Adaptive thermal comfort for naturally ventilated buildings through building envelope retrofitting

Abstract

Thermal discomfort has a huge implication on the energy consumption of a building and in case of naturally ventilated buildings it becomes a challenging task to achieve. Indian subcontinent has a plethora of naturally ventilated buildings and is surviving for desired thermal comfort under the pressure of changing climate. Attaining desired thermal comfort without much mechanical intervention is a curious subject of study for the architects. In this light, a filed survey of 4 naturally ventilated buildings was conducted and a simulation arrangement was established to understand their thermal behaviour as per adaptive comfort standard by ANSI ASHRAE Standard 55-2004. Thereafter, the effect of retrofitting the building envelope on operative temperature was simulated and analyzed. This paper presents the findings of the thermal comfort analysis for existing and retrofitted scenario as per the ANSI ASHRAE Standard 55-2004. © 2019 and published by the Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA).