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Analysis of the Thermal Performance and Comfort Conditions of Vernacular Rammed Earth Architecture From Southern Portugal
... Also in 2021, Chang et al. analyzed the influence of vernacular building spaces on human thermal comfort in arid climatic zones of China [10]. While Fernandes et al. (2020) analyzed the thermal behavior and comfort conditions of vernacular rammed earth architecture in southern Portugal [11], Zune et al. (2020) assessed passive design techniques used in vernacular dwellings located in Myanmar to achieve thermal comfort by conducting simulations [12]. ...
... Also in 2021, Chang et al. analyzed the influence of vernacular building spaces on human thermal comfort in arid climatic zones of China [10]. While Fernandes et al. (2020) analyzed the thermal behavior and comfort conditions of vernacular rammed earth architecture in southern Portugal [11], Zune et al. (2020) assessed passive design techniques used in vernacular dwellings located in Myanmar to achieve thermal comfort by conducting simulations [12]. ...
Dominican vernacular architecture, based on the Spanish-influenced indigenous bohio, is built with natural materials. This housing model has remained practically unchanged for five centuries, responding adequately to the tropical Caribbean climate. However, it is necessary to characterize this behavior to verify the indoor comfort conditions of this housing typology. The aim of this research is to evaluate the behavior of a vernacular house located in Villa Sombrero, Peravia Province, Dominican Republic, using a simulation model. For this purpose, a bohio was selected, which has a simple rectangular volume. Simulations were carried out using Design Builder software, considering the passive strategies incorporated in the bohio. The results indicate that indoor ambient temperature remains within the comfort range throughout the annual cycle. It was confirmed that the highest solar gain through exterior windows occurs in the warmer months. Lighting consumption varies between approximately 195 kWh and 220 kWh, with a more stable behavior during the middle months of the year. CO2 emissions followed the same behavior as lighting consumption since it was the only energized element in the bohio. This research demonstrated that passive strategies implemented in the vernacular dwelling work correctly, except for the minimum illuminance level, which needs to be improved.
... As listed in Table 2, the daily average temperature of the inner surface of the wall was the lowest in all cases, whereas the temperature fluctuated widely on the outer surface of the wall. The daily average temperature of the outer surface of the wall was the highest in all cases, indicating that the rammed earth had a certain heat-buffering capacity [31,32]. Table 2, the daily average temperature of the inner surface of the wall was the lowest in all cases, whereas the temperature fluctuated widely on the outer surface of the wall. ...
... Table 2, the daily average temperature of the inner surface of the wall was the lowest in all cases, whereas the temperature fluctuated widely on the outer surface of the wall. The daily average temperature of the outer surface of the wall was the highest in all cases, indicating that the rammed earth had a certain heatbuffering capacity [31,32]. Because the energy performance of a building is difficult to quantify, as it depends on its inherent parameters as well as the living environment, this study investigated the energy transfer information of a building in terms of heat flux. ...
Rammed-earth dwellings have a long history in the construction field. It is a natural material that is both green and environmentally friendly. In recent years, the advantages of rammed earth, such as environmental protection, low cost, and recyclability, have attracted considerable attention. In this study, the thermal and humidity physical properties of rammed-earth materials in the northwest Sichuan region, the variation laws of thermal physical parameters, such as the thermal conductivity of rammed-earth under different moisture content conditions, and isothermal moisture absorption and desorption curves were investigated. The results indicated that the thermal physical parameters of the rammed earth measured in the experiment increased with an increase in moisture content, and its moisture absorption performance was better than the moisture release performance in the range of 11.31-97.3% relative humidity. The experimental site, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, is a subtropical monsoon humid climate zone characterized by warm winters and hot summers with four distinct seasons. In this study, we investigated the hygrothermal coupling transfer of walls, as well as the indoor temperature and humidity changes in new rammed-earth buildings during summer and winter climates. During the test period, the maximum indoor temperature in summer was 35.08 °C, the minimum temperature was 33.76 °C, and the average daily temperature fluctuation was 3.62 °C. In winter, the maximum indoor temperature was 8.59 °C, the minimum temperature was 6.18 °C, and the average daily temperature fluctuation was 1.21 °C. An analysis was performed on the thermal insulation performance of rammed-earth buildings in an extremely high-temperature climate during summer, thermal insulation performance, the thermal-buffering capacity of walls in a low-temperature and high-humidity climate during winter, and thermal and humidity regulation of indoor environments provided by walls during summer and winter. The results showed that the rammed-earth buildings exhibited warmth in winter, coolness in summer, and a more stable and comfortable indoor environment.
