Volume : 1 | Issue : 10 | October 2012
ISSN - 2250-1991
Architecture
Research Paper
Explanation of Indian climatic zones and
incorporation of passive architectural
techniques in buildings
*Pavan M Bhatt **Ashish Nayyar
* Student of Swami Keshvanand Institute of Technology, Management & Gramothan
** Reader of Swami Keshvanand Institute of Technology, Management & Gramothan
ABSTRACT
Energy crisis is the major problem in the world due to depleting fossil fuel resources. Moreover the excessive use of fossil
fuel is adversely affecting the environment. Therefore its a need to develop techniques to harvest more and more renewable
energy to fulfil energy demand of the world. In commercial and residential buildings, main energy consumption is in heating,
cooling and illumination. In other words, energy is mainly consumed in maintaining indoor comfort conditions. Nowadays
architects are designing buildings, which give comfortable indoor condition with less energy consumption. This can be done
by passive architectural techniques. In this paper basic principles of the passive solar architectures are presented. Basically,
there are two techniques of the passive architectures, one is simple and the other one is advance. Simple technique is nothing
but the factors, which need to be considered before constructing the building. In advance techniques additional features are
added in the building to enhance the comfortable level. These techniques are also explained in this paper.
Keywords : Climates, Climatic factors & Passive architectural
[Link]:
Energy and architecture form a natural marriage if indoor
comfort and respect for environment are secured. Although
energy conservation is an important issue in present days
but human thermal comfort is the primary concern in case
of buildings. But energy conservation becomes a necessity
rather than an option in both commercial and residential buildings without compromising the human thermal comfort. The
use of day lighting and solar energy for heating and cooling
as well as enhanced natural ventilation not only reduce the
commercial energy demand but also minimize the negative
impact on environment too.
Comfort condition depends on local climatic conditions. Incorporation of passive architectural techniques in buildings
improve indoor comfort condition as well as minimize energy
consumption.
Indian climatic zones are described in following chapter.
2. Indian Climates, Climatic factors & Passive architectural design concept:
Our country can be divided in 5 climatic zones. All climatic
zones along with corresponding climatic values are narrated
in table 1.
Design of the building depends on the climate and climatic
factors. Following section describe the basic guidelines for
designing the building in the different climate.
2.1. Design guidelines:
1.1 Hot and dry climate:
Decreasing the exposed surface
Increasing the thermal resistance
Increasing shading
Increasing the heat barriers
Increasing ventilation
Increasing air exchange rate from the cooler parts of the
building
Evaporative cooling
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2.2 Warm and humid climate
Decreasing exposed surface
Increasing thermal resistance
Increasing heat barrier
Increasing shading
Increasing ventilation
Decreasing humidity level
Table 1 (Specification of different bio-climatic zones of India)
2.3 Moderate climate:
Decreasing the exposed surface
Increasing thermal resistance
Increasing shading
Increasing ventilation
2.4 Cold and cloudy and Cold and sunny climate:
Increasing thermal capacity
Reducing heat loss
Decreasing air exchange rate
Avoiding shading
Gain maximum solar energy
There are simple and advance methods to achieve comfortable thermal conditions in the buildings. Simple methods are
basically the factors which need to be consider before designing the buildings like site condition, building orientation, planform and building envelope. Simple technique is explained in
the in the following section.
3. Simple Techniques:
Main principle of solar passive building is to collect, store, distribute and control the flow of thermal energy by the natural
heat transfer principle. Flow of thermal energy is controlled
by providing dampers, operable windows, moving insulation,
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and shading devices.
There are basically two techniques of passive solar building:
simple and advance techniques. Simple technique is described in the following section.
3.1 Simple Techniques:
Simple technique is the factors which need to be consider
before designing the building to achieve comfortable indoor
environment. Which are as follows,
1. Site condition
2. Building Orientation
3. Planform
4. Building envelope
3.1.1. Site condition
Careful selection of the site of the building can help to save
considerable amount of the energy and provide comfortable
condition through out the year. Site selection mainly depends
on the macroclimate and microclimate. Macroclimate includes
solar radiation, ambient temperature, air humidity, precipitation, wind and sky condition, which are already explained in
the previous section. Whereas microclimate involve following
factors:
1. Landform
2. Vegetation
3. Water bodies
4. Street width and orientation
5. Open spaces
[Link]. Landform:
Land at the location may be flat, sloping and undulate. So
depending on the climatic condition the building is to be constructed. If the land is flat than the temperature of the wind
and velocity of the wind is almost uniform. But if the land is
sloping towards north or south than building construction
can be different than the flat land. If slope is towards south
than building will receive good amount of the solar energy,
but if slope is toward northward than building will receive less
amount of solar energy. If the land is undulate, like having valleys, than the wind velocity and temperature vary at different
places. As in the valley the air is heated and moves upward
and cold air rush in the valley and so the temperature of valley drops.
