ENERGY PERFORMANCE STUDY

OF
RECONSTRUCTED RESIDENTIAL PROTOTYPE OF THE
INTEGRATED SETTLEMENT IN
PANIPOKHARI, DOLAKHA
SEMINAR PRESENTATION

SUPERVISORS: PRESENTED BY: Nitesh Poudel 078MSEEB009

DR. SANJAY UPRETY Aarzoo Jha 078MSEEB001 Saurav Sagar Ray 078MSEEB014
Associate Professor Binod Shrestha 078MSEEB004 Shrijan Basnet 078MSEEB015
AR. BARSHA SHRESTHA Dibesh Man Malego 078MSEEB005 Shubha Karna 078MSEEB016
Lecturer Mokshya R.L.D. Pradhan 078MSEEB008 Supriya Thapa 078MSEEB019
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction 6 Climate Study

2 Literature Review Modelling and

7
Simulation
3 Methodology Discussion , Findings and
8
Conclusion
4 Research Setting
Further Research and
9
5 Questionnaire Survey Recommendations

2
1 Introduction
 INTRODUCTION

Energy performance of a building is

“the calculated or measured amount
of energy needed to meet the energy
demand associated with a typical
use of the building, which includes
energy used for heating, cooling,
ventilation, hot water and lighting.-
(NEEP, 2018)

Source : IEA, 2010

Fig : Energy uses of a Building

Source : IEA, 2010
4
Introduction
After the Gorkha earthquake, the Government of Nepal
established an organization responsible for the reconstruction
of houses; the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to
work solely in the field of reconstruction.

7,53,104 (93%) houses were rebuilt after the earthquake.

(NRA,2021)

The combination of post-disaster recovery and energy

efficient housing practices can direct for better energy
performance of the buildings.

5
Introduction
ENERGY MODELING
Digital drafting of a building with the main purpose of energy saving. Design is made with every possible deduction
of unwanted usage of energies that cost us the wastage of natural sources. of integrated settlements is based on a holistic
Development
planning approach as it involves construction of permanent
Purpose of energy-modeling is to make accurate energy saving decisions
houses on awith
combined building,
wash the best cost
facilities andsaving options.
livelihood bringing
In a way, building simulation is a way to quantitatively predict the future and
communities thus hasboosting
together, considerable
their value.
social capital and
community ownership, unlike individual building construction
practices, in sparse patterns in rural areas. (Oxfam, 2020).
Eco-tect Analysis offers a wide range of
simulation and building energy analysis
functionality that can improve
performance of existing buildings and
new building designs.

Factors influencing the energy use in a building.

6
NEED OF THE STUDY
 Due to limited time and resources during post-disaster construction some design aspects like thermal
comfort, user satisfaction, energy efficiency, etc. will probably be ignored. (Turker et.al 2016)

 Design should consider thermal comfort and safety. Simulation is an effective tool to improve thermal
safety and comfort in shelter designs.(Tuladhar et.al. 2019)

 Inaccessibility, weak governance, weak infrastructures, lack of preparedness, knowledge gap,

manpower shortage, etc. are the key challenges of the reconstruction. (Sharma & KC, 2017).

 The post-disaster reconstruction should “build back better” in terms of safety, security, and livelihoods.
(Kennedy et.al. 2008)

 People prefer sustainable solutions to their needs including jobs and farm land (Lulu He, 2019)

 Disaster Reconstruction is not merely a housing solution, but a complex and multidimensional process.
(Dangi, 2015)

 (PDRF, 2016), guidelines encourage the use of local materials, furnishings, knowledge, skills, labor, and
traditional architecture.
7
IMPORTANCE OF STUDY
 This research is important for the policymakers.

 Can be used by academic persons/ institutions for advanced research in a

similar field. www.equalvet.eu/

 Can be useful for user committees and local government bodies for planning
and execution.

 The researcher will also help to designers to know the energy consumption
before earthquake and after earthquake in the resettlement area.

 It gives idea of the need of user satisfaction to sustain the community.

 The study investigates the energy performance of prototype buildings and

preventive measures to save energy.