... In the field of vernacular architecture, [15] analyzed the effectiveness of pas-M. N. Kane et al. ...
... Most of these time lag and decrement factor studies have been based on scaled-down [21], or digital models [22]. Also, many studies on the hygrothermal behavior of vernacular architecture are carried out in Europe [15] [16] and [20] or Asia [17] and [19]. This building is also remarkable for its architectural form, its construction system with its double protection, its courtyard and its strategies for adapting to its environment. ...
... Se trata de una técnica tradicional ampliamente utilizada en las construcciones de viviendas más antiguas y populares del mundo, con un uso que se remonta a más de diez mil años en las más variadas zonas y climas del planeta, y también específicamente en el Perú (Shady, 2006). Para incrementar el confort térmico y la eficiencia energética en la construcción es necesario conocer las características y parámetros físicos de los materiales, como el calor específico y el coeficiente de conductividad térmica (Fernandes et al., 2020). El confort térmico está definido como una percepción subjetiva que permite expresar la satisfacción con el ambiente (ISO7730, 2005), definido como una resultante de los efectos de parámetros físicos como el calor específico y la conductividad térmica en materiales de construcción como ladrillos, adobes, cemento y componentes cerámicos de las viviendas (Ramírez et al., 2013;Varum et al., 2015). ...
La arquitectura vernácula de las zonas alto andinas de Perú es una inspiración para las innovaciones en el diseño, la armonía con el ambiente y las soluciones climáticas y ambientales previstas dentro del diseño sostenible. El artículo caracteriza la conductividad térmica, la organización espacial, las creencias y costumbres ancestrales que reflejan las identidades económicas, sociales, ideológicas y psicológicas impresas en el paisaje de las viviendas vernáculas rurales del municipio de Atuncolla en Puno, Perú. Se realizan mediciones de la distribución del espacio físico y la caracterización de materiales de construcción, así como de la orientación y ubicación de viviendas, y en laboratorio se determina la conductividad térmica del adobe. Se considera arquitectura verde, dado que los materiales de construcción son elaborados principalmente con recursos propios como el adobe, cuya conductividad térmica es de 0,20175 ± 0,00645, los cuales son de bajo consumo energético (energía cero), amigables con el medio ambiente y libres de gases de efecto invernadero.
As a traditional building material, rammed earth has gained popularity for its environmental friendliness and reusability. In this study, the hygrothermal performance of the wall material of traditional rammed-earth dwellings was experimentally measured, and the indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity variations of rammed-earth dwellings were experimentally measured for five days. Considering temperature and relative humidity as the driving potential for heat and humidity transfer and air penetration, an unsteady model of heat and humidity transfer of the rammed-earth wall and indoor and outdoor air was established. The accuracy of the model was verified using the measured data. The model was used to determine the rationality of the wall thickness in local rammed-earth dwellings. Based on data from typical local meteorological years, the indoor temperature and humidity changes in rammed-earth dwellings were numerically predicted. The average indoor temperature and humidity in summer were 26.56°C and 69.74%, and the variances were 3.26 and 43.17, respectively. The average indoor temperature and humidity in winter were 7.25°C and 83.62%, and the variances were 1.14 and 14.83, respectively. The research results demonstrate that a rammed-earth wall significantly reduces the influence of outdoor temperature fluctuation on the indoor thermal environment, with good humidity regulating performance.
Solar passive strategies that have been developed in vernacular architecture from different regions are a response to specific climate effects. These strategies are usually simple, low-tech and have low potential environmental impact. For this reason, several studies highlight them as having potential to reduce the demands of non-renewable energy for buildings operation. In this paper, the climatic contrast between northern and southern parts of mainland Portugal is presented, namely the regions of Beira Alta and Alentejo. Additionally, it discusses the contribution of different climate-responsive strategies developed in vernacular architecture from both regions to assure thermal comfort conditions. In Beira Alta, the use of glazed balconies as a strategy to capture solar gains is usual, while in Alentejo the focus is on passive cooling strategies. To understand the effectiveness of these strategies, thermal performances and comfort conditions of two case studies were evaluated based on the adaptive comfort model. Field tests included measurement of hygrothermal parameters and surveys on occupants' thermal sensation. From the results, it has been found that the case studies have shown a good thermal performance by passive means alone and that the occupants feel comfortable, except during winter where there is the need to use simple heating systems.
