VERNACULAR

ARCHITECTURE IN COLD
AND SUNNY CLIMATE

Indian vernacular architecture is the

informal, functional architecture of
structures, often in rural areas of India
build of local material to meet local
requirements
The builders involved are basically
unschooled in informal architectural
design and their work reflects the rich
diversity of India's climate, locally
available building material.

METHODOLOGY
Architects can achieve energy efficiency in the buildings they
design by studying the macro and microclimate of the site,
applying bioclimatic architectural principles to combat the
adverse conditions, and taking advantage of the desirable
conditions
. A few common design elements that directly or indirectly affect
thermal comfort conditions and thereby the energy consumption
in a building are listed below:
1.Site (a) Landform
(b) Open Spaces And Built Forms
(c) Street Width And Orientation
2.Orientation And Planform
3.Building Envelope (a) Roof
(b) Walls
(c) Fenestration
(d) Colour And Texture
4.Techniques (a) Glazing
(b) Trombe Wall
(c) Waterwall
(d) Roof Based Air Heating System
(e) Sunspaces

SITE
Landform
a) In cold climates, heat gain is desirable. Hence,
buildings should be located on the south slope of a hill
or mountain for better access to solar radiation
b) Exposure to cold winds can be minimized by locating
the building on the leeward side.
c) In case the southern side is the windward side. The
building should be glazed in such a manner that
minimum wind enters the building. Parts of the site
which offer natural wind barrier can be chosen for
constructing a building
(b
(c) Street Width And Orientation In cold climates, the street orientation
should be east-west to allow formaximum south sun to enter the building.
The street should be wide enough to ensure that the buildings on oneside
do not shade those on the other side (i.e. solar access should beensured)

Open Spaces And Built Form

a) Buildings can be clustered together to minimize
exposure to cold winds.
b) Open spaces between buildings must be such that
they allow maximum solar rays to be incident on the
building.
c) They should be treated with a halt and reflective
surface so that day reflect solar radiation onto the
building.

ORIENTATION AND PLANFORM

1. Buildings must be compact with small surface to
volume ratios to reduce heat loss.
2. Windows should face south to facilitate direct gain
3. The north side of the building should be well-insulated
4. Living areas can be located on the southern side
while utility are as such as stores can be on the
northern side.
5. Air-lock lobbies at the entrance and exit points of the
building reduce heat loss. Heat generated by
appliances in rooms such as kitchens may be used to
heat the other parts of the building.

Street Width And Orientation

a) In cold climates, the street orientation should be eastwest to allow for maximum south sun to enter the
building.
b) The street should be wide enough to ensure that the
buildings on one side do not shade those on the other
side (i.e. solar access should been sured)

BUILDING ENVELOPE
(a) Roof False ceilings with internal insulation such as
polyurethane foam (PUF), thermocol , wood wool, etc.
are feasible for houses in cold climates.
(b) Aluminium foil is generally used between the
insulation layer and the roof to reduce heat loss to the
exterior.
(c) A sufficiently sloping roof enables quick drainage of
rain water and snow.
(d) A solar air collector can be incorporated on the south
facing slope of the roof and hot air from it can be used
for space heating purposes.

(a)Skylights on the roofs admit heat as well as light in

winters. Skylights can be provided with shutters to
avoid over heating in summers
(b) Walls should be made of materials that lose heat
slowly.
(c) The south-facing walls (exposed to solar radiation)
could be of high thermal capacity (such as Trombe
wall) to store day time heat for later used.
(d) The walls should also be insulated. The insulation
should have sufficient vapour barrier (such as two
coats of bitumen, 300 to 600 gauge polyethylene
sheet or aluminium foil) on the warm side to avoid
condensation.
(e) Hollow and lightweight concrete blocks are also quite
suitable.
(f) Skylights can be provided with shutters to avoid over
heating in summers
(g) On the windward or north side, a cavity wall type of

Fenestration
a) It is advisable to have the maximum window area on
the southern side of the building to facilitate direct
heat gain.
b)They should be sealed and preferably double glazed to
avoid heat losses during winter nights. Condensation
in the air space between the panes should be
prevented,
c) Movable shades should be provided to prevent
overheating in summers.
d)Colour And Texture
e) The external surfaces of the walls should be dark in
colour so that day absorb heat from the sun.

TECHNIQUES

(a)Glazing South facing glazing is ideal for cool

temperate climates. It allows maximum solar access in
winter and can be easily shaded in summer. In cool
temperate climates:
(b) Maximize South facing glazing with solar exposure
(especially in living areas).
(c) Minimize east & west facing glazing
(d). Use adjustable shading. Insulating glass unit with
low-e
(e) Use insulating glass and frames and/or snug fitting
insulating drapes with sealed pelmets.