 This research also becomes the reference for non-governmental

organizations and development agencies.
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
 People are staying in their ancestral land despite the risk of landslides because they have their cattle and
fields back there. Most earthquake-displaced families from Bosimpa decided not to move into the new
settlement. (Siwakoti, 2021)

 There is no implementation on energy efficiency and green building concept so far which leads to
high energy consumption and occupant thermal dis-satisfaction.

 Thermal comfort is an arbitrarily assigned parameter it varies from person to person thus the result
may not comply with every individual.

 School systems are often significantly impacted after disasters, making worse learning conditions.
(Alisjahbana et.al 2021)

9
PROBLEM STATEMENT
 The building layouts, orientations, building form, and the use of material can have adverse
impacts on overheating of buildings resulting in poor indoor thermal comfort (Coorey, et al.,
2017).

 The current shelter responses are built under time and cost constraints without comfortable
thermal conditions as a high priority (Tuladhar, Jahn, & Samuelson, 2019).

 The amount provided by government is less than half to build the house because most of the
beneficiaries have been invested more than seven lakhs for reconstruction of their house.
(Dangi, 2018)

 Rijal et.al 2016, Tuladhar et.al., Dhungana et.al. investigate on thermal comfort and construction
of temporary shelter, Sharma et.al 2018, Dangi, 2018 research on problem and prospect ,
challenges and influencing factor of post disaster construction in Nepal and there is no research
regarding thermal performance identification and occupant satisfaction in post disaster
reconstruction in Nepalese context so there is research gap and this mini research helps to fill the
research gap.
10
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
To study the energy performance of the reconstructed residential
prototype of the integrated settlement in Panipokhari, Dolakha.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

 To study climatic data and determine the thermal comfort

conditions.

 To carry out an energy consumption pattern survey.

 To carry out building energy modeling of prototype and

traditional housing models and make a comparative analysis.

11
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
 The research deals with the consumption of energy and can
provide the basis of energy saving in the future and can help
the policy makers to implement new rules and policies.

 If done in a proper way need of building rating systems can

also be found in the context of our country.

 The energy efficiency sector in the context of Nepal is broad

as only little things are done in this sector and also faces a
major issue that is “energy scarcity”.

 If we as researchers can help to find out quantitative and

qualitative value regarding energy efficiency, a pathway to
save the energy use and thus its cost can be minimized
which can be a boon to the country's economy.

12
LIMITATION OF STUDY

 The
Due main limitation
to time of the study
constraints, it wasisalso
that possible
the surveyto could
modelnotonly
be
completed properly
three different buildingowing to poorThere
prototypes. weather
werecircumstances
76 structures onon
the
the site, resulting
property in all,in and
insufficient
each onedatahad
for unique
thoroughfeatures
analysisthat
of
energy performance
undoubtedly added intobuildings.
the distinctiveness of the thermal
performance and characteristics of the buildings.
 The analysis is being performed in already constructed
 buildings
A survey in
wastheconducted
concernedthere
area to
and hence
gather the implementation
information and feed
of improved scenarios cannot be adopted in this particular
data into the program. As there may be a communication gap site
to improvethe
between the thermal
surveyorcomfort conditions
and the residents owing to many
variables including language barriers, differences in viewpoint,
levels of comprehension, etc., all the data acquired from the
 The building modeling was done using the extremely flexible
survey may not be genuine or authentic
software ECOTECT, which does have certain limitations and
discrepancies.

13
2
14
Nepal and Energy

• No known major oil, gas, or coal reserves

• Energy needs met with biomass, human labor, imported kerosene, and/or
traditional water-powered vertical axis mills
• Nepal’s electrification rate - 53 percent (2010)
• Dependence on traditional fuels - 81 percent (2012)
• Energy consumption growth rate - 2.4 % per annum
• Nepal accounts for relatively low CO2 emissions
• Nepal has the poorest energy intensity among all South Asian countries.