Vernacular architecture is characterised by a type of formal expression, which has been developed in response to a number of factors - geographic, climatic and economic - characterising the local area or region. Despite the fact that Portugal is a small country, there are many different architectural approaches and a range of techniques have been employed in different regions to mitigate the effects of climate. These vernacular approaches have the potential for further development and could be adapted in response to contemporary needs. In this paper, a range of different passive solar techniques used in Portuguese vernacular architecture to provide comfort is presented. The specific focus is on the effectiveness of passive cooling strategies (namely, high thermal inertia, use of light colours and courtyards), and the findings of a case study in which the thermal performance during the summer of a vernacular residential building located in the south of Portugal are presented.
Vernacular architecture embodies a plurality of constraints from places where it belongs, in which the use of local materials and techniques is one of the main features. When compared with industrially-produced materials, vernacular materials have low environmental impacts, being an alternative for sustainable construction. The increasing use of new industrially-produced and standardized materials led to the homoge-nization of the different used construction approaches, and spawned a universal architecture that in many cas-es is out of the environment context and is very dependent on energy and other resources. This paper address-es the relation between Portuguese vernacular architecture and locally sourced materials, relating them with the territory lithology, agricultural crops and the climate. To assess the contribution of these materials for sus-tainability, a comparison with industrial materials at level of environmental indicators was established. This paper highlights the advantages of using local materials and techniques as a factor of local socio-economic development.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a source of information on thermal energy use in buildings, its drivers, and their past, present and future trends on a global and regional basis. Energy use in buildings forms a large part of global and regional energy demand. The importance of heating and cooling in total building energy use is very diverse with this share varying between 18% and 73%. Biomass is still far the dominant fuel when a global picture is considered; the role of electricity is substantially growing, and the direct use of coal is disappearing from this sector, largely replaced by electricity and natural gas in the most developed regions. This paper identifies the different drivers of heating and cooling energy demand, and decomposes this energy demand into key drivers based on a Kaya identity approach: number of households, persons per household, floor space per capita and specific energy consumption for residential heating and cooling; and GDP, floor space per GDP, and specific energy consumption for commercial buildings. This paper also reviews the trends in the development of these drivers for the present, future – and for which data were available, for the past – in 11 world regions as well as globally. Results show that in a business-as-usual scenario, total residential heating and cooling energy use is expected to more or less stagnate, or slightly decrease, in the developed parts of the world. In contrast, commercial heating and cooling energy use will grow in each world region. Finally, the results show that per capita total final residential building energy use has been stagnating in the vast majority of world regions for the past three decades, despite the very significant increases in energy service levels in each of these regions.
Energy consumption in the buildings sector is very high and is expected to increase further due to improvements in living standard and increase in the world’s population. Incorporating appropriate solar passive features in climate responsive buildings are good options for energy conservation. This kind of building design integrates the micro-climate and architecture with human thermal comfort conditions and improves the building energy efficiency. From ancient times, people have used solar passive techniques in vernacular architectures throughout the world. However, still there is a lack of understanding, both in qualitative and quantitative aspects of solar passive techniques in vernacular architectures of North-Eastern India. A field study has been carried out to find out the various solar passive features in these naturally ventilated vernacular buildings in different bioclimatic zones of the region. The methodology of this work consists of survey of 150 households (50 houses in each bioclimatic zone) and, interacting with 300 occupants in each zone. The photographic evidences of solar passive features in these buildings are also collected. In this paper, the solar passive features related to building form and orientation, envelope design, shading, use of natural ventilation, internal space arrangements and activities of the habitants are explained for all the climatic zone of the region.
