Analysis of Energy Efficient Features in Traditional Hill Architecture of Himachal Pradesh, India for its Indoor Performance in Sub-Tropical Climate

Abstract

Vernacular architecture of any region highlights the architecture and construction methods developed by the locals, in need to provide indoor thermal comfort amidst outdoor climatic conditions which is done using the locally available materials and construction techniques in response to the climatic conditions and geographic location. At present in India, standardized building materials and construction methods are adopted for modern buildings due to the easy availability of materials and also serving well economically. This paper presents the results of a field study and simulations to investigate the thermal and energy performance of selected case study, two traditional houses using adobe blocks, rammed earth and stone construction are compared to a modern house using a masonry envelope, the construction material is altered by adding insulation to the building envelope to study the differences in the performance of original construction. The case study is located in Dharamshala town in the upper reaches of Kangra valley, Himachal Pradesh, India having a sub-tropical humid climatic condition. Hourly indoor temperatures of the houses were monitored and a field survey was done to collect the data, and simulations were carried using dynamic thermal simulation software DesignBuilder, the monitored data was then used to match the parameters in simulation models. The results show that indoor temperatures of traditional mud house provide better thermal comfort when compared to modern house, however, slightly high energy demand in traditional house is observed due to increase in discomfort hours.