Thermal Assessment of Terrace Houses Constructed with Light Weight Eps-Based Panels

Abstract

AbstractTerrace houses are used in many countries as a solution for the scarcity of land due to the ability to complete houses with smaller footprint and hence generally tend to reduce the cost incurred. However, there are drawbacks in the terrace houses in tropical climatic conditions due to restrictions on providing thermal comfort. Newly introduced expanded polystyrene (EPS)-based lightweight concrete wall panel has less self-weight and less thermal conductivity and absorbs less heat to minimize thermal effect. This detailed study was carried to assess the applicability of EPS-based lightweight concrete wall panels as the wall material of terrace houses with proper passive design in order to enhance the indoor thermal comfort. Three storey terrace houses have been developed to comply with the locally adopted building regulations. These houses have been assessed with the aid of computer simulations carried out using the DesignBuilder software using the climatic data pertaining to different climates. Comparative studies were conducted to determine the thermal behaviour of the terrace house by modifying various factors in six ways, such as materials, thickness, climatic condition, orientation of house cluster, floors and courtyard formations. As an outcome of these detailed studies, a set of ideas and rules were developed for improvement in internal temperature of terrace houses.KeywordsTerrace houseThermal comfortTropical climate conditionsEPS lightweight load-bearing wall panelsThermal conductivity