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Building Design for Hot and Humid Climate in a Changing World

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Building in Hot and Humid Regions

Abstract

Places with hot and humid climate throughout the year exist in various parts of the world. The building design requires clear criteria to avoid overcooling and energy wastage, at the same time that guarantee optimal thermal comfort conditions delivered to its occupants. In this scenario, bioclimatic strategies such as the use of natural ventilation and shading, as well as the choice of appropriate construction components, are decisive to reduce the building energy consumption and the heat island effect. Designer decisions are fundamental in the future performance of the building. Therefore, it is very important to know the special characteristics of climates and microclimates around the building to properly to choose the best choice during the design process. In regions of hot and humid climate, the adoption of passive strategies and design that encourage the occupants’ adaptation to local temperature variations is essential to achieve thermal comfort in different ways, as is the deep understanding of its implications as an inducer of design guidelines for both residential and commercial buildings. In a scenario of climate change, we need to think in new strategies that provide greater adaptation and resilience, also considering the local culture and not simply importing models from other climatic regions and cultures. This chapter discusses design criteria for buildings in hot and humid climates from two specific points of view: the design project and the user.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Weather data on hourly basis are available at https://energyplus.net/weather for many regions in the world.

  2. 2.

    Climate Consultant is available for free download at http://www.energy-design-tools.aud.ucla.edu/climate-consultant/. Climate consultant is a graphic-based computer program that helps understand local climate using EPW (Energy Plus Weather File) format climate data with all 8.760 h for a year, containing data for many weather stations in the world. The purpose is to represent information in an easy way showing the climate related to buildings.

  3. 3.

    Available at http://andrewmarsh.com/software/. A number of tools are available at this link for the practical visualization of weather data in various locations around the world.

  4. 4.

    The psychometric chart adapted by Givoni is a tool in which temperature and humidity data are plotted, usually throughout the year, but monthly data can also be plotted. The chart shows the main passive strategies of design to achieve comfort. Programs such as Climate Consultant may be used to obtain this chart.

  5. 5.

    Available at http://2030palette.org/.

  6. 6.

    α: dimensionless value that ranges from 0 to 1.

  7. 7.

    The research tested rock wool as insulation with thickness of 2.5, 5, and 7.5 cm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering (PPGEC), Laboratory of Energy Efficiency in Buildings (LabEEE), Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Campus Universitário Reitor João David Ferreira Lima Trindade, Florianópolis, SC, 88040-900, Brazil

    Maria Andrea Triana, Renata De Vecchi & Roberto Lamberts

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  1. Maria Andrea Triana
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  2. Renata De Vecchi
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  3. Roberto Lamberts
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Andrea Triana .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, Iligan Institute of Technology, Mindanao State University, Iligan, Philippines

    Napoleon Enteria

  2. School of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading, Reading, UK

    Hazim Awbi

  3. School of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Mat Santamouris

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Triana, M.A., De Vecchi, R., Lamberts, R. (2020). Building Design for Hot and Humid Climate in a Changing World. In: Enteria, N., Awbi, H., Santamouris, M. (eds) Building in Hot and Humid Regions. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7519-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7519-4_3

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-7519-4

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