15
Energy Efficiency In Improving energy efficiency – a MAJOR concern
Buildings Life Cycle Buildings responsible for about 40% of global energy
consumption

site selection, site planning, construction and usage

building form, building processes
Pre-
plan, space organization, Building
building
building envelope design, phase
phase
landscape design, choice of
building materials,
Post building
phase
demolition and recycling

16
Theoretical Review

17
Thermal Comfort
Morale

‘that condition of mind which expresses

satisfaction with the thermal environment’
(ASHRAE, 2017)
Impacts Health

Factors that influence:

Metabolic rate Mean radiant temperature
Air speed Relative humidity Productivity
Clothing insulation Air temperature

(IIT Kharagpur, 2008) (de Dear & Brager, 1998) (Maclean, 2017)

18
Adaptive Thermal Applicable to occupant-controlled, natural-
Comfort Model conditioned spaces only

Foundation:
• outdoor climate influences indoor comfort
Physiological
• contextual factors of the building environment
• access to environmental controls
• changes in clothing
• past thermal history Behavioral
Psychological

(de Dear & Brager, 1998) (Szokolay, 2010) (Nicol, 2001) (ASHRAE-55, 2010)

19
Energy through the study of energy transfer between a
Performance building and its surroundings

• For a conditioned building, estimation of the heating and the cooling load
• For a non-conditioned building, estimation of temperature variation inside the
building - duration of uncomfortable periods

Building Material Weather Usage

variables properties data data

(Berisha, et al., 2016)

20
 Heat Balance

“ Theory
Sum of the heat balance
calculation – heat gains
and losses
(Melo & Lamberts, 2009)

Qnet (net heat gain/heat loss)

=
Figure 2 Heat transfer processes

(Berisha, et al., 2016)

Qconduction + Qventilation +
Qinfiltration + Qinternal + Qradiant
(Berisha, et al., 2016)
21
Methodological
Review
Qualitative Research
 Surveys (Questionnaire)-The qualitative questions would present a box where
people can write in their own words.

 Field observation- It helps to gain an inside view of the community and the
setting. By observing and talking to people about the topic of interest or about the
problematic, this method provides a deeper understanding of the problems in their
(local) context.

22
Quantitative Research

• Surveys (Questionnaire)- The quantitative questions might take the form of yes/no, or
rating scale (1 to 5) i.e. 5 stages of measurement.
• Bioclimatic chart - From the analysis of the quantitative bioclimatic charts, the
average values of the passive needs for solar radiation, shading, wind and humidity
for each month can be determined.
• Discrete event simulation (DES) -  A simulation modelling process is mainly based on
feeding quantitative data into a model to produce quantitative results in a structured
sequential process

23
3 Methodology

24
METHODOLOGY
The methodological approach taken in this research is quantitative
with multi-method adopted with field based survey which is
carried out in actual site. The conceptual frameworks are;

 Paradigm: Post positivist

 Ontology: The nature of reality are subjective and

objective reality observing human behavior and natural
science.

 Epistemology: The valid source of knowledge are

climatic data, and behavior of persons according to their
culture, economy and users’ experience.

 Research Strategy: Survey Research and Simulation

Research using Ecotect

25
METHOD OF
QUESTIONAIRE
• Designing a questionnaire means creating valid and reliable questions that address your research objectives,
placing them in a useful order, and selecting an appropriate method for administration.

• For descriptive survey the questionnaire was carried out among the 57 household which was successfully
carried out with 10 respondents in the resettlement to carry out the post-occupancy evaluation.

• The questions asked were with clear objectives, in simple language and without any bias to any group

• Due to the limitations of conducting a full survey of the total households, the data collection was conducted
only on 10 household with occupants residing in it. Thus the sampling distribution choosen for the research
was more of a purposive sampling than a randomized one.

• Although the level of satisfaction was measured using a questionnaire survey on the residence of Panipokhari
site, it would not reflecting the exact level of people's satisfaction because of the short period that people have
lived in resettlement, and among the 57 houses to be surveyed, only 25% were found to be living in newly
built houses.

26
METHOD OF SIMULATION

• The research began with a study of Dolakha climate data from 2010-2020 AD. which was
obtained from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology at Babarmahal, Kathmandu.

• Climatic factors such as temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind speed, etc were
studied and various graphs were obtained for climate responsive designs.

• For evaluating the performance of prototype, building designed by government one typical
building detail measurement was taken.

• Building model analysis was performed for vernacular building type as well considering the
measurements of the prototype building and incorporating the building materials used in
vernacular structures.