Experimental research carried out on two types of buildings that are the examples of vernacular architecture in Southern Italy, namely the Sassi of Matera and the Trulli of Alberobello are outlined in this paper. Experimental measurements on thermal properties, energy performance and hygrothermal indoor comfort were carried out to validate the numerical code provided by DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus that was used to investigate the buildings on a yearly basis. The very high thermal mass of the building structures give rise to a quasi-constant seasonal indoor temperature with no need for air conditioning in the mid- and peak-summer seasons. The seasonal thermal storage can almost guarantee near the comfort levels using simple heating systems during the cold season.
Bioclimatic concepts in vernacular architecture was developed and used through the centuries by many civilizations across the world. This study is carried out on the vernacular architecture of coastal regions. The vernacular architecture in the coastal belts of Nagapatinam is known for its use of natural and passive methods so as to create a comfortable indoor environment. However, so far, it has not been proved by a detailed quantitative evaluation method. The authors have conducted the qualitative and quantitative analysis to investigate the indoor environmental condition of a vernacular residential building in coastal region of Nagapatinam. The quantitative analysis has been done by continuously monitoring the indoor and outdoor thermal and environmental conditions using a custom made instrument called “Mini metrological Station known as Architectural Evaluation System”. The results of this study research shows that the solar passive techniques used in these vernacular residential buildings in coastal region provides comfortable thermal indoor environment irrespective of the outdoor climatic conditions.
Various technologies as can be seen in vernacular architecture especially in Japanese traditional buildings are reviewed and the ways and means to have those technologies applied to the design of modern architecture are discussed with some examples. It is stressed that the vernacular technologies have been devised uniquely to the region where people lived to cope with the severe climate by inventing various devices without resorting to fossil fuels, thus the form of vernacular architecture representing regionalism of their own. For example earth sheltered buildings corresponds to thatched roof houses where evaporation from the wet surface gives rise to cooling effects in hot and humid climate. The optimum shape of sun shades is devised to a given orientation so that it allows the air to flow through for making ventilative cooling effective. Direct solar heat gain as representing a passive solar system is no less than fundamental for both vernacular and modern architecture with most appropriate design of geometry associated with wall orientation. Various suggestions are given for architects to consider how to apply vernacular technologies to the design of modern architecture.
Solar passive techniques are being used in vernacular buildings throughout the world. Researchers have done extensive study on thermal performance of vernacular buildings in the different parts of the world. Vernacular architecture of North-Eastern India represents the principle of climate-responsive architecture, which still lacks experimental validation and quantitative analysis. Thermal comfort not only makes the occupants comfortable but also governs energy consumption in the building. Detailed field studies on thermal performances of typical traditional vernacular dwellings in different bioclimatic zones have been undertaken. This field study includes detailed survey of 150 vernacular dwellings, field tests and thermal sensation vote of 300 occupants on ASHRAE thermal sensation scale. Field test includes measurement of temperature, humidity, illumination level and building design parameters. Thermal performances of these vernacular dwellings were evaluated for winter, pre-summer, summer/monsoon and pre-winter months of the year 2008. This evaluation is based on ‘adaptive approach’, which is the outcome of the field studies and is now part of ASHRAE standard 55/2004 for predicting comfortable temperature of naturally ventilated buildings. This study also tried to find out the range of comfort temperature in these vernacular buildings for different season of the year. It has been found that these vernacular dwellings perform quite satisfactorily except in the winter months and the occupants feel comfortable in a wider range of temperature.
