Housing, Climate and Comfort by STM Journals

HCAC

Housing, Climate And Comfort CENTRE FOR CONSTRUCTION & ARCHITECTURALEXCELLENCE

Dr. Janmejoy Gupta

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Housing, Climate and Comfort

Dr. Janmejoy Gupta PhD (Arch), M.Plan(Urban), B.Arch, IGBC-AP Associate Professor (Former-Head and Present Dean Research), Dept. of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, (An Institute of National Importance under Ministry of Education, Govt. of India)

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ISBN: 978-93-87376-56-4

FOREWORD A Climate-Responsive Building creates comfortable living conditions inside the dwelling with the least possible amount of energy-consumption maximizing efficiency in use of resources. Measures to make a building climate-responsive encompass the building’s entire life-cycle, right from architectural design, the construction-process itself, going into the operation-maintenance cycle and demolition phases of the building. A climate-responsive building keeps the building fully functional and thermally comfortable for its occupants as well. With the cost of energy increasing and the energy-crisis an imminent reality, the need to provide climate responsive building designs which provide thermal comfort to occupants has become very important. Climate – Responsive Housing reduces its negative impact on human health, ensures visual, and thermal comfort during the building's lifecycle, through environmentfriendly use of materials as well as appropriate placement of building on site, design, construction, operation and maintenance. The goals of climate-responsiveness, alongside providing thermal and visual comfort to occupants is also to accomplish the same tasks and functions in the buildings as before or more while using less energy. The energy-efficient building acts as a smooth-functioning machine in which the equipment produces as much, if not more energy capacity than needed to operate the ideal human environment, including air quality, moisture conditions, air temperature, and lighting. The ideal climate responsive building by default becomes an energy-efficient building retaining the best environment for human habitation while minimizing the need and cost of energy.

Prof. Chetan Vaidya (Architect-Urban Planner) Presently Senior National Urban Advisor Kochi Smart City Project supported by GIZ. Former Director, SPA New Delhi and NIUA, New Delhi, New Delhi and Part-time Independent Director, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO, New Delhi).

PREFACE “The development of a nearly thermo-stable state in our buildings should be regarded as one of the most valuable advances in the evolution of buildings.” Dr. Walter B. Cannon (in Olgyay, 1963)

The book tries to bring out the fact that dwellings have potential for creating thermally comfortable conditions inside them through the year when properly planned, designed, executed and clustered following certain basic tenets of climate responsive architecture, following the broad ideals of climate, bio-climatic study, technical interventions and applied architectural solutions. The book is a culmination of close to sixteen years of industrial experience in architecture, green buildings, countless classes spent teaching principles of climate-responsive architecture and research / publications carried out exploring the depths of the subject. I hope the book is especially useful for Bachelors of Architecture studying the subject ‘Climate Responsive Architecture’ or similar subjects, and also for those keen on incorporating climate responsiveness in their architecture design solutions. Each building should be designed and built paying heed to the climatic context. Architects working in the field may also refer to it for certain basics of Climate Responsive Architectural; Design Concepts. This took me little over three years four months to put it in its present form, much of it done in the midst of Covid Pandemic, and it can be said that it’s a culmination of my years of researching, teaching and loving the subject climate-responsive architecture.

Dr. Janmejoy Gupta Vijayawada, Feb, 2022.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The book on “Housing, Climate and Comfort ”, embodies the six-year industrial experience on being involved in the design and documentation of IGBC-LEED buildings, subsequent PhD research on ‘Passive design strategies for rural mud dwelling units in Jharkhand, considering architectural design parameters for thermal comfort’, from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, ten and a half years, and continuing, of teaching the subjects Energy-Efficient Buildings and ClimateResponsive Architecture and last but definitely the most important, my inherent interest in climate-responsive architecture, with a conviction that all buildings should be designed to be climate-responsive, and unless it is so that architecture is a failure, especially in a overtly tropical country like India where a sizeable part of the population has little access to mechanical ventilation methods. I wish to convey my regards to my parents whose blessings made this book possible. I would also like to thank my sister for all her support. I am thankful to my wife for her moral support and for being at my side, always, without ever complaining. I am thankful to my daughter, whose smiling face made me forget all my worries and woes and helped me focus on the job at hand. I would like to acknowledge my M.Arch Students, Ar Nivedhita R., Ar Alankar Jharia, Ar Sharon M. and Ar Monalisa Panda for their valuable contributions to bring this book to its present form. Finally, I bow down to God Almighty, without whose blessings it is impossible to even move a blade of grass.

CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1-11

Learning-objectives Key Terms

1.1 An Introduction 1.2 The richness of vernacular architecture and the role of climate in it 1.3 The Bane of the Modern Day Architecture: Total disregard of local climatic conditions in design of buildings in an overwhelming number of cases

Question and Answer

CHAPTER 2. BIO-CLIMATIC APPROACH

12-44

Learning-objectives Key Terms

2.1 General principles of the correlation between form and climate 2.2 Elements of bioclimatic design 2.3 Types of global climates 2.4 Climate and Its Role in Building Design 2.5 Climatic Design Information 2.6 Process of building climate-balanced dwelling unit 2.7 The Four-Pronged Path 2.7.1. Climate 2.7.2. Biological Evaluation 2.7.3. Human-Body: A Biological Machine 2.8 Thermal Conditions of the Environment 2.9 Thermal-Comfort 2.9.1 Adaptive Comfort 2.9.2 Adaptive Comfort Model in ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 2.9.3 Field Study Approach: Tropical Summer Index (TSI) and its Similarity with the ‘Adaptive’ Comfort Model of Thermal Comfort 2.9.4. Clothing and Comfort

13 14 15 17 18 18 20 20 23 23 25 27 28 29

32 35

2.10 Climate + Biology = Bio-Climate, i.e. Linking Climate and Thermal-Comfort 2.10.1 Bio-Climatic Chart Concept 2.10.2 Plotting the Chart 2.10.3 Strategies 2.10.4 Victor Olgyay: Bioclimatic Chart 2.10.5 Limitations and Problems Impairing the Use of Olgyay’s Bioclimatic Chart: 2.11 Limitations of Olgyay’s Bioclimatic Chart 2.12 The concept of Building Bio-Climatic Chart 2.13 Benefits of using building-bioclimatic charts 2.14 Conclusion Question and Answer CHAPTER 3. ENVIRONMENT AND BUILDING FORMS

35 35 35 36 36 37 37 37 41 41 44 45-70

Learning-objectives Key Terms

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5

3.6

Introduction Housing Forms Different housing forms for different climatic environments as per Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC 2007) Typologies depending on the climate as per Energy Conservation Building Code, (ECBC), 2007- At a Glance How different climatic conditions influence building form 3.5.1 Hot Dry Climates 3.5.2 Warm Humid Climates 3.5.3 Composite Climate 3.5.4 Cold Climates Some Important terms, describing building material thermal properties

Question and Answer CHAPTER 4. SITE AND BUILDING DESIGN

46 46 46 48 48 49 56 59 63 66 69-70 71-83

Learning-objectives Key Terms

4.1 Site selection

4.2 Site Planning 4.3 Factors which affect local site-climate 4.4 Steps to be considered for better climate-responsiveness through appropriate site-planning 4.4.1. Appropriate Plantations 4.4.2. Vegetated (Green) Roofs

73 73

Question and Answer

CHAPTER 5. SUN AND BUILDING DESIGN

74 74 77

84-98

Learning-objectives Key Terms

5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 5.4.

5.5 5.6 5.7. 5.8.

Introduction Shading devices Exterior or interior shading devices Other categories of external shading devices 5.4.1. Adjustable Shading Devices 5.4.2. Interior Shading Devices Roof overhangs Shading through Landscaping Shading calculations Orientation

Question and Answer CHAPTER 6. WIND AND BUILDING DESIGN

85 86 87 88 88 91 92 92 94 94 97-98 99-118

Learning-objectives Key Terms

6.1 Need for ventilation in built space 6.2 Factors on which supply of fresh-air inside a built space depends 6.3 Comfort Ventilation 6.4 An Overview of Mandatory ECBC Requirements as Laid Down By National Building Code, 2017 For Natural Ventilation in India 6.5 Provision of ventilation: Stack Effect 6.6 The wind