• The energy performance of building prototype and vernacular building were analyzed using
Autodesk Ecotect 2011

27
4
28
Post disaster Scenario
• Dolakha is one of the worst affected districts
• The National Reconstruction
of Earthquake 2015. WhileAuthority
the 25th(NRA)
April
had initiatedcaused
earthquake the construction
widespreadofdamage
the integrated
to the
model settlement
area, the second in led
earthquake Panipokhari of
to more severe
Bhimeshwar Municipality-1
damages and casualties to resettle
in Dolakha 84
and other
earthquake-displaced
eastern districts. families from Bosimpa.

• They are has

Dolakha still aliving
total in temporaryofhuts
population on a
280,874.
land
Aboutbelonging to Panipokhari
87% of houses are fully Community
or partially
Forest. 
destroyed (50,284 houses fully damaged and
305 houses partially damaged).

Picture : Earthquake affected zones

Source : The political economy of 2015 Nepal
earthquake: some critical reflections

29
 Picture : Post disaster situation

Picture : Integrated settlement area Picture : Temporary huts in Community Forest

(Source : The Political economy of 2015 Nepal earthquake: some critical reflections)
30
Old Settlement of
Bosimpa Village
• Located 15 Km North of Charikot, Dolakha.

• It is the home predominantly to the ethnic group of people

called ‘Thami’ (Thangmi)

• Mostly, Thami people follow a rural lifestyle and are engaged

in agriculture and farming as their main occupation while in
the recent days they are also engaged in different business
and services.
Picture : People from Thami ethnicity
(Source :https://www.notesnepal.com/archives/8166)

31
Social fabric
• The Thami were originally a nomadic tribe commonly believed that
they are of Mongolian descent.
• They live in the districts of Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk.
• The Thami scarcely manage to survive as farmers or stone quarry
workers.
• They worship deities that are not in any of the major religions of the
region. They pray to the Lord of the harvest.
• In order to rise above their current situation, the Thami people need
better education and job opportunities.
Picture : People worshipping their harvest
(Source :https://www.notesnepal.com/archives/8166)

32
Panipokhari
Integrated Settlement

Picture : Panipokhari Integrated Settlement

33
Prototype 1

34
Prototype 2

35
Prototype 3

36
Infrastructure

Solar powered street lights

Road Access Sanitation

Communication

37
Building Material and
Technology

• Locally available stones are used for sub structures. Bricks are used for structural
purposes and walls.
• The building has a brick façade on the external surface and the internal surfaces are
plastered with cement and then painted.

38
Building Material and
Technology

• Concrete Flooring is done on the Ground floor and the attic floor is constructed with timber structure
covered with timber planks.
• CGI sheets are used for roofing supported by a timber structure.
• Tarpaulins are used under the CGI sheet to prevent water leakages through the roof. Doors and
windows comprise timber shutters in a wooden frame. The staircase is also made from timber.
• Theexposed brick surface of red color has a rough texture that helps to absorb solar radiation for a
longer period

39
Cost Analysis

40
Comparative Analysis

Features Vernacular Prototype 1 Prototype 2  

building
Material Stone with Mud Brick Plaster Brick Plaster  
mortar
Technology Load Bearing Reinforced Reinforced  
Structure Load Bearing Load Bearing
Structure Structure
Orientation East East East  
Window wall 17.66% 17.66% 24.61%  
ratio
U value of 2.60 2.79 2.79  
material
Vegetation No No No  
 

41
5
42
Energy Consumption
electricity by Nepal Electricity Authority

Lighting sources Appliance usage

10
100
9
9 90
8
80
7 70
6 60
5 50
5 88.9%
4 40 77.8%
30 55.6%
3
20
2
2 10
1 0
0 Cooking Room Heating Water Heating
Series1
No. of bulbs No. of tubelights No. of LED lights Appliance usage

Figure: Chart showing use of lighting sources Figure: Chart showing types of appliances used by occupants in
the settlement at Panipookhari 43
Energy Consumption

Appliance for cooking Appliance for room Appliance for water

100 heating heating
90 100 100
80 90 90
70 80 80
60 58.3% 70 70
60 60
50
50
40 50
44.4% 40 33.3%
30 25% 40
30
20 16.7% 30 22.2% 22.2%
20
10 20 10
10 11.1%
0 0
Traditional LPG stove Firewood 0 Firewood LPG stove Traditional
gas stove Fire wood LPG heater stove

