Climate and Built Form II

Climate Responsive Designs

⚫ To ensure the best possible thermal conditions

⚪ Active (Mechanical) and Passive (Structural) controls
Structural (passive) controls may remove/reduce the need for any
mechanical (active) controls
Even if mechanical controls need to be resorted to, their tasks should
be reduced to the minimum
In hot climates, heat is the major concern . Working of Active controls
also generate heat, experienced rather elsewhere.
⚫ Climate Responsive Architecture is an entirely separate sphere of
study
that extends beyond just architecture
The ideation, in fact, stems from the changing climatic conditions of
the world and the detachment of the urban lifestyle from it has been
for centuries
 Passive design techniques

⚫ In hot climates, the sun is the major source of heat

⚫ To plan any site, the position of the sun must be determined for all
hours of the day at all seasons
⚫ Wind movement and humidity also are important and should be
considered simultaneously with the direct and indirect effects of the
sun.
⚫ The direction of the prevailing winds should be noted, especially
during the hot season
⚫ Data tables for any city can be obtained from the local meteorological
office.
⚫ In addition, for an ensemble of buildings forming a sector, there will be
reflection from adjacent buildings and wind screening by clusters of
buildings, which contribute to a specific microclimate for each location
in the sector
 Passive Heating

⚫ Passive heating uses the energy of the sun to keep occupants

comfortable without the use of mechanical systems. These concepts
will help design for passive heating
Direct Solar Gain
Massing & Orientation for Heating
Thermal Mass
Apertures for Heating
Shading for Solar Heat Gain
 Solar chart

⚫ A Solar chart is a graph of the apparent path on the celestial sphere

(ecliptic) of the Sun through the sky throughout the year at a particular
latitude
⚫ Most charts plot azimuth versus altitude throughout the days of the
winter solstice and summer solstice, as well as a number of intervening
days
⚫ azimuth of an object is the angular distance along the horizon to the
location of the object. By convention, azimuth is measured from north
towards the east along the horizon
⚫ Since the movement of the Sun is symmetrical about the solstice, it is
only necessary to plot dates from one half of the year.
Direct Solar Gain

Direct gain is the heat from the sun being collected and contained in an
occupied space. This heat can be retained by the building’s thermal
mass, or can be avoided with reflective materials.
Direct solar gain is important for any site that needs heating, because it
is the simplest and least costly way of passively heating a building
with solar heat gain. Avoiding direct solar gain is also important in
hot sunny climates.
Solar control

⚪ temperature - warm air + radiation on opaque surfaces

⚪ Selection of material has greater effect due to its thermal capacity,
absorbance and reflectance
⚪ Selection of color has effect but lesser

⚪ But, greatest source of heat gain can be the solar radiation entering
through windows/openings
⚪ This could increase the indoor temperature far above the outdoor
temperature even in moderate climates
⚪ Window glasses are practically transparent for short wave infrared
radiation emitted by the sun, but almost opaque for long wave
radiation emitted by objects in the room
⚪ Thus radiant heat is trapped inside the room
⚫ For solar overheating, there are four structural methods for reduction
of solar heat gain through windows
⚪ Orientation and window size
⚪ Internal blinds and curtains
⚪ Special glasses
⚪ External shading devices
⚫ Massing and Orientation for heating
⚫ Building Orientation is simply what compass direction the building
faces. It should be optimized early-on, along with massing, and can be
the most important step for passive design
⚪ If solar heat gain is to be avoided, main windows should face north
or south
⚪ At a higher latitude, orientation away from equator will receive the
least sunshine, but here it may require some solar heat gain in
winter when sun is low- so an orientation towards equator may be
preferred
⚪ In both locations, only minor openings of unimportant rooms should
be placed on the east and west side
⚪ Solar heat gain on the west side can be particularly troublesome as
its max intensity coincides with the hottest part of the day
Massing & Orientation for Heating

