CLIMATE RESPONSIVE

ARCHITECTURE
UNIT 1
DEFINITIONS:
Elements of climate
1. WEATHER:

Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place over a short period of time

2. CLIMATE:

Climate refers to the weather pattern, using statistical data, of a place over a long enough
period to yield meaningful averages

3. CLIMATE RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE:

A climate-responsive building design reflects the weather conditions in the precise area
where the building is constructed. The design utilizes data on the region's weather patterns
and accounts for factors like seasonality, intensity of the sun, wind, rainfall and humidity.
 ELEMENTS OF CLIMATE:
Elements of climate
The elements of weather and climate are those quantities or properties that are measured regularly

1. Temperature : physical quantity that expresses hot and cold

2. Atmospheric pressure : is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth
3. Wind : the flow of gases on a large scale
4. Solar irradiance : the power per unit area received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic
radiation as measured in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument.
5. Humidity : the concentration of water vapor present in the air
6. Precipitation : any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under
gravitational pull from clouds
7. Condensation : the change of the physical state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid
phase
8. Topography : the study of the forms and features of land surfaces.
MEASUREMENT & REPRESENTATION OF CLIMATIC DATA:
Elements of climate
1. Climate Data Record : "a time series of measurements of sufficient length, consistency, and
continuity to determine climate variability and climate change.“
MEASUREMENT & REPRESENTATION OF CLIMATIC DATA:
Elements of climate
2. Climatic Map : chart that shows the geographic distribution of the monthly or annual average
values of climatic variables—i.e., temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, percentage of
possible sunshine, insolation, cloud cover, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric
pressure over regions ranging in area from a few tens of square kilometers to global.
MEASUREMENT & REPRESENTATION OF CLIMATIC DATA:
Elements of climate
3. Tools to measure Climate : The common instruments of measure are anemometer, wind vane,
pressure sensor, thermometer, hygrometer, and rain gauge.
MAJOR CLIMATIC ZONES
OF INDIA: Elements of climate

1. Hot & Dry

2. Hot & Humid
3. Composite
4. Cold
5. Moderate
CLIMATE RESPONSIVE
ARCHITECTURE
UNIT 2
THERMAL COMFORT:
Elements of climate
“That condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment and is
assessed by subjective evaluation” (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55)

Although thermal sensitivity varies from one person to another, according to age (the very
young and very old being particularly sensitive), gender, dress, activity, cultural habits, etc.,
the basic principles behind thermal comfort are largely universal.

The human body can be viewed as a heat engine where food is the input energy. The human
body will release excess heat into the environment, so the body can continue to operate. The
heat transfer is proportional to temperature difference. In cold environments, the body loses
more heat to the environment and in hot environments the body does not release enough
heat. Both the hot and cold scenarios lead to discomfort. Maintaining this standard of
thermal comfort for occupants of buildings or other enclosures is one of the important goals
of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) design engineers.
FACTORS EFFECTING THERMAL COMFORT:
Elements of climate
The six factors affecting thermal comfort are both environmental and personal. These factors may
be independent of each other, but together contribute to a person's thermal comfort

Environmental factors

1. Air temperature

This is the temperature of the air surrounding the body. It is usually given in degrees Celsius (°C).

2. Radiant temperature

Thermal radiation is the heat that radiates from a warm object. Radiant heat may be present if
there are heat sources in an environment.
Radiant temperature has a greater influence than air temperature on how we lose or gain heat to
the environment.
Examples of radiant heat sources include: the sun; fire; electric fires; ovens; kiln walls; cookers;
dryers; hot surfaces and machinery, molten metals etc.
FACTORS EFFECTING THERMAL COMFORT:
Elements of climate
3. Air velocity

This describes the speed of air moving across the person and may help cool them if the air is
cooler than the environment.
Air velocity is an important factor in thermal comfort for example:
• still or stagnant air in indoor environments that are artificially heated may cause people to
feel stuffy. It may also lead to a build-up in odour
• moving air in warm or humid conditions can increase heat loss through convection
without any change in air temperature
• physical activity also increases air movement, so air velocity may be corrected to account
for a person's level of physical activity
• small air movements in cool or cold environments may be perceived as a draught as
people are particularly sensitive to these movements
FACTORS EFFECTING THERMAL COMFORT:
Elements of climate
4. Humidity

If water is heated and it evaporates to the surrounding environment, the resulting amount of
water in the air will provide humidity.
Relative humidity is the ratio between the actual amount of water vapour in the air and the
maximum amount of water vapour that the air can hold at that air temperature.
Relative humidity between 40% and 70% does not have a major impact on thermal comfort.
In workplaces which are not air conditioned, or where the weather conditions outdoors may
influence the indoor thermal environment, relative humidity may be higher than 70%.
Humidity in indoor environments can vary greatly, and may be dependent on whether there
are drying processes (paper mills, laundry etc) where steam is given off.
High humidity environments have a lot of vapour in the air, which prevents the evaporation of
sweat from the skin. In hot environments, humidity is important because less sweat
evaporates when humidity is high (80%+). The evaporation of sweat is the main method of
heat reduction.
When non-breathable vapour-impermeable personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn,
the humidity inside the garment increases as the wearer sweats because the sweat cannot
evaporate. If an employee is wearing this type of PPE (eg asbestos or chemical protection
suits etc) the humidity within the PPE will be high.
FACTORS EFFECTING THERMAL COMFORT:
Elements of climate
Personal factors

