Comfort Analysis of Habicon Houses

A comparative analysis between Habicon and concrete block houses in Costa Rica.
Sonia Vargas Caldern
Wood Technology Engineer Costa Rican Building Research Institute, Costa Rican Institute of Technology

Abstract
Concrete hollow block system and other prefabricated systems have been used widely in Costa Rica to build low-cost houses. Habicon is a new construction system developed by CIVCO-ITCR, as a new economical solution, towards a more sustainable construction and a better quality of life for the inhabitants. It has been used in low-cost, self-help and auto-construction housing projects, but also for middle-class dwellings and ecologic villages. Been a new system, a comparative analysis between Habicon and concrete block houses is a good way to analyse the thermal performance of the system. The main objective of this study consists of comparing the comfort behaviour of two low-cost houses, both under the same design and located on the same climate zone, but one built with Habicon system and the other with the traditional concrete hollow block system. Mahoney tables and Givony diagrams were used to get general recommendations for thermal indoor comfort. DEROB-LTH supported by tools like Aiolos, ClimGem and Meteonorm was applied to simulate the thermal performance. Major results showed that the performance of Habicon houses compare with concrete hollow block houses could be improved by means of ceiling or insulating the roof. Other considerations regarding the design of the houses can be implemented to achieve better indoor comfort.

Introduction
The estimated deficit of housing is 150 000 between new houses needed and deteriorated houses that should be rebuild or renovated. The growth need per year, due to new families, is 24 000 but the built houses per year is 20 000. The Costa Rican government makes an important investment for housing through a subsidy to the low-income families. Social housing in Costa Rica is defined as a low-cost housing, with a maximum size of 60m2. It is a basic solution, given to the families with no finishes: it has no ceiling, no floor tiles, and in many cases no interior divisions except for the bathroom walls. For low income housing sector constructors look for less expensive solutions: standard design without consideration on the climate, concrete blocks or prefabricated concrete walls, corrugated roofing sheets with metal structure and seldom fibre cement boards for ceiling; quantitative and economic aspects are most important than the qualitative aspects of the houses. Looking towards a more sustainable construction and a better life quality for the inhabitants the Costa Rican Building Research Center CIVCO has a Research & Development Program Towards the Sustainability of Low-Cost Housing, which main objective is to change practice in the design and construction of social housing in Costa Rica. Habicon is a new construction system developed by CIVCO -ITCR, as a new economical solution for the low cost housing sector. The main objective of this project consists to compare the comfort behaviour of low- cost houses, both under the same design and located on the same climate zones, but one using the Habicon system and the other the traditional concrete hollow block system.

Architecture, Energy & Environment 2002 HDM Housing Development and Management Lund University, Sweden

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Sonia Vargas Caldern

Background
Costa Rican Housing Situation The total estimated number of dwellings in Costa Rica is 842 500, from these: 66% are owned houses, 21% are rented houses and 13% under others conditions. The estimated deficit of housing is 150 000 between new houses needed and deteriorated houses that should be rebuild or renovated. The need growth per year, due to new families, is 24 000 but the built houses per year is 20 000 Although the housing construction represent the 72% of the total construction in the country, it is not enough to cope with the annual growth, and therefore not able to diminish the housing deficit. Since 1984, the Costa Rican government gives a subsidy to the low-income families for housing. This subsidy depends on the total family income, and is a maximum of $5 000. The bigger the income, the smaller the subsidy. The Costa Rican public system supplies 96.7% of the population with electricity, 94% of the population with public water system and the sewage system covers only 24% of the population, so the other 76% of the population has to use septic treatment tanks and drainage in the same lot. Social housing is defined as a low-cost housing, with a maximum size of 60m2 . It is a basic solution, given to the families with no finishes: it has no ceiling, no floor tiles, and in many cases no interior divisions except for the bathroom walls. The cost for a house of 42 m2 is between $9 000 to $10 000 including the cost of the land and the building systems for the urbanization. The cost of the governmental subsidy is not enough to cover the cost of the house, so a loan is needed at the regular bank interest rates, which in Costa Rica are very high. Costa Rican Building Research Center (CIVCO) The Costa Rican Building Research Center is part of the School of Building Engineering of the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, one of the four state universities. CIVCO was funded in 1990 as an institution entirely devoted to the development and improvement of the building sector, in particular to low-cost hous ing. The activities of CIVCO are concentrated on research, education, consultancy, and technical assistance. CIVCO promotes national and regional policies and coordinates its activities with public, nongovernmental organizations, and private companies. CIVCO`s objectives are directed towards: Improvement of living conditions, including health. Cost reduction. Safety improvement. Reduction of environmental impact. Quality improvement. Use of local resources. Improvement of labor efficiency. Improvement of industrial production. CIVCO has a Research & Development Program Towards the Sustainability of Low-Cost Housing, which incorporates most of its researchers. The main objective of the Program is to change practice in the design and construction of social housing in Costa Rica, towards a more sustainable construction and a better life quality for the inhabitants. The methodology being used is through pilot projects, working with real communities, facing specific sites and housing needs. Through pilot projects experiences CIVCO identifies problems, evaluates results, and feedbacks research activities for future projects. The Program has 5 main research areas: 1. Building Materials and Construction Systems. 2. Building Physics and Construction Biology. 3. Site Planning and House Design. 4. Water supply and Waste and Waste Water Treatment. 5. Building Administration and Costs. The Program focuses, on a sustainable basis, on three main dimensions: the ecological, the social and the economical dimension.