In cold climates, massing that minimizes the ratio of surface

area to volume (approaching a cube or hemisphere) can avoid
unwanted heat loss. The sun's heat is advantageous, though, and
more surface area facing it can help passively heat the building.
The side of the building exposed to the sun's path can be increased
while reducing the exposed areas of the other sides of the building.
In hot climates, thin buildings with their biggest face exposed to
the sun can cause unwanted solar heat gain. Shading devices and
good windows can be used to reduce this while still allowing
natural ventilation. Taller buildings can also reduce unwanted
gains in hot climates, as the sun's heat strikes more strongly on
roofs than on walls in warm latitudes, and tall buildings have less
roof area per unit volume.
⚫ Using building mass or overhangs to create shade
⚪ The right massing depends on the building's program.
⚪ Sparsely populated buildings with little activity or equipment, such
as homes, generate relatively little heat from internal loads.
⚪ In cold climates, they benefit from compact floor plans to avoid
losing heat to the outside.
⚪ This minimizes the ratio of surface area to volume, lowering heat
loss to wind and radiant cooling.
⚪ On the other hand, densely populated buildings with high activity
and/or energy-intensive equipment generate a great deal of heat,
causing high internal cooling loads.
⚪ Thus, even in colder climates it may be advantageous for such
buildings to have thinner floor plans, to get more cooling for free.
⚫ Sophisticated massing can go even further to optimize heat gains or
cooling.
⚫ For instance:
⚪ Roofs can be angled for optimal solar heating.
⚪ Reveals and overhangs can shade parts of a building with other parts
of the same building.
⚪ Interior buffer zones can be placed in a building's west side to
protect living and working areas from the hot afternoon sun (for
example stairs, restrooms, entry corridors, etc.)
⚫ Internal blinds and curtains
⚪ not very effective ways of solar control
⚪ Even though they stop the passage of radiation, they themselves
absorb heat and can reach a very high temperature
⚪ The absorbed heat will be particularly convected to the indoor air
and partially reradiated
⚪ Half of this reradiation is outwards but as it is of long wavelength, it
is stopped by the window glass
⚪ The usual narrow space between the window and the blind will be
substantially overheated
⚪ Indoor mean radiant temperature rises
⚪ Internal blinds reduces only about 17% of solar gain factor
 Special glasses
⚫ heat absorbing glasses
⚪On opaque surfaces, incident radiation is partly absorbed and partly reflected
⚪With transparent bodies, it may be absorbed, reflected or transmitted
⚪Thus heat absorbing glasses may be used to reduce solar gain
⚪Glass will reduce the transmittance from around 74% to 42%, but this is
accompanied by corresponding increase in absorbance, thus getting glass
overheated
⚪This absorbed heat is partly reradiated outside and partly convected inside, thus
net gain may not be that effective (only around 15%)
⚫ Heat reflecting glasses
⚪ Reflects heat instead of absorbing
⚪ Thus effective in internal solar heat control
⚪ Very expensive
⚫ Photochromatic or light sensitive glass
⚪ Turns dark when exposed to strong light and regain transparency when light
source is removed
⚪ Their transmittance may vary from 74% and 1%
Shading devices (external)

