance
which explains its use in reflective insulation.
Reflectance (or reflectivity) refers to the fraction of incoming radiant energy that is
reflected from the surface. Reflectivity and emissivity are related and a low emittance is
indicative of a highly reflective surface. For example, aluminum with an emittance of 0.03 has a
reflectance of 0.97.
EVAPORATION AND CONDENSATION
MODE OF HEAT TRANSFER
MEASUREMENT
UNITS
CONDUCTION
Conductivity
Resistivity
Conductivity
W / m oC
m oC / W
W / m2 oC
CONVECTION
RADIATION
EVAPORATION AND
CONDENSATION
0.012 m * 1.88m oC / W
0.200 m * 0.83m oC / W
0.010 m * 2.17m oC / W
1 / sum of resistances
Resistance
0.050 m2 oC / W
0.025 m2 oC / W
0.166 m2 oC / W
0.021 m2 oC / W
0.123 m2 oC / W
0.385 m2 oC / W
2.6 W / m2 oC
The rate of heat flow through a wall or roof (where the outdoor air is circulating freely through
the building) is given by the formula:
Q = U * A * (t0 t1)
Where Q = rate of heat flow (in Watts)
U = U value
A = superficial area (sqm)
t0-t1 = difference between inside and outside air temperature
SOL-AIR TEMPERATURE
The temperature of the outside air in contact with a shaded wall or roof which would give the
same rate of heat transfer and the same temperature gradient as the combined effect of solar
radiation and air temperature.
tsa = to + (X * I * ro)
Where tsa
to
X
I
ro
=
=
=
=
=
sol-air temperature ( oC )
outside air temperature ( oC )
absorptivity of surface to solar radiation
intensity of radiation ( W / m2 )
outside surface resistance ( m2 oC / W )
Max. radiation
Absorptivity
Air temperature
=
=
Then:
Sol-Air Temp =
=
=
q / I = 5 U*X %
Where q = heat transfer due to radiation = Q / A
q = U*A*(tsa-to) / A
q = U*( tsa to )
q = U*( X*I*ro)
q / I = U*( X*ro )
Then
if ro = 0.05 ----- 5%
q / I = 5 U*X %
Example:
From previous example of brickwall, U value is 2.6 W / m2 oC.
Absorptivity for external concrete rendering = 0.6
q / I = 5 U*X % = 5 *2.6*0.6% = 7.8% > 4% max for walls
To reduce the solar heat factor to acceptable level;
reduce the absorptivity of rendering by using white wash or lime
wash with an absorptivity of 0.30
q / I = 5 U*X % = 5 *2.6*0.3% = 3.9% < 4% max for walls OK
or reduce the transmittance U to 1.6 by adding 1cm of expanded
polystyrene with resistivity of 30 (resistance is 0.01*30=0.30)
U = 1 / (0.385+0.30) = 1.46
q / I = 5 U*X % = 5 *1.46*0.6% = 4.38% > 4% max for walls
1.5cm of polystyrene (resistance 0.015*30=0.45), U=1/(0.385+0.45)
q / I = 5 U*X % = 5 *1.20*0.6% = 3.60% < 4% max for walls OK
TIME LAG
The time taken per fluctuation in temperature to pass through a material of unit thickness
(hrs/m3oC).
Time lag depends on two properties:
thermal capacity (amount of heat required per unit volume per degree rise in
temperature)
(low absorptivity)
(low heat capacity)
(low U value)
Roofs
Walls
3%
4%
Time Lag
3 hours max.
To achieve this,
Roof should have a cavity between the roof and ceiling. A reflective surface together with
a cavity will achieve standard.
Heavy external walls should be restricted to day rooms, and should be as well shaded as
possible.
SUN SHADING
Azimuth - Sun angle along the horizon, measured to the east or west from true south
Altitude - Solar angle above the horizon, measured from the horizon