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Comfort Analysis of Habicon Houses

Habicon Construction System The existing prefabricated construction systems in Costa Rica usually only solve walls and internal divisions, and work within a limited concept of modulation (close modulation, where the systems elements and components are only compatible between themselves), which does not allow the prefabrication of other constructive elements and components such as roof structures, doors, windows, furniture, closets, etc. This situation force many activities to be done in a craftsman way, extending the time for execution, increasing costs, increasing wastes, having an impact on the environment, and reducing quality. Habicon, the new construction system developed at CIVCO-ITCR, is the result of the activities of CIVCO in the Area of Building Materials and Construction Systems, and was born from the need of an economical solution that would satisfy the requirements for a more pleasant and better place to live. At present HABICON is been used in low-cost, self-making and autoconstruction housing projects in Costa Rica, but also have been used, with great success, in middle-class dwellings and ecologic villages. The Key Aspects of Habicon HABICON consists on a light weight, modular, open and integral, flexible and low cost prefabricated system, composed of a series of innovative modular elements and components, developed for the assembling of minor and light weight one story and two story buildings. The system consists of a main wooden structure formed by frames of wooden post and beams assembled together with metal connectors, on top of concrete piles or bases, or above a conventional floor slab. The structure is covered on the outside by very dense prefabricated reinforced micro-concrete panels, 30 mm thick, with modular dimensions, that are used for walls and floor slabs. Panels are stapled to the wooden structure. The gaps between panels are covered with a fine mesh and plastered with mortar on site. The walls, floor slabs, and joints between panels form a monolithic element fixed integrally to the structural frame, which gives a better structural performance than if each component would work independently or in a simple articulated form. The wood used comes from plantations. The wood is pre-treated with auto-clave impregnation. The post and beam construction is held together with metal connectors, developed by CIVCO, and nails. The panels, which could be produced on site by the people of the community, consists of a thin high density micro-concrete panel reinforced with nylon or polypropylene fibres, and has a welded metal grid, 15 cm x 15 cm, at the middle, becoming 15 cm the module of the system. The micro-concrete is poured on top of a mould and vibrated with a vibrating table machine developed by CIVCO. The construction system consists of: 1. Concrete bases as foundations that adapt to differences in topography, therefore minimizing earth movements and leaving the ground as natural as possible. 2. Structure for walls and floors of wooden post-beam, assembled my means of metal connectors. The beneficiaries using a very simple machine developed by CIVCO can make metal connectors. 3. Prefabricated micro-concrete reinforced panels as coverings of floors and walls. The panels are stapled to the wooden structure. The gaps between panels are reinforced with a steel wire and plastered with micro-concrete. The panels protect the wood from the weather. Panels can be made on site by the beneficiaries. 4. Fine plaster coating the walls. 5. Prefabricated wooden trusses as roof structure. 6. Potable water, used water, and electricity systems easy to install. 7. Micro-concrete tiles as roof covering. Tiles also can be produced on site by the beneficiaries. 8. Prefabricated modular doors, windows, etc. The system can be assembled in an easy and fast way, because it has been designed under the concept of assembly instead of construction, what makes it ideal for assisted self-construction processes. The internal and external appearance is aesthetically appealing, accepting different types of finishes. Doors, windows, closets, kitchen furniture, roof structure, etc. can be industrially prefabricated due to

