Perspective and Advances of Houses and Buildings in Hot and Humid Regions

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Globally, the building sector is a major consumer of primary energy sources and a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. As a result of modernization of civilizations coupled with urbanization and increasing living standards, the building sector’s contribution to energy consumption and greenhouses gases emissions are expected to increase further. In hot and humid regions, designing energy-efficient and thermally comfortable houses and buildings with high-quality indoor air is a challenge. Most of the research and developments in this sector are performed in advanced and industrialized countries; the majority of which are in temperate regions of the world. With globalization, some concepts and ideas that have been developed for temperate regions could be reengineered to suit hot and humid regions. However, raw concepts, ideas, and technologies still need to be refined for effective application in hot and humid regions, as these regions have different ways of life, cultures, traditions, and economic standards than industrialized regions. As awareness of the advantages of the energy-efficient and environmentally friendly houses and buildings has grown in hot and humid regions, more research and development efforts have been supported by government and nongovernment organizations in these regions. Hence, the building and operational technologies of houses and buildings in hot and humid regions are expected to become more refined as research, developments, and applications of modern architecture and building sciences become more prevalent in these regions.