Any analysis of the role played by energy in architecture is faced with serious limitations due to the lack of studies in the architectural bibliography, especially studies of popular architecture. An awareness of these limitations will allow us to understand better why architects have paid little attention to the interaction of form and energy, and to the bioclimatic approach in contemporary architecture in general. The first limitation stems from the very essence of bioclimatic analysis; energy is immaterial, difficult to represent in images, changing in time and wrongfully left out of the architectural literature. This is why it is difficult to find a basic knowledge of the functional aesthetic possibilities of bioclimatism in the cultural experience of present-day architects. The second limitation to this knowledge, even more important than the previous one, is the low value given to the more anonymous popular architecture as opposed to representative architecture. The latter is the kind of architecture built by established power, which attempts to impress the observer and clashes with, dominates, and often destroys the natural environment. This style of architecture is crammed with theoretical aesthetic concerns, which would rather create artificial environments than be integrated in the natural milieu. To sum up, it is the architecture undertaken by well-known authors, found in important buildings, which have been commented and widely appreciated by architecture critics throughout history. Nowadays, representative architecture can be said to describe the architecture found in large office buildings, which embody the legacy of such works from the history of culture as the pyramids, classic shrines, medieval castles and large Gothic cathedrals, baroque and Renaissance palaces, etc. These modern buildings, clad in glass as a symbol of their modernity, are incongruously dark and require artificial lighting during the day, while the flimsy casing separating them from the outside makes it necessary to use air conditioning all year round, even when outside conditions are pleasant. We can well affirm that these buildings are so wrong that they work worse than the climate. In comparison with this type of representative architecture, we find popular architecture, performed by the people as a direct response to their needs and values. These buildings show a greater respect for the existing environment, whether natural or artificial. They do not reflect theoretical aesthetic pretensions and use local materials and techniques as far as possible, repeating over and over again the course of history models which take the constraints imposed by the climate fully into account. Our popular architecture--so often forgotten in official circles--may well be the kind which can best teach us today how to assimilate the bioclimatic approach in the practice of architectural design. However, we should not consider these solutions to be models to copy in current architecture. Our technical capacity and our cultural grounding prevent us from returning to these obsolete architecture forms, but what may be of use as a lesson and a source of inspiration is the attitude of the builders of this popular architecture, which recovers a relationship to the environment which has been lost in the more official architecture of the 20th century.
The main purpose of a residential building is to provide a comfortable environment for human activities. Nowadays this objective is the responsible for the consumption of more than 40% of total energy demand in European Union. The construction sector in Spain has been in rapid growth in the last decades, yet there exists many abandoned buildings in rural areas. In this article we try to analyze the environmental advantages of reuse abandoned rural buildings. Due to their thick exterior walls of high thermal inertia, the indoor environment inside them can be comfortable with less energy consumption than new buildings. Here we show the monitoring results of three different houses, two traditional and one modern building, constructed of different building materials. The aim of this work is to analyze and compare the thermal behaviour of existing constructive solutions in a Spanish district, not to improve them. The field test results show better indoor conditions inside the traditional houses. In summer, thermal comfort is achieved with no energy supply inside traditional houses but not inside the modern one. In winter, the indoor environment is more stable inside the traditional houses, however none of them were able to provide thermal comfort naturally. In the case studied, the only inhabitant of a small village lives in a prefabricated wooden house, and it is demonstrated that the indoor conditions of traditional houses in the same location are of higher quality.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 -Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy
ASHRAE, 2004. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 -Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. Atlanta: ASHRAE.
Θo) as a function of the exponentially weighted running mean of the outdoor temperature (Θrm)
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- C Mateus
- R Silva
- S M Bragança
Fig. 9 Thermal comfort temperature (operative temperature) in the living room during winter monitoring when the heating system was on, based
in the relation between the limits of the indoor operative temperature (Θo) as a function of the exponentially weighted running mean of the
outdoor temperature (Θrm). Adapted from Fernandes, J., Pimenta, C., Mateus, R., Silva, S.M., Bragança, L., 2015b. Contribution of Portuguese
vernacular building strategies to indoor thermal comfort and occupants' perception. Buildings 5, 1242-1264.
Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment e Instruments for Measuring Physical Quantities
ISO7726, 2002. Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment e Instruments for Measuring Physical Quantities.
TPI65 -Desenvolvimento de um Modelo Adaptativo Para Definiç ã o das Condiç õ es de Conforto Té rmico em Portugal
- L Matias
Matias, L., 2010. TPI65 -Desenvolvimento de um Modelo Adaptativo Para Definiç ã o das Condiç õ es de Conforto Té
rmico em Portugal. Lisboa: Laboratório Nacional de
Engenharia Civil/National Laboratory of Civil Engineering.
TPI65 -Desenvolvimento de um Modelo Adaptativo Para Definicaõ das Condicoẽs de Conforto Teŕmico em Portugal
- L Matias
Matias, L., 2010. TPI65 -Desenvolvimento de um Modelo Adaptativo Para Definicaõ das Condicoẽs de Conforto Teŕmico em Portugal. Lisboa: Laboratório Nacional de
Engenharia Civil/National Laboratory of Civil Engineering.