Guidelines to make your home climate sensitive

 

 It is very important to make our homes climate sensitive. With the increasing urbanization and converting of the Indian cities into concrete jungle, it has become very important to treat the building envelope with a sensitive touch – both keeping in mind the environmental implication and cost efficiency.

Thermal effect of building materials

Factors

The solar energy reaches the external wall of a building by radiation and then it travels across the building material by conduction. The heat flows across the unit material in a unit time, depends on the thermal conductivity of the material. The reciprocal of thermal conductivity is thermal resistance which is dependent on the thickness of the building material.

The heat capacity of the envelope of the material is the factor that determines the amount of heat the house absorbs and conducts.

The maximum temperature and the diurnal range are the two ambient characteristics required to be taken in to consideration while choosing materials for the external walls of an apartment building or house.

 

 

The third factor is the orientation and the external color of the building as they determine the absorption of solar radiation. After a threshold, temperature insulation is required to moderate the heat flow from the outer surface to the interiors of the building.

For climates where the diurnal temperature range is quite high, the materials with high thermal mass should be used and for hot and humid climates where the diurnal temperature range is not quite high, the lightweight materials are most appropriate.

However, recent studies have shown that even in the hot and humid climates where there is continuous ventilation, thermal mass can play a big role in providing thermal comfort during nights.

The color of the building material also plays a large role as it determines the amount of solar radiations absorbed. The darker color material absorbs more heat in comparison to the lighter color material. During extreme summers, the difference in the temperature of the room painted white and black was 6?.

You should consider the following to make your external walls and roof weather proof in the extreme hot and humid climate .

Roof

• Due to the heavy rainfall, it is very important to make the roof waterproof and if the building is not conditioned, the vents at the rooftop should be added to improve the air circulation. The hot air rises up and the vents on the top will help in letting the hot air  move out and thus creates a low pressure. This process will start the flow of air through the window and exit through the vents on the top.
  

  

• If the building is air-conditioned than, it becomes very important to insulate your roof. Since, this will restrict the heat flow through conduction from hot air outside to roof and from roof to the conditioned environment inside the building.
• Double roof or false ceiling is also one good method to restrict the roof from radiating heat inside during the daytime since, the space between the two roofs or the roof and the false ceiling acts as a heat buffer.

• Reflective foil insulation is another technology which is installed in the areas of the attic.  It is actually a material that is shiny and is used for reducing the costs of cooling and heating. Heat is reflected back in the summer days and it reduces the cost of air conditioning. Warm air is trapped by these insulators in the winter time reducing the cost of heating. The process of installation of these foils is very easy and you will be able to do it on your own, as there are no requirements of any special tools. it is a very good option for those who want to condition the air of your house in a way that would be energy efficient and be economic at the same time.  

Walls:

• For the wall in hot and humid climate, it is very important it to transmit less heat to the interiors and promotes airflow.
• Do not use wood cladding or any material, which is sensitive to water.
• Use the low e glass for the glazing.
• Use the light color for the exterior of the wall.