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the modulation, obtaining products of high quality with the economy of scale and minimum waste products. Costa Rican Generalities Costa Rica is located in the Central America Isthmus between Nicaragua and Panama, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between the geography coordinates 8 03 and 11 13 North and 82 32and 85 57 West. It has a total area of 51 100 square kilometers including Isla del Coco, 32.7% of the land surface is allocated for protected areas (national parks, reserves, forests, etc). Costa Rica is divide in 7 provinces: Limn, Guanacaste, Puntarenas, Cartago, Heredia, Alajuela and San Jos. San Jos is the capital and has an altitude of 1 150 m above sea level. According with the last census the population is about 3 810 179 million with a growing rate of 2.8%, most of inhabitants are concentrated in urban zones (59%) (See Table1).
Table 1: Costa Rican Population

Total Population 3 810 179

Population urban zones 2 249 414

Population rural zones 1 560 765

75 % of the total population lives in the Central Valley (in 4 of the 7 Provinces: San Jos, Cartago, Heredia and Alajuela), and 35% of the total population lives in San Jose. The average population density in the whole country is 75 inhabitants/km2, but San Jose has 256 inhabitants/km2. The literacy rate is 95%. Costa Rica is crossing from NW to SE by four mountains chains dividing the country in mountains, valleys and plain lands. There are some active volcanoes and earthquakes are frequent since the country its located at conjunction of geologic plates. It has a big potential for hydropower because of its extended hydrography net. Most of the rivers flowing to the Caribbean Sea are large, navigable rivers, flooding the lowlands at the rainy season is frequent. 89% of the energy supply comes from hydroelectric power; the other 11% comes primarily from geothermal energy, and in a smaller amount from biomass. Due to its location the country acts as a biological and geographical corridor where many species of flora and fauna coming from the North and South American continents coexist. Costa Rica owns almost 5% of the biodiversity of the planet located in 12 living zones located in the dry tropical forest, the rain tropical forest, the wetlands, the coral reefs and the bleak plateau in highlands. Although still a largely agriculture country, it has achieved a relative good standard of living. It has a stable economy depending on tourism, agriculture and

Figure 1: Costa Rican physical map

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Comfort Analysis of Habicon Houses

electronics exports. Some economic data for Costa Rica are the following:Gross Domestic capita: $2 720 Minimum wage per hour (based in construction labor work) Monthly average income per employed person Monthly average income per household Unemployment rate: Product per $0.94 $287 $462 5.7%

Climate Costa Rica because of its different elevations, vegetation, rivers and geographical position affected by two large oceans has a great variety of microclimates. But in general terms there are two seasons: the dry season from December to April and the rainy season from May to November. The temperature does not vary drastic. At the coast temperature swings between 28 and 37 and at the Central Valley between 18 and 25. At the highest mountains Iraz Volcano (3224 m) and Cerro Chirrip (3820 m) occasionally goes under 0. The average annual rainfall is in the Central Valley: 1 500 - 2 100 mm, the average annual rainfall in the Atlantic Coast: 2 000 - 4 500 mm. Sunshine levels are between 2 and 8 hours per day. Architecture and Construction There are not important historical ancient buildings in Costa Rica; most of the existing old houses from the post-colonial time are no more than 150 years old. During this period of time of the last 150 years a great variety of styles have become part of the cities, as different fashions and styles were taking over at some poques. Costa Rica is a young country compared to other regions of the world, the international styles are predominant in its architecture, except for very little examples of pseudo-classical and post-industrial styles. Its few prevailing Indigenous settlements are very tiny and scattered among a small part of the country known as the Mountains of Talamanca, but most of them have few remains of their own heritage. Nevertheless, and according to the different regions of the country, it is possible to find a great variety of true vernacular building elements well adapted to the changing climatic zones there are in Costa Rica. For low income housing sector constructors look for less expensive solutions: standard design without consideration on the climate, concrete blocks or prefabricated concrete walls, corrugated roofing sheets with metal structure and seldom fibre cement boards for ceiling. Traditional Architecture Traditional architecture in Costa Rica had been made with different materials: adobe, clay tiles, bahareque, wood, palm leaves, straw and similar materials. Regardless of been low cost, because of the use of local material, and the nice indoor climate they provide inside the houses, they have durability problems, requiring constant maintenance, are highly flammable and easily infected by insects and rodents. Adobe, clay tiles and bahareque were used until the total collapse of roof and adobe walls during the earthquake of 1910 caused many victims. Due to this condition people start to look for an adequate construction systems and these materials disappears from most towns and cities. Modern Architecture Modern architecture uses reinforced concrete or metal structures; concrete blocks or prefabricated concrete walls; different kinds of glasses for windows; corrugated metal sheets or clay tiles over a metal sheet for roofs and metal or wood structures for roofing, fiber cement, gypsum or other type of boards for ceiling and many other imported materials. For low income housing sector constructors look for less expensive solutions: standard design without consideration on the climate, concrete blocks or prefabricated concrete walls, corrugated roofing sheets with metal structure and seldom fibre cement boards for ceiling.
Figure 5: Low cost house in San Jos