100 100 100

103 106 107

6.7 Wind and Site design 6.8 Guidelines for Windbreak Design 6.9. Planning For Comfort In Hot-Humid Areas

109 114 115

Question and Answer

118

CHAPTER 7. ARCHITECTURAL APPLICATION

119-148

Learning-objectives Key Terms

7.1 Introduction 7.2 Architectural Application - Design strategies 7.2.1 Strategies for Hotter Climates 7.2.2 Strategies for Winter in Hot-Dry and Composite Climate 7.3 Architectural Application 7.3.1. Thermal Mass Construction 7.3.2. Wind Towers 7.3.3. Roofing Systems 7.3.4. Techniques of Increasing Roof Insulation 7.3.5. Techniques of Increasing Vernacular Roof Insulation Studies Done by Gernot Minke’s Studies (2006) 7.3.6. Wall Insulation 7.3.7. Daylighting 7.3.8. Trombe Wall Question and Answer

120 120 120 126 128 128 132 133 136 137 138 140 143 147-148

Housing, Climate and Comfort

ventilation. • Elevate the main living spaces as wind velocity increases with the height above ground. • Use high ceilings, two-story spaces, and open stairwells for vertical air movement and for the benefits of stratification. • Provide cross ventilation by using large windows on both the windward and leeward sides of the building. • Use fin walls to direct air through the windows. • Use a combination of high and low openings to take advantage of the stack effect. • Use roof openings to vent both the attic and the whole building. Use openings, such as monitors, cupolas, dormers, roof turrets, ridge vents, gable-vents, and soffit vents. • Use patios to make cool outside spaces and to shield open windows from sun and rain. • Use a double or parasol roof with enough clearance to allow the wind to ventilate the hot air collecting between the two roofs. • Utilize high-quality operable windows with great seals to permit summer ventilation while anticipating winter penetration. • Utilize open-floor plan for maximum airflow. Limit the utilization of partitions. • Keep doors open between rooms. • Use a solar chimney to move air vertically through a building even on calm, sunny days. • Use operable windows or movable panels in garden walls to maximize the summer ventilation of a site while allowing protection against the winter winds. 6. Keeping the heat in and the cold temperatures out during the winter. • Place buffer spaces that have lower temperature requirements (closets, storage rooms, stairs, garages, gymnasiums, heavy work areas, etc.) along the north wall. Place a sunspace buffer room on the south wall. • Use temperature zoning by both space and time since some spaces can always be kept cooler than others or at certain times. For example, bedrooms can often be kept cooler during the day and especially during the night. • Minimize the window area on all orientations except south. • Use double or triple glazing, low-e coatings, and movable insulation on windows. 145

Architectural Application

•

Utilize ample protection in-walls, on rooftops, under floors, over crawl spaces, on foundation-walls, and around slab edges. • Insulation ought to be a consistent envelope to anticipate heat bridges. Maintain a strategic distance from structural elements that are uncovered on the outside, since they puncture the insulation. Avoid fireplaces and other masonry elements that penetrate the insulation layer. • Place doors on fireplaces to prevent heated room air from escaping through the chimney. Supply fireplaces and stoves with outdoor combustion air. 7. Protecting from the cold winter winds. • Keep away from breezy areas, for example, hilltops. • Windbreaks can be made by utilizing evergreen vegetation. • Use garden walls to protect the building and especially entrances from cold winds. • In very windy areas, keep buildings close to the ground (one-story). • Use compact designs to minimize the surface area exposed to the wind. • Use streamlined shapes with rounded corners to both deflect the wind and minimize the surface area to volume ratio. • Cluster buildings for mutual wind protection. • Place garages and other utility spaces on the winter windward side. This is usually the north, northwest, and northeast side of the building. • Use sunspaces and glazed-in porches as windbreaks. • Use earth sheltering. Also, the wind can be deflected by earth-berms built against the wall or by constructing protective earth banks a short distance from the building. • Minimize openings, especially on the side facing the winter winds, and place the main entry on the leeward side. • Use storm windows, storm-doors, air locks (vestibules), and revolving doors to minimize infiltration. • Close all attic and crawl-space vents. • Use tight construction, caulking, weather stripping, and air(wind) barriers to minimize infiltration. Utilize high-quality operable windows and doors. • Place outdoor courtyards on the south side of the building. • In winter, even windows in free-standing garden walls should be closed to protect then closure from cold winds. • In snow country, use snow-fences and windscreens to keep snow from blocking entries and south-facing window. 146