Figure: Chart showing Figure: Chart showing Figure: Chart showing

appliances for cooking appliances for room heating appliances for water heating
44
Thermal Sensitivity: Winter

Room heating re- Winter Sensitivty

quirement 7

33% 33% 4

11% 11% 2
11%
1

0
Morning Afternoon Evening
January February October
November December Cold Cool Neutral Warm

Figure: Pie chart showing months Figure: Chart showing

that require room heating thermal sensitivity in Winter
45
Survey
Summary

• Some energy reduction approaches:

• LED (75% less energy, last up to 25 times longer) (www.energy.gov)
• Not many appliances - less energy consumption

• Appliances used for water heating and room heating

• Problems of thermal comfort, mainly in Winter
• Heating is a must, mainly the mornings and the evenings

46
6 CLIMATE STUDY

47
CLIMATE OF DOLAKHA
YEAR (2013 -21) JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
 
Mean RH 8:45 AM 59.28 63.46 61.23 60.84 76.05 84.49 90.82 89.29 87.78 79.47 62.94 61.69
17:45 PM 69.61 68.80 68.06 65.88 79.78 87.67 92.85 91.54 92.00 84.59 75.07 72.08

 
Average RH (%) 64.45 66.13 64.64 63.36 77.91 86.08 91.83 90.41 89.89 82.03 69.00 66.89

Table : Relative Humidity Data

• The climate of Dolakha is humid.

• Whole year has relative humidity higher than
Relative Humidity(%)
100
60% in the morning.
80
• The main concern to maintain comfort zone 60
shall be proper air circulation due to high 40

humidity level. 20
0
• The driest month in Dolakha was found to be B Y L P T V
N
JA FE AR APR A JUN JU G
SE C O EC
M M AU O N D
January whereas the most humid month was
Mean RH 8:45 AM Mean RH 17:45 PM
July.
Figure : Relative Humidity Chart of Dolakha
48
SZOKOLAY’S BIO-CLIMATIC CHART OF DOLAKHA
• The bioclimatic chart for Panipokhari,
Dolakha was extracted from climate
consultant.

• Comfort Range : 20 °C to 24 °C.

• Passive Solar Heating is needed to be

considered as a design priority for an
overall year as the temperature in
Dolakha is cool temperate.

• From October to December and

January to April passive solar heat is
highly required. High thermal mass
must be incorporated for the month
March to June including September
and November.

• Air movement is mostly required

starting from May to November for
achieving thermal comfort. It is
comfortable from May to September
and also some parts of October and
December.
Figure : Comfort Zones for Szokolay’s Bioclimatic Chart for Panipokhari, Dolakha 49
 MODEL AND
7 SIMULATION

50
Ecotect Model
Prototype-1 and Vernacular
Building Prototype-2

51
General Settings

52
Building Materials used in Simulation
• Exterior Walls – Brick Plaster - U-value -2.60 W/m°K
• Slope Roof – CGI – U- Value – 7.140 W/m°K
• Window - Single glazed timber frame- U value – 5.100 W/m°K
• Exterior Walls – Double brick cavity wall- U-value -1.78 W/m°K
• Clay tiles roof – U- Value – 3.10 W/m°K
• Window– Wooden windows - U-value -3.99 W/m°K
• Walls – CSEB Blocks with plaster on both sides - U-value – 1.80 W/m°K
• Attic Slab – 18mm plywood with insulation – U value – 3.03 W/m°K
• Exterior Walls – Stone with mud plaster - U-value -2.79 W/m°K

• 53
Temperature Gains Comparision- Base Model

Vernacular Building
Prototype -1
Prototype-2

54
Passive Gains Breakdown- Base Model

Vernacular Building
Prototype -1
Prototype-2

55
Thermal Gains - Base Model

Prototype -1
Prototype-2

56
Temperature Gains Comparision- Final Model

Prototype -1
Prototype-2

57
Passive Gains Breakdown- Final Model

Prototype-2
Prototype -1

58
Thermal Gains - Final Model

Prototype -1
Prototype-2

59
COMPARISIONS
 100
200
300
400
500
600

0
Base Model

lar
Vernacu-
Base Model

Simulation 1

Simulation 2

Prototype 1
uary)