Figure 2: Example of colonial architecture

Figure 3: Native house

Figure 4:Caribeean house

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Problem statement
Habicon is a new construction system developed by CIVCO-ITCR, as a new economical solution, towards a more sustainable construction and a better quality of life for the inhabitants. Actually HABICON is available at the Costa Rican market and is been used in low-cost, self-help and auto-construction housing projects, but also for middle-class dwellings and ecologic villages. This system fulfills all the Costa Rican regulations: building code, seismic code, etc. Due to the reduced thickness of walls of the system (only 30 mm) and considering that in practice there is not sufficient information about its thermal behaviour, users sometimes are worried about using it because of the risk of having an uncomfortable indoor climate. A comparative analysis between Habicon and concrete blocks houses would be a good way to inform users about the thermal performance of the system. The main objective of this project consists to compare the comfort behaviour of low- cost houses, both under the same design and located on the same climate zones, but one using the Habicon system and the other the traditional concrete hollow block system. On climates closed to the equator radiation through the roof is a most important issue than radiation trough the walls. Based on this study pretends to demonstrate that Habicon, in spite of its thin walls, presents the same o similar thermal behaviour as concret hollow blocks system and that the use of a insulated material for the roof improves its performance. Additionally, by means of the analysis of the climate behaviour, the study will try to find some design modifications needed in the design in order to make the same house suitable for different climatic conditions.

Figure 6: Modern architecture

Methodology
The methodology of the study is based on four steps: Obtain climatic data for the project Parameters definition Definition of cases based on the parameters, and Thermal comfort evaluation.

The Project
The analysis is based on one of the most typical designs for low-cost dwellings used in Costa Rica. Three different climates, considered representative for Costa Rica, were selected for the study top analyzed the thermal performance: one representative for the pacific coast, one for the Caribbean coast and one for the Central Valley, where actually the project is located. The climatic data for the different places were gattered from the Instituto Meteorolgico Nacional.
Table 2: Climatic data Altitude Average Temperature Humidity Precipitation Wind Speed/Direct. Solar radiation

La Garita 840 m 23.3 C 79 % 1937 mm/year 3.52 m/s (E) 6.6 hours/day

Limn 3m 25.9 C 88 % 3537 mm/year 1.9 m/s (SW) 5 hours/day

Liberia 85 m 27.5 C 70 % 1590 mm/year 3.39 m/s (E) 7,3 hours/day

For the evaluations one winter day is considered during the month of October, at the rainy season, and one summer day in March for a typical day of the dry season. Corrugated galvanized iron sheets are the most common roof material for lowcost houses, but micro-concrete tiles made on site using mobile workshops are also a cheap solution, therefore have been include in the study. The house of the study is built in a house development of 95 houses located in 2 Carrillos Bajo de Pos, in Alajuela province. It has a plot area of 120 m and a

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2 construction area of 44 m , has two bedrooms, one bathroom and a living area, which includes the kitchen and living-dining room (See figure 8). The main faade is facing the street oriented to the SW and the backyard faade facing the NE (See figure 7).

VOL 1

VOL 2

Project house

VOL 3

N
Figure 7: The Site plan

Figure 8: Architecture floor plan

As shown in figures 9 and 10 the house has not other houses, trees or other kind of vegetation close to it giving shadow.

The Study
In order to evaluate thermal performance of the Habicon houses different tools have been used: Mahoney Tables and Givoni Diagrams The traditional Mahoney and Givoni methods were used for each climatic zone in order to have general recommendations to achieve thermal indoor comfort and a diagram for the comfort zone like showing in figure 14. DEROB - LTH Dynamic Energy Response of Buildings DEROB, a simulation Windows based tool for thermal model design had been used for the simulations. To proceed with the evaluation with DEROB, first a geometrical model, which is a simplified model of the original design of the house, was built to use it as a base case for the different simulations. For the study the geometrical model consist on three volumes and can be seen in figures 11, 12 and 13.
Table 3: Volumes and the corresponding indoor spaces

Figure 9: The project house

Volume 1 2 3

Space Living-dinning room and kitchen Bedroom 1 Bedroom 2

Building elements and their materials used for the simulations are described in following table:
Table4: Building elements

Building Element External / Internal Wall 1

Material Plaster MicroConcrete Plaster

Thick. (mm)

Conductivity (W/mK)

Sp. Heat (Wh/kgK)

Density (kg/m 3)

