Thermal comfort design of traditional houses in hot dry region of Algeria

Abstract

The new architecture produced recently in the south of Algeria known as ‘modern construction’ following the trend of the northern cities, which have different climate, is completely non-adapted to the harsh climate of the south of Algeria and, therefore, has high-energy consumption. The Ksar of Kenadsa is considered among the most important old cities of the south-west region of Algeria by its cultural and religious dimensions. In this area, the traditional architecture has been built to achieve the comfort in hot season. The new constructed houses have been built following the north architectural design neglecting the very harsh climate of the south region of Algeria characterized by very hot and dry climate. To evaluate the thermal comfort of this modern housing, a comparative analysis for the existing traditional housing is carried out using TRNSYS software. The simulation results show that the modern typical house seems to be inappropriate for the desert climate. Indeed, except the use of air-conditioning in summer, there is no other solution which can ensure thermal comfort.