Housing, Climate and Comfort

PROBLEMS Fill in the Blanks 1. Thermal mass is most appropriate in climates with a large diurnal temperature range. As a rule of thumb, diurnal ranges of less than _________are insufficient, 7°C to 10°C can be useful depending on the climate; and where they exceed ______________, high mass construction is desirable. 2. The typical method of daylighting used in buildings without causing glare is___________________. 3. Although housing typologies are results of multiple determinants, _____________and ________________are the two most important determinants. 4. Elevate the main _________as wind velocity increases with the height above ground. 5. In warm-humid climate, use_____________, _____________spaces, and open stairwells for vertical air movement and for the benefits of air-stratification. 6. In mild climates where winters are not very cold and summer temperatures are not extremely high, use a _______________shape for maximum cross ventilation. 7. Use __________walls to direct air through the windows. Use roof openings to vent both the attic and the whole building. 8. Use openings, such as_________, cupolas, dormers, roof turrets, ridge vents, gable-vents, and soffit vents for adequate ventilation and natural light. 9. Use __________to create cool outdoor spaces and to protect open windows from sun and rain in tropical climates. 10. _____________should be a continuous envelope to prevent heat bridges. 11. Place outdoor courtyards on the ___________ side of the building in cold areas. 12. Avoid building on cold ____________ slopes in cold areas. Short-answer Types 1. Write short notes on: i. Thermal mass construction ii. Wind towers. iii. Roofing system iv. Roof insulation v. Wall insulation vi. Daylighting 147

Architectural Application

2. List and explain the architectural strategies thermal comfort in tropical regions. 3. Explain the use of Trombe wall with appropriate diagrams in cold regions like Ladakh. 4. Write about the properties of a good thermal mass in detail. 5. How do you locate thermal mass in a building? Explain with sketches. Long-answer Types 1. Explain ventilated double roof with sketches. Which climatic zone is it used in? 2. Green roofs also known as roof gardens or vegetated roof covers, play multiple roles. Explain. 3. What is a Filler Slab? Explain with sketches. 4. What methods are used for daylighting in buildings? 5. Describe using natural ventilation for summer-cooling in tropical areas. Give sketches. 6. State the ways of keeping the heat in and the cold temperatures out during the winter in very cold areas.

148

HOUSING CLIMATE AND COMFORT ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Janmejoy Gupta (Ph.D., (Arch), M.Planning, B.Arch.) is an Architect-Urban Planner with more than 16 years of industrial and teaching experience. Presently he is Associate Professor and Former Head, Department of Architecture (on rotation) in School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, India. Research areas are passive design strategies for thermal comfort in dwellings, energy eﬃciency in buildings, Vernacular Architecture and Sustainability in Urban Planning. He has got quite a few Scopus and WoS indexed publications in Routledge, Elsevier and Springer Nature. He is in Editor/Member/Reviewer of a few journals including Environmental Progress (Wiley). He is Certiﬁed LEED-IGBC Accredited Professional (AP) Since May 2010 (Indian Green Building Council AP). He is passionate about climate responsive architecture and feels that all buildings should naturally respond to climate along with the cultural settings. His mix of industrial experience, academic-teaching and research has led to certain insights, as presented in this book.

RESEARCHER ID s: • • • •

ORCID ID - 0000-0002-8134-4926 Researcher ID: L-9600-2017 Scopus Author ID: 56643977600 Google Scholar Id----gZs18gkAAAAJ

FEATURES OF THE BOOK • An overview of climatic elements that an Architect needs to understand to help create climate-responsive designs. • The concept of bio-climate, how climate affects occupant’s biology vis-a-vis thermal comfort (building bio-climatic chart). • Understanding sequential study of macroclimatic elements, microclimatic elements (site-specific), impact on indoor thermal comfort and finally through appropriate architectural interventions, designing appropriate climate-responsive dwellings. • Relevant for students, researchers and especially to those architects who want to get some guidelines for designing climate-responsive buildings. Long/Short/MCQ questions and answers.

978- 93- 87376- 56- 4

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