A thermal performance comparison of residential envelopes at the tropical highland for occupants’ thermal comfort

Abstract

Climate change affects the thermal performance of buildings. A building’s thermal performance is influenced by its envelopes, such as roof, wall, and floor. A different building envelope may create a different thermal condition which may also influence its occupants’ comfort. This research aims at analyzing the residential thermal performance at the tropical highland areas by examining the deviation between the outer and inner space’s air temperature and humidity. The research employed a quantitative method by measuring the air temperature and humidity for 24 hours which were recorded every one hour. There were 15 houses with various building envelope materials as the samples. Since highland has colder air temperature, the differences between thermal variables of the outer and inner space’s of the residentials were observed to figure out the longest warming. The warming process is associated with the occupants’ thermal comfort standards. The results showed there are two types of residential producing the longest warming (23 hours) which in accordance with the occupants’ thermal comfort standards. The first type is the house enveloped with roof tiles, wooden walls, and an earthen floor, while the second one is a residential house enveloped with a zinc roof, exposed stone walls, and an earthen floor.