⚪ Vertical devices

⚪ Horizontal devices

⚪ Egg-crate devices
⚫ Vertical devices
⚪ Louver blades or projecting fins in a vertical position
⚪ Horizontal shadow angle measures their performance
⚪ Narrow blades with close spacing may give the same shadow angle
as broader blades with wider spacing
⚪ It is effective when sun is towards one side of the elevation, such as
an eastern or western elevation
Vertical devices
⚫ Horizontal devices
⚪ Canopies, horizontal louver blades or externally applied venetian
blinds
⚪ Their performance is measured by a vertical shadow angle
⚪ Is effective when sun is opposite to the wall considered and at a
higher angle such as for north or south facing walls
⚪ If it is to cover a low angle sun, it would have to cover the window
completely, affecting the view
Horizontal devices
⚫ Egg crate devices
⚪ Are combination of horizontal and vertical devices
⚪ Many grille blocks and decorative screens fall into this category
Egg crate devices
⚫ To decide on a shading device,
⚪ It must be decided when shading is necessary
⚪ At what time of the year and between what hours of the day
⚪ Best guide to this is the definition of over heated period
⚪ ET/CET analysis chart can be used or temperature isopleth chart
can be used
⚪
⚪ Thermal Mass
Thermal mass is crucial to good passive solar heating design.
Objects with high thermal mass absorb and retain heat, slowing
the rate at which the sun heats a space and the rate at which a
space loses heat when the sun is gone. Without thermal mass,
heat that has entered a space will simply re-radiate back out
quickly, making the space overly hot with sunlight and overly cold
without
⚪ Apertures for Heating
Windows and other apertures bring in heat from sunshine, but
can also lose heat by radiant cooling and by conducting heat
better than most wall or roof constructions.
Apertures and shading must be intelligently placed to take
advantage of the sun's heat in cold locations and seasons, while
not overheating in hot seasons.
⚪ Shading for Solar Heat Gain
Shades can keep the heat and glare of direct sun from coming
through windows. They can also keep direct sunlight off of walls
or roofs, to reduce cooling loads
An overhang shades in summer but lets heat in during winter
 Passive Cooling

⚪ Just like passive heating, cooling a building using passive strategies

is important for reducing energy usage in building. Specifically,
utilizing passive cooling strategies like natural ventilation, air
cooling, and shades can reduce demand for mechanical cooling
while maintaining thermal comfort.
Natural Ventilation
Air Cooling
Massing & Orientation for Cooling
Apertures for Cooling
⚪ Natural Ventilation
Natural ventilation, also called passive ventilation, uses natural
outside air movement and pressure differences to both passively
cool and ventilate a building.
Natural ventilation is important because it can provide and move
fresh air without fans. For warm and hot climates, it can help
meet a building's cooling loads without using mechanical air
conditioning systems. This can be a large fraction of a building's
total energy use.
⚪ Air Cooling
In very hot climates it's often necessary to prevent outdoor air
from getting into the building un-conditioned during the heat of
the day. However, natural ventilation can still be an option even in
hot climates, particularly in hot dry climates. Two techniques can
be used: faster air movement, and passively cooling incoming air.
⚪ Massing & Orientation for Cooling
Massing and orientation are important design factors to consider
for passive cooling, specifically, natural ventilation. As a general
rule, thin tall buildings will encourage natural ventilation and
utilize prevailing winds, cross ventilation, and stack effect.
⚫ Thinner buildings increase the ratio of surface area to volume. This
will make utilizing natural ventilation for passive cooling easy.
Conversely, a deep floor plan will make natural ventilation difficult-
especially getting air into the core of the building and may require
mechanical ventilation.
⚫ Tall buildings also increase the effectiveness of natural ventilation,
because wind speeds are faster at greater heights. This improves not
only cross ventilation but also stack effect ventilation.

Tall buildings improve

natural ventilation, and in
lower latitudes reduce sun
exposure.
⚪ Apertures for Cooling
The simple act of opening a window can often provide immediate
cooling effects. Window design and ventilation louver design
greatly affects passive cooling potential, specifically natural
ventilation.
Control of openings
⚪
Sashes, canopies, louvers and other elements
⚪
Influence the indoor air flow pattern

⚫ Sashes- framework together with its panes forming a usually movable

part of a window
⚪ Can divert the air flow upwards or sideways
⚪ A reversible pivot sash or casement will channel it downwards
⚫ Canopies
⚪ Canopies can eliminate the effect of pressure build up above the
window
⚪ Thus the pressure below the window will direct the air flow upwards
⚪ A gap left between the building face and the canopy will ensure a
downward pressure directing the flow into the living area
⚫ Louvers
⚪ Position of blades can be used to channel the flow

⚫ Screens and nets

⚪ Reduce the flow
⚪ Rough net will reduce flow more than smooth net
⚫ 1. Sun Study
⚫ 2. Form
⚫ 3. Orientation
⚫ 4. Openings
⚫ 5. Shading
⚫ 6. Glazing
⚫ 7. Planning
⚫ 8. Spaces
⚫ 9. Constructional Elements
⚫ 10. Thermal Mass