A/E*

3 30 3 30 4 8 20 8

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.24 0.95 0.024 0.14

0.28 0.23 0.28 0.23 0.8 0.25 0.28 0.76

2100 2000 2100 2000 1900 2000 1.201 500

20/85 45/85 20/85 45/85 20/85 40/90

Floor 1
Figure 10: The project house and the surroundings

Roof 1

MicroConcrete Ceramic tiles Concrete tiles Air Space Wood structure

60/90

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Roof 2

Roof 3 Roof 4 External / Internal Wall 2

Galvanized iron sheets Air Space Wood structure Galvanized iron sheets Concrete tiles Plaster Concrete hollow blocks Plaster Concrete Sand Earth Laminated sheets for thermal isolation Fibre cement Wood chipboard

2 20 8 2 8 3 150

0.95 0.024 0.14 0.95 0.95 1.2 1

0.25 0.28 0.76 0.25 0.25 0.28 0.25

2000 1.201 500 2000 2000 2100 1100

30/25

60/90 30/25 40/90 20/85 45/85

Vol 1
Vol 2 Vol 3

Floor2

Roof Isolation

3 100 150 500 1 - 50

1.2 1.7 0.4 0.6 0.035

0.28 0.24 0.24 0.28 0.47

2100 2300 1700 1500 15

20/85 45/85 80/85 30/90 5/5

Figure 11: Derob Model: Volumes

Ceiling Volume 4

12 10

0.40 0.15

0.25 0.39

1600 800

* A = Absorptance

E = Emittance

Based on the base model and taking into account the parameters described above the following cases have been analysed.
Table 5: Simul ation cases Figure 12: Derob Model: Front view

Case 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10

Parameters Habicon house, galvanized iron roof, la Garita climate, summer day, SW-WE orientation. Habicon house, galvanized iron roof, la Garita climate, winter day, SW-NE orientation. Habicon house, galvanized iron roof, la Garita climate, summer day, W-E orientation. Habicon house, galvanized iron roof, la Garita climate, Winter day, W-E orientation. Habicon house, concrete tiles roof, la Garita climate, summer day, SW-WE orientation. Concrete block house, galvanized iron roof, la Garita climate, summer day, SW-WE orientation Habicon house, galvanized iron roof, la Garita climate, summer day, SW-WE orientation, fibre cement ceiling. Habicon house, galvanized iron roof, la Garita climate, summer day, SW-WE orientation, insulated roof. This case was, analysed only for volume 2. Habicon house, galvanized iron roof, summer day, SWWE orientation, Limn and Liberia climates. Habicon house, concrete tiles roof, summer day, SW-WE orientation, La Garita, Limn and Liberia climates.

Figure13: Derob Model: Back view

CLIMGEN With the geometrical model running properly, a Excel based file called ClimGen were used to generated the climatic data necessary to run DEROB for each winter and summer day of the three climates. AIOLOS To calculated the air changes needed to run the simulation in DEROB, the Aiolos program was used. The radiation and temperature results of the ClimGen of each climatic zones, volumes sizes, openings size, location and schedule (close or open)

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were input to run the calculation in Aiolos. Table 4 shows the values for the air changes obtained for volume 1.
Table 6: Air Changes/hour

Schedules 01 - 06 07 - 12 13 - 17 18 - 21 22 - 24

La Garita Volume 1
Summer Winter

Limn Volume 1
Summer Winter

Liberia Volume 1
Summer Winter

10 70 78 70 10

5 35 39 35 5

5 32 45 44 5

5 33 45.4 45 5

5 43 58 57 5

10 60 80 79 10

The internal loads were assumed as for a 4-member family having not much electric equipment. The data were taking from the literature 1 .
Tab le 7: Internal Loads

Schedules
Volume 1

Internal loads (W)

Volume 2 Volumen 3

01 - 06 07 - 12 13 - 17 18 - 21 22 - 24

310 510 510 525 310

150 0 0 150 150

150 0 0 150 150

METEONORM To complete the humidity data of Limn and Liberia to run the ClimGen and for the data needed for the Mahony-Givoni charts, the Windows based program METEONORM had been implemented.

Results & Discussion

Bioclimatic Diagram (Givoni)
Location Longitude () Latitude () Altitude (m)

Estacin Fabio Baudrit / Alajuela / Costa Rica

84 10 840

Climatic data
Monthly mean Max. temp (C) Min RH (%) Pressure (Pa) Min temp (C) Max RH (%) Pressure (Pa) Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 28.9 29.8 30.7 30.7 28.9 27.8 28.1 28 27.4 27.2 27.6 28.3 63 57 55 60 70 74 74 73 76 78 71 67 2507 2389 2427 2647 2785 2762 2811 2757 2771 2811 2620 2575 17.4 17.7 18.1 18.5 18.5 18.3 18.3 17.9 17.8 17.7 17.8 17.5 83 82 81 80 85 91 89 89 91 92 87 85 1648 1659 1681 1702 1808 1912 1870 1824 1853 1861 1771 1698

Recommendations of Mahoney Tables and comfort zones of Givoni Charts.

