Thermal performance study and evaluation of comfort temperatures in vernacular buildings of North-East India

• Published in: Building and environment Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 320 - 329
• Main Authors: Singh, Manoj Kumar, Mahapatra, Sadhan, Atreya, S.K.
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2010; Elsevier; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Architecture; Building technical equipments; Buildings; Buildings. Public works; Civil engineering; Comfort; Comfort temperature; Dwellings; Energie; Energy; Energy management and energy conservation in building; Engineering, computing & technology; Environmental engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Field tests; High rise building; Ingénierie civile; Ingénierie, informatique & technologie; Naturally ventilated buildings; North-East India; Residential building; Thermal comfort; Thermal performance; Types of buildings; Vernacular; Vernacular architecture; Winter; Asia; India; North-East India; Naturally ventilated buildings; Comfort temperature; Vernacular architecture; Thermal performance; Performance evaluation; Apartment; Natural ventilation; One family house; Hot climate; Comfort; Humid climate; Thermal analysis; Bioclimatic architecture
• ISSN: 0360-1323; 1873-684X; 1873-684X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2009.06.009

Solar passive techniques are being used in vernacular buildings throughout the world. Researchers have done extensive study on thermal performance of vernacular buildings in the different parts of the world. Vernacular architecture of North-Eastern India represents the principle of climate-responsive architecture, which still lacks experimental validation and quantitative analysis. Thermal comfort not only makes the occupants comfortable but also governs energy consumption in the building. Detailed field studies on thermal performances of typical traditional vernacular dwellings in different bioclimatic zones have been undertaken. This field study includes detailed survey of 150 vernacular dwellings, field tests and thermal sensation vote of 300 occupants on ASHRAE thermal sensation scale. Field test includes measurement of temperature, humidity, illumination level and building design parameters. Thermal performances of these vernacular dwellings were evaluated for winter, pre-summer, summer/monsoon and pre-winter months of the year 2008. This evaluation is based on ‘
adaptive approach’, which is the outcome of the field studies and is now part of ASHRAE standard 55/2004 for predicting comfortable temperature of naturally ventilated buildings. This study also tried to find out the range of comfort temperature in these vernacular buildings for different season of the year. It has been found that these vernacular dwellings perform quite satisfactorily except in the winter months and the occupants feel comfortable in a wider range of temperature.