1. Clothing insulation

Thermal comfort is very much dependent on the insulating effect of clothing on the wearer.
Wearing too much clothing or PPE may be a primary cause of heat stress even if the
environment is not considered warm or hot.
If clothing does not provide enough insulation, the wearer may be at risk from cold injuries
such as frostbite or hypothermia in cold conditions.
Clothing is both a potential cause of thermal discomfort as well as a control for it as we adapt
to the climate in which we work. You may add layers of clothing if you feel cold, or remove
layers of clothing if you feel warm. Many companies inhibit this ability for employees to make
reasonable adaptations to their clothing as they require them to wear a specific uniform or
PPE.
It is important to identify how the clothing contributes to thermal comfort or discomfort. By
periodically evaluating the level of protection provided by existing PPE and evaluating newer
types of PPE you may be able to improve the level of thermal comfort.
FACTORS EFFECTING THERMAL COMFORT:
Elements of climate
2. Work rate/metabolic heat

The more physical work we do, the more heat we produce. The more heat we produce, the
more heat needs to be lost so we don't overheat. The impact of metabolic rate on thermal
comfort is critical.
A person's physical characteristics should always be borne in mind when considering their
thermal comfort, as factors such as their size and weight, age, fitness level and sex can all
have an impact on how they feel, even if other factors such as air temperature, humidity and
air velocity are all constant.
HOW DO WE EXPERIENCE THERMAL COMFORT:
Elements of climate
1. Physiological : the way our bodies work and interact with our environment
2. Physical : the main parameters of the environment around us (air temperature, air
humidity, air movement, room surface temperature);
3. Socio Psychological: the way we feel as a whole (for example, if we are tired, stressed,
happy…) and the kind of social environment we live in.

1. The physiological aspect

Regulation systems within our bodies continuously strive to balance our heat exchanges with
the environment, by speeding up or slowing down our heartbeat to modify our blood flow
and regulate heat distribution; by shivering when too cold in order to increase heat
production; by sweating more when too hot to reduce skin temperature thanks to
evaporation.
A comfortable indoor environment limits the efforts our bodies need to make to regulate
body temperature, establishing a good energy balance.
HOW DO WE EXPERIENCE THERMAL COMFORT:
Elements of climate
2. The physical aspect
In the physical environment, thermal energy (heat or cold) is transferred through conduction,
radiation and convection.
Conduction is energy transfer via solid, such as the floor or wall. Convection is energy
transfer from a solid to an adjacent gas or fluid (air or water). And radiation is the energy
emitted from a surface, such as a radiator.

3. The socio psychological aspect

An individual’s current emotional state, mood, level of fatigue, etc. will affect their experience
of an environment. Expectations play an important role in how an individual experiences the
physical world: one would expect a beach to be hot and a mountain lodge to be cool, but
more generally, perceptions are likely to based on one’s own thermal history. Other
environmental factors, noise or glare for example, may influence thermal perception, leading
to an increased sensation of overheating.
THERMAL PROPERTIES OF BUILDING MATERIALS:
Elements of climate
The term 'thermal performance' generally relates to the efficiency with which something
retains, or prevents the passage of heat.

This is in relation to the thermal conductivity of materials or assemblies of materials.

Materials which are regarded as having a good thermal performance are those which also
tend to be good insulators, ie they do not readily transmit heat.

In contrast, materials with poor thermal performance tend to be better conductors of heat
and therefore will allow heat to transmit more quickly, say from a warm building to a
cooler external environment.
THERMAL PROPERTIES OF BUILDING MATERIALS:
Elements of climate
In summer when external temperatures can be much hotter outside than inside –
a building with poor thermal performance overall will allow more heat to pass through – and
so will be hotter inside – than one with a good thermal performance.

The thermal behaviour of a building's fabric is also affected by conditions such as seasonal
and temperature changes; daily diurnals (ie, the difference between highest and
lowest temperatures in 24 hours), the amount of solar gain and shading, incoming and
outgoing heat radiation, water and moisture absorption, air movement, infiltration, pressure
differences and so on.

Thermal performance has become a critical consideration in the design of buildings. This is
because building regulations require the conservation of fuel and power and
minimise carbon emissions by limiting the heat lost from a building to the external
environment.
THERMAL PROPERTIES TERMINOLOGIES:
Elements of climate
Thermal Conductivity (k-Value)

Thermal conductivity can be defined as the rate at which heat is transferred by conduction
through a unit cross-section area of a material, when a temperature gradient exits perpendicular
to the area.

Conductivity is the ability of a material to conduct heat.

Thermal conductivity is measured by the amount of heat flow (Watts) through a metre squared of
surface area over a temperature difference of 1K per metre of thickness.