By plotting the climatic data for the different climates on the Givoni Chart, it shows that the three climates are outside the established comfort zone. For La Garita some months are partialy inside the comfort zone but for Limn and Liberia not at all. To achieve a comfortable indoor clima in all cases ventilation will be needed most of the time. According with the Givoni charts and increasing ventilation the comfort zones for the three climates can be extended as follows: La Garita: 17.5 C 27 C. Limn: 21 C 27 C. Liberia 21 C 27 C.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 4000 AC: Cooling C: Comfort DH: Dehumidification EC: Evaporative Cooling H: Heating I: High Inertia IG: Internal Gains INV: High Inertia and Night Ventilation V: Ventilation

40%

3000

DH
30% jan feb mar apr may

Vapour Pressure (Pa)

V
20%

2000

jun jul aug sept oct nov dec

INV

1000

The recommendations of the Mahoney tables to achieve thermal comfort for the different climates are summarized in table 8. According with these recommendations a comfortable indoor climate can be obtained by means of passive strategies: arrangement for the buildings, vegetation, natural cross ventilation, etc.

0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Temperature (C)

Figure 14: La Garita Givoni Chart

1

1997 ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook (SI)

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Sonia Vargas Caldern Table 8: Mahoney Table recommendations

La Garita Orientation north south (log Open spacing for breeze

penetration, but protection from hot and cold wind. Rooms single banked, permanent provision for air movement. Medium size openings 40 80%. Heavy internal and external walls. In north and south walls the openings at body at bogy height on windward side. Openings exclude from direct sunlight and provide protection from rain. Walls and floor heavy, over 8 hours time lag. Roofs light, reflective surfaces, with cavity, well insulated. axis east -west).

Limn Orientation north south (log Open spacing for breeze

penetration. axis east -west).

Liberia Orientation north south (log Open spacing for breeze

penetration, but protection from hot and cold wind. Rooms single banked, permanent provision for air movement. Medium size openings 40 80%. Heavy internal and external walls. In north and south walls the openings at body at bogy height on windward side. Openings exclude from direct sunlight and provide protection from rain. Walls and floor heavy, over 8 hours time lag. Roofs light, reflective surfaces, with cavity, well insulated. axis east -west).

Rooms single banked,

permanent provision for air movement. Large openings 40- 80 % Light walls, short external time lag. In north and south walls the openings at body at bogy height on windward side. Walls and floors light, low thermal capacity. Roofs light, reflective surfaces.

DEROB-LTH Simulation
By running the ten different cases following results have been obtained: Habicon house compare to hollow block house Both houses have been compare under the same conditions: galvanized iron roof, La Garita climate, summe r day, SW-WE orientation. During the day (8 18 hours) for the three rooms the indoor temperature of the Habicon house is higher than for block houses in the range of 0.3 3.3 C. Between 17 24 hours, when the outdoor temperature decreases, the indoor temperature keeps higher but in the range of 0.5 1.6 C. For the time between 1 6 hours sometimes indoor temperature is equal to outdoor but mainly remains lower than outdoor in the range of 0.1 1.3 C. This behavior corresponds to a light material, with short time lag, which is the case of the thin walls of Habicon system.

Habicon House vrs Hollow Block House 40 Temperature C 35 30 25 20 15 1 4 7 10 13 Hours 16 19 22

Liv-Kit Block Bedr1 Blocks Bedr2 Blocks Liv-Kit Habicom Bedr1 Habicon Bedr2 Habicon Outdoor T

Figure 15: Habicon house vrs Hollow block house

Habicon house summer and winter days The performance of the Habicon house was evaluated for both summer and winter days under following conditions: galvanized iron roof, la Garita climate, SW-NE orientation. In both cases the temperatures behavoirs the same during the day, but in winter days between 0 7 hours the temperaures decreases more than in the summer days.