Simulation 3

Base Model

Simulation 1
Discomfort Hours – January
D iscomfort H ours(P eak Month- Jan -

Simulation 2

Prototype 2
Simulation 3
20
40
60
80

Base Model
lar
Vernacu-

Base Model

Simulation 1
Solar Air Gains

Simulation 2
Prototype 1

Simulation 3

Base Model

Simulation 1
Solar Air Gains(%)

Simulation 2
Prototype 2

Simulation 3
61
 Discussion, Findings and
8 Conclusions

62
DISCUSSION
• The policies incorporated by the government seems to focus more on the proximate goals rather than the ultimate, and is not
capable of sufficing the needs of disaster-struck people. Therefore, proper plans and policies focusing people-centered
development is required.

• Use of modern materials and technology without considering the local materials and climate affects both thermal comfort and
well being of the occupants, increasing the cost in long run.

• Since people don’t have access to modern technology, maintaining thermal comfort actively is not a solution under these
circumstances; hence passive design is must.

• Along with focusing on the structural safety and strength of the building, we must focus on the thermal aspect of the buildings
as well. The plans and policies should be proposed and executed keeping in mind the unison of the strength and comfort aspect
of the buildings for proper resettlement of the affected people in the future.

• The other factor behind the debacle of this policy is it’s inability to cater people’s needs; the house lacked storage space, space
for cattle, insufficient number of rooms and inadequate space to perform cultural rituals.

• The results obtained from Ecotect model analysis were validated through manual hand calculation. The results were checked
for percentage error and the error was found to be in between 5%-10%.

63
FINDINGS
• Passive Strategies: The passive solar gain, thermal mass, and Natural ventilation were the best passive incorporated for
achieving thermal comfort.

• Cold Breeze: The main reason for discomfort in winter is due to air leakages (infiltration of cold breezes). As per the
windrose diagram, the primary wind direction is North. Buffer zone or inhabitable room should be kept on the north side of
the building.

• Energy Loads: From the questionnaire survey and analysis, it was found that the energy consumption was minimum.

32% 29.1% 53.3% 40%

REDUCTION IN HEAT LOSS REDUCTION IN SOLAR AIR GAIN PROTOTYPE 1 PROTOTYPE 2

MODIFICATIONS IN WALLS, ROOF AND WINDOWS LOSSES REDUCTION IN THE AVERAGE HOURLY GAIN 64
CONCLUSION
• The energy consumption pattern of the people in the settlement and the level of thermal comfort under various climatic
conditions were analyzed.

• Our simulation study to improve the thermal performance of these prototypes concluded that by basic modification in
the openings and building envelope (roof, floor, and wall), we could reduce the heat loss through the building by about
30%.

• The concept of Build Back Better (BBB) will come into effect only if we can improve the living conditions of the
people under consideration. This can be done by improving the thermal performance of their buildings, increasing
structural safety, and energy efficiency of their houses keeping in mind their social, economical, cultural, and political
aspect of life.

• If positive changes can be brought about on the local as well as national scale regarding the post-disaster
reconstruction sector this will only aid in the development of the nation and its people in the long run.

65
 FURTHER RESEARCH &
9 RECOMMENDATIONS
FURTHER RESEARCH & RECOMMENDATIONS
• With less than 20% of the houses being occupied, the integrated settlement is still under development. Therefore, the
findings of our questionnaire survey might not be the authentic source of information to rely on.

• Before the intervention of any plans, it is highly recommended to make a further study on the perception of the people
regarding the user’s satisfaction once the reconstruction has been completed and they have spent quite some time in
their houses.

• The socio-cultural practices and economical aspects of the people also impact the energy behavior of the occupant; this
helps trace the energy consumption pattern of the place.

• Based on energy simulation, we have recommended some of the locally available materials in the different parts of the
proposed building, which is internet-based research. However, exploration should be done on the availability of the
local materials on-site and their thermal properties should be studied.

• Various materials have been assigned to our proposed buildings which require the construction of a new building if it
were to build on-site. Even so, it is quite not practical to construct these proposed buildings since the buildings are
already being constructed as per the prototype design.

67
“ Thank
you

68