[Link]. Vegetation:
Location of the vegetation near or away form the building
is also depends on the climate. In cold climate vegetation
should grow away from the building as it reduces the amount
of solar energy falling on the building. But in hot climate it
should grow nearer to the building.
[Link]. Water bodies:
Location of the building near the water bodies like lake, pond,
sea etc. creates comfort and discomfort depending on the climate. In the hot and dry climate building is preferred to locate
nearer to the water body, as water provides evaporating cooling and also increases the humidity. But if building is to be
constructed in the humid climate than it is preferred to locate
building away from the water body as by increasing humidity
it creates discomfort.
[Link]. Street width and orientation:
Street width in the hot climate should be such that the building should mutually cast the shadow on each other during the
day, so as to reduce the heat gain by the building, where as
reverse is true for the cold climate. For good ventilation street
should be oriented parallel to the wind flow, and to restrict the
flow of air street can be oriented at some angle or normal to
the wind flow.
[Link]. Open space:
Depending on the climate open space is covered with the
grass or can be constructed with the good finishing surface
to reduce or increase the heat gain by the building. In hot climate first case is true where as in cold climate second is true.
ISSN - 2250-1991
3.1.2 Building orientation:
Building orientation should be such that it should gain maximum solar energy in the winter and minimum in the summer.
Best orientation of the building is to keep long axis of the
building parallel to the east-
Figure 1
west so that large portion of the building is exposed to the
sun in the winter in the northern hemisphere. Where as in the
summer sun will move high in the sky and so small portion is
exposed to the sun during the day.
3.1.3. Planform:
Planform affect the amount of solar energy received by the
building and ventilation, it plays important role in heat gain or
loss and in ventilation. When wind is obstructed than it creates pressure difference, and so proper connection between
low pressure side and high pressure side should be provided
for the good ventilation. The surface to volume ration determines the magnitude of the heat gain or loss, higher the ration
higher will be the gain and loss. So I cold climate this ration
is kept small.
3.1.4. Building envelope:
Building envelope plays important role in the heat gain or loss
by the building, they are as following;
1. Roof
2. Walls
3. Fenestration (opening)
4. External colour and texture
5. Shading
[Link]. Roof:
As roof gain significant amount of solar energy during the day.
So it can be constructed with heavy RCC or with thin sheets
depending on the climate. With thick roof it delay the transmission of the heat whereas thin sheet increase the heat gain
by the building.
[Link]. Wall:
Wall gains large amount of solar energy during the day. It is
estimated that 25% of total heat is gain by the load. So wall
can be made thick or thin. Thick wall delay the transmission
of the solar energy. Also in hot climate wall can be made form
the material which has low heat transfer coefficient.
[Link]. Fenestration:
Proper placing of the windows and opening also provide comfort condition. It controls the heat gain by the building, provide
ventilation and also admit daylight. But proper location plays
important role in comfort condition, as during designing of the
window it should keep in mind that hot air will rise and so
the location of window should be at a proper height. Glazing
of the windows also plays an important role, like by applying
high reflective gazing on the window it will admit less amount
of light in the building and reduce heat gain by the building.
[Link]. External colour and texture:
External colour and texture also plays an important role to
reduce or to increase heat gain by the building. With good
surface finish and white colour reflects more and so reduce
the heat gain by the building, and rough texture provides self
shading. Whereas dark colour increase the heat gain.
[Link]. Shading:
By providing the shading on the wall and to the windows significant amount of heat gain can be reduced.
In advance technique special construction is done in the
building to enhance the thermal comfortable condition. This
method is explained in the following sections.
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4. Advance Techniques:
In advance techniques some external features and some additional construction is provided for comfortable indoor environment. These techniques are described here.
4.1. Direct gain:
This method is generally used in the cold climate. This technique is cheap and has direct approach to the solar energy. In
this technique sun light is directly admitted in the living place
and walls and floor is constructed in such a way that it provide
appropriate amount of thermal mass.
Figure.2 Direct heat gain technique
([Link])
In this method south facing glazed windows are placed to admit sun light and solar energy is absorbed by the walls and
floor which provides thermal storage. And at night this heat is
librated by the thermal mass and keeps living space warm.
Direct gain can be achieved by different forms like by constructing clerestories, skylights, green house. In summer to
provide comfortable condition proper shading devices and
insulations are applied to the glazing to reduce the heat gain.
Colour of the internal walls and floor also affect the heat gain
by the building. For distributing light, lighter shades are preferred. Thus the storage surface should be of medium-dark
colour, whereas lightweight material should have light colour
to reflect sunlight on the walls and floor. In this technique fluctuation of indoor temperature is very high.