Trombe Wall
A Trombe wall is a thermally massive wall with vents
provided at the top and bottom. It may be made of
concrete, masonry, adobe, and is usually located on the
southern side (in the northern hemisphere) of a building
in order to maximize solar gains.
The outer surface of the wall is usually painted black
for maximizing absorption and the wall is directly placed
behind glazing with an air gap in between
. Solar radiation is absorbed by the wall during the day
and stored as sensible heat. The air in the space
between the glazing and the wall gets heated up and
enters the living spaces by convection through the vents.
Cool air from the rooms replaces this air, thus setting
up a convection current. The vents are closed during
night, and heat stored in the wall during the day heats
up the living space by conduction and radiation.
The trombe wall should be adequately shaded for

Water Wall

A water wall is a thermal storage wall made up of

drums of water stacked up behind glazing. It is usually
painted black to increase heat absorption.
It is more effective in reducing temperature swings, but
the time lag is less.
Heat transfer through water walls is much faster than
that for trombe walls.
Buildings that work during the daytime, such as
schools and offices, benefit from the rapid heat transfer
in the water wall.
Overheating during summer may be prevented by
using suitable shading devices.

Roof-Based Air Heating System

In this technique, incident solar radiation is trapped by
the roof and is used for heating interior spaces.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the system usually
consists of an inclined south-facing glazing and a northsloping insulated surface on the roof. Between the roof
and the insulation, an air pocket is formed, which is
heated by solar radiation.
A moveable insulation can be used to reduce heat loss
through glazed panes during nights.
There can be variations in the detailing of the roof air
heating systems. Climate Roof base air heating system
for winter heating in Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative
Building.
In the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank
building, the south glazing is in the form of solar

Sunspace
A sun space or solarium is the combination of direct
and indirect gain systems.
The solar radiation heats up the sun space directly,
which in turn heats up the living space(separated from
the sun space by a mass wall)by convection and
conduction through the mass wall. In the northern
hemisphere, the basic requirements of buildings heated
by sunspace are :
(a) a glazed south facing collector space attached yet
separated from the building
(b)(b) Living space separated from the sun space by a
thermal storage wall. Sunspaces may be used as
winter gardens adjacent to the living space. The
Himurja building in Shimla has well designed solarium
as integral part of south wall to maximize solar gain.

LEH, LADAKH

COLD AND SUNNY CLIMATE

LEH
Mountainous region
Little vegetation
Considered to be a Cold Desert

CLIMATE
COLD and SUNNY type of climate is experienced
here.
TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS
Summer
during day : 17 - 24C
during night : 4 - 11C
Winter
during day : 7 - 9C
during night : -14 0 C
Relative humidity consistently low : 10-50%
Winds occasionally intense
Sky is fairly clear throughout the year
Cloud cover is less than 50%

DESIGN CRITERIA AND FEATURES

OBJECTIVES
Resist heat loss
Decrease exposed surface area
Increase thermal resistance
Increase thermal capacity
(Time lag)
Increase buffer spaces
Decrease air exchange rate
Increase surface absorptivity
Promote heat gain
Reduce shading
Utilize heat from appliances
Trapping heat

PHYSICAL
MANIFESTATION

Orientation and shape of

building. Use of trees as wind
barriers
Roof insulation, wall insulation
and double glazing
Thicker walls
Air locks/ Lobbies
Weather stripping
Darker colors
Walls and glass surfaces
Sun spaces/ green houses/
Trombe walls etc

TREES wind barrier

Roof & wall

insulation

Thick walls
Heavy walls (mud) and a well insulated roof (timber & mud)
dampen the variations of indoor temperatures.

Use of glass and trombe wall heat is stored in the building mass
during the day and warm during the night

City of some 25,000

inhabitants
Population triples in size
during summer tourist
season

OLD LEH
200 stone, mud and
timber houses sandwiched
between thick rammed
earth walls
Most well-preserved
traditional Tibetan city in
the world
Most signicant ensemble
of historic Tibetan
architecture

 One makes the walls for the first floor, piling up stone and sun-dried brick,
and then places wooden beams and floor joists across the walls to support
the second floor walls above them,
and repeatedly adds more wooden beams across them.
Floors and roofs are made of mud treaded on wooden boards.
Roofs are basically flat, being unnecessary to waterproof, since it
scarcely ever rains.
Columns are needed midway across larger spans

 First floor - used for stables

Second floor for family rooms, such as a sitting room, a kitchen,
bedrooms, and a Buddhist altar room
A larger house often consists of three floors.

Porch

Kitchen

Dining

Bedroom