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Comfort Analysis of Habicon Houses

Habicon house: Summer vrs Winter

Temperature C

37 32 27 22 17 12 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 Hours Liv-Kit Summer Liv-Kit Winter Outdoor Sum Outdoor Wint

Figure 16: Habicon hous: Summer day vrs Winter days

Habicon house in two different orientations To evaluate the effect of the orientation on the indoor temperature the model were analized in two orientations: X-axis: SW-NE because this is the orientation of the existing house. X-axis: W-E beacause of the wind direction. Changing the house main faade orientation from SW-NE axis to W-E to take advantage of the predominant winds coming from the East in La Garita, did not improve the indoor temperature. Indoor temperatures differences to outdoor temperatures are the same for both orientations. During the day for the SW-NE orientation the temperatures differences with outdoor are between 0.2 3.5 C while for the W-E orientation in the range of 0.2 3.9 C.

Habicon house: two orientations, summer day

37 Temperature C 32
Outdoor T

27 22 17 12 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 Hours

Liv - Kit SE-NE Liv - Kit E-W

Figure 17: Habicon house: Two orientations

Habicon house with roof insulation To analyzed the effect of a roof insulation for the Habicon house, a model based on Volume 2 (Bedroom 1) with a flat roof and a volume between the roof and the insulation material were built to simulated the same effect that take place in the practice. Four different thickness of the insulation material were evaluated. As shown in figure 10, the insulation has an effect in the indoor temperature but this effect has been not improved by increasing its thickness of the insulation.

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Habicon House Insulated Roof

35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 Hours

0 mm 1 mm 3 mm 3 mm 6 mm 50 mm Outdoor T

Figure 18: Habicon house with insulated roof

Habicon house with ceiling By analyzing the results of the thermal behavior of the Habicon house without insulation and with a roof insulation, it was recommended to evaluate the ceiling effect on the indoor temperatures. Therefore a new case with the same parameters as the base case were analized and the results indicated an important decrease of the indoor temperatures. The figure 12 shows the results compare the hollow block house and the habicon houses under different conditions.

Temperature C

Habicon Houses different roof conditions vrs Block House

40 Temperaure C 35 30 25 20 15 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 Hours

Habicon 1 mm Isolation Blocks House Habicon without Ceiling Habicon with Ceiling Outdoor T

Figure 19: Habicon house with different roof conditions

Habicon house in three different climates Habicon house with galvanized iron roof in one case and concrete tiles roof for the other case, for a summer day and a SW-WE orientation were additionaly simulated for Limn and Liberia climates. Comparing the indoor temperatures for the three cases, the critical indoor temperatures are found in the case of Liberia with temperatures differences up to 7.4 degrees between indoor and outdoor specific for the small volume. The house in Limn shows differences up to 6.3 C while La Garita reaches indoor temperature differences up to 3.3 C.

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Comfort Analysis of Habicon Houses

Habicon 3 Climates (GI Roof) 45 Temperature C 40 35 30 25 20 15 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 Hours

Liv-Kit La Garita Liv-Kit Limn Liv-Kit Liberia Out-T-La Garita Out-T Limn Out-T Liberia

Figure 20: Habicon house withgalvanized iron roof and 3 different climates

Almost the same temperature differences were reached using concrete tiles instead of galvanized iron, wich confirms the insulation or the ceiling as major solutions to improve the indoor temperatures using Habicon.
Habicon 3 Climates (Tiles Roof) 45 Temperature C 40 35 30 25 20 15 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 Hours
Liv-Kit La Garita Liv-Kit Limn Liv-Kit Liberia Out-T La Garita Out-T Limn Out-T Liberia

Figure 21: Habicon house with roof tiles and 3 different climates

Conclusions
1. 2. 3. Habicon, due to its thin wall, seems to have the behavoir of a light material, with short time lag. During the day the indoor temperature of the Habicon house is higher than for block houses in the range of 0.3 3.3 C. Changing the house main faade orientation from SW-NE axis to W-E, to take advantage of the winds coming from the East, did not improve the indoor temperature. The performance of the Habicon house regarding indoor climate for summer and winter days under same conditions did not show significant differences. Almost the same temperature differences were reached using concrete tiles instead of galvanized iron, wich confirms the insulation or the ceiling as major solutions to improve the indoor temperatures using Habicon in the analysed cases. The results determined that with this house desing Habicon houses will improve the indoor climate conditions mainly by implementing the use of ceiling but an insulation is also a good solution. Comparing the indoor temperatures under the same conditions for the three climates, the critical indoor temperatures are found in the case of Liberia. According with Mahoney recommendations for La Garita and Liberia climates, heavy internal and external walls are suitable. For both cases Habicon with its think walls does not fullfill the requirements of a heavy wall. A posibility to following Mahoney recomendations could be the use of Habicon walls as a

4. 5.

6.

7. 8.