Units: W/(m.K)] (SI units)

[Btu/(hr ft °F)] (imperial units).
THERMAL PROPERTIES TERMINOLOGIES:
Elements of climate
Thermal Resistance (R-Value)
Thermal resistance is the temperature difference, at steady state, between two defined
surfaces of a material or construction that induces a unit heat flow rate through a unit area,
K⋅m2/W.

The value of the thermal resistance can be determined by dividing the thickness with thermal
conductivity of the specimen.

L – Thickness of the specimen (m)

T – Temperature (K)
q – Heat flow rate (W/m2)
THERMAL PROPERTIES TERMINOLOGIES:
Elements of climate
Thermal Conductance (C-value)

Thermal conductance is the time rate of steady state heat flow through a unit area of a
material or construction induced by a unit temperature difference between the body
surfaces, in W/m2⋅K.

C-value, hence, is the reciprocal of the R-value

Consequently, the value of the thermal conductance can be calculated by dividing the
thermal conductivity with the thickness of the specimen.
THERMAL PROPERTIES TERMINOLOGIES:
Elements of climate
Thermal Transmittance (U-Value)

The rate of transfer of heat through a structure (which can be a single material or a
composite), divided by the difference in temperature across that structure.

The transmission rate of all the layers of a construction from the inside to the outside is called
a U-value.

U-values are used to gauge the thermal performance of constructions i.e. assemblies of
materials such as cavity wall constructions.

U-values (sometimes referred to as heat transfer coefficients or thermal transmittances)

measure how effective elements of a building's fabric are as insulators. That is, how effective
they are at preventing heat from transmitting between the inside and the outside of
a building.
THERMAL PROPERTIES TERMINOLOGIES:
Elements of climate
U-Value

The lower the U-value of an element of a building's fabric, the more slowly heat is able to
transmit through it, and so the better it performs as an insulator. Very broadly, the better (ie,
lower) the U-value of a building's fabric, the less energy is required to maintain
comfortable conditions inside the building.

U-values are measured in watts per square metre per degree Kelvin (W/m²K).

For example, with a double-glazed window with a U-value of 2.8, this means that for every
degree difference in temperature between the inside and outside of the window,
2.8 Watts will be transmitted every square metre.
THERMAL PROPERTIES TERMINOLOGIES:
Elements of climate
Time Lag

Time lag (Φ) is the time difference between the temperature maximum at the outside and
inside when subjected to periodic conditions of heat flow
U-values are measured in watts per square metre per degree Kelvin (W/m²K).

Φ = t (Tin max) – t (Tout max)

Decrement Factor

decrement factor is the ratio of the maximum outside and inside surface temperature
amplitudes

DF = T (in max) – T (in min)

T (out max) – T (out min)
Construction techniques for improving thermal performance of
walls and roofs: Elements of climate
1. Solid wall insulation
Construction techniques for improving thermal performance of
walls and roofs: Elements of climate
1. Solid wall insulation
Construction techniques for improving thermal performance of
walls and roofs: Elements of climate
1. Solid wall insulation
Construction techniques for improving thermal performance of
walls and roofs: Elements of climate
1. Solid wall insulation
Construction techniques for improving thermal performance of
walls and roofs: Elements of climate
2. Loft insulation / Green Roof / Cool Roof
Construction techniques for improving thermal performance of
walls and roofs: Elements of climate
2. Loft insulation / Green Roof / Cool Roof
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
• Natural ventilation, unlike fan-forced ventilation, uses the natural forces of wind and
buoyancy to deliver fresh air into buildings.

• Fresh air is required in buildings to alleviate odors, to provide oxygen for respiration, and
to increase thermal comfort.

• Natural ventilation can be used as an alternative to air-conditioning plants, saving 10%–

30% of total energy consumption

• Natural ventilation is ineffective at reducing the humidity of incoming air. This places a
limit on the application of natural ventilation in humid climates.
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
Design Recommendations

• Maximize wind-induced ventilation by siting the ridge of a building perpendicular to the

summer winds.

• Naturally ventilated buildings should be narrow.

• Each room should have two separate supply and exhaust openings. Locate exhaust high
above inlet to maximize stack effect. Orient windows across the room and offset from each
other to maximize mixing within the room while minimizing the obstructions to airflow
within the room.

• Window openings should be operable by the occupants.

• Provide ridge vents.

• Allow for adequate internal airflow.

NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
Design Recommendations

• Consider the use of clerestories or vented skylights.

• Provide attic ventilation.

• Consider the use of fan-assisted cooling strategies.

• Determine if the building will benefit from an open- or closed-building ventilation

approach.

• Use mechanical cooling in hot, humid climates.

• Try to allow natural ventilation to cool the mass of the building at night in hot climates.

• Open staircases provide stack effect ventilation, but observe all fire and smoke
precautions for enclosed stairways.
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
STACK VENTILATION
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
STACK VENTILATION
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
CROSS VENTILATION
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
CROSS VENTILATION
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate
NATURAL VENTILATION:
Elements of climate