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sandwich wall made of two Habicon panels with air space to control the heat transfer to the indoor. 9. The indoor climate conditions in Habicon house will for sure improve with the design modifications like changing the placement and size of the openings, more ventilation, but these aspects were no analysed in this study. 10. According with the results, that shown quite high temperatures compare with measurements made on site, further studies analysing other options, that due to time reasons were not evaluate in this study, for instance the use of light colors for the walls, different house designs, etc, are encourage in order to have wither knowledge about the thermal performance of the Habicon system.

References
Frota, Ansia Barros & Sueli Ramos Schiffer 2001 Manual de Conforto Trmico 5th Edition. Studio Nobel, So Paulo Johansson, Erik 2002 Thermal properties of building materials, Housing Development & Management (HDM), Lund University ASHRAE Handbook of fundamentals 1997 Kvist, Hasse DEROB LTH for MS Windows, User Manual version 99.02+8 Evans, Martin 1980 Housing, Climate and Comfort. Architectural Press, London. Evans, Martin 1994 Diseo Bioambiental y Arquitectura Solar. Secretara de Extensin Universitaria y Bienestar Estudiantil, Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseo y Urbanismo, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Hans Rosenlund 2001 Climatic Design of Buildings using Passive Techniques. HDM, Lund University, Sweden. Wilbert Herrera 1985 Clima de Costa Rica (Costa Rican climate). Editorial UNED, San Jos, Costa Rica.

Acknowledgements
Thanks to the Swedish International Development Agency SIDA for supporting this program. To Lund University for sponsoring Architecture, Energy and Environment 2002, to the Housing Development and Management (HDM) faculty and staff for the efforts to make this program a successfully achievement. My special thanks to our tutors Karin, Hans, Laura, and Erik for their help and support. To Kiki, Lena and Annette for all the great help during the course. Thanks to my colleagues at CIVCO-ITCR for their support allowing me to participate in this course. And to all my classmates for sharing their particular experiences and good time in Lund.

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Comfort Analysis of Habicon Houses

Appendix
Appendix 1: Bioclimatic Chart of Limn Climate

Bioclimatic Diagram (Givoni)

Location Longitude () Latitude () Altitude (m)

Estacin Meteorologica Limn / Costa Rica

84 10 3

Climatic data
Monthly mean Max. temp (C) Min RH (%) Pressure (Pa) Min temp (C) Max RH (%) Pressure (Pa) Jan. 29 63 2521 20.6 83 2012 Feb. Mar. Apr. May 29.1 29.8 30.2 30.6 57 55 60 70 2294 2305 2573 3071 20.6 21.1 22 22.7 82 81 80 85 1988 2025 2113 2343 Jun. Jul. 30.3 29.7 74 74 3191 3083 22.8 22.5 91 89 2523 2423 Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 30.1 30.5 30.4 29.6 29 73 76 78 71 67 3112 3315 3383 2941 2681 22.4 22.4 22.2 22 21.2 89 91 92 87 85 2409 2463 2460 2298 2138

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 4000 AC: Cooling C: Comfort DH: Dehumidification EC: Evaporative Cooling H: Heating I: High Inertia IG: Internal Gains INV: High Inertia and Night Ventilation V: Ventilation

40%

3000

DH
30% jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sept oct nov dec 20%

Vapour Pressure (Pa)

2000

INV

1000

0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Temperature (C)

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Appendix 2: Bioclimatic Chart of Liberia Climate

Bioclimatic Diagram (Givoni)

Location Longitude () Latitude () Altitude (m)

Estacin Meteorolgica Liberia/Costa Rica

85 10 85

Climatic data
Monthly mean Max. temp (C) Min RH (%) Pressure (Pa) Min temp (C) Max RH (%) Pressure (Pa) Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 33.3 34.4 35.4 35.9 34.1 32 32.1 32 31.2 31 31.5 32.5 45 50 40 45 70 74 54 47 60 55 76 58 2300 2717 2297 2656 3741 3515 2580 2233 2724 2469 3510 2834 20.7 21.2 21.6 22.8 23.4 23 22.8 22.6 22.3 22.2 21.5 21.1 90 88 95 95 85 91 90 92 100 100 91 88 2195 2213 2449 2634 2444 2554 2496 2520 2690 2674 2331 2200

4000 AC: Cooling C: Comfort DH: Dehumidification EC: Evaporative Cooling H: Heating I: High Inertia IG: Internal Gains INV: High Inertia and Night Ventilation V: Ventilation

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50%

40%

3000

DH
30% jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sept oct nov dec 20%

Vapour Pressure (Pa)

2000

INV

1000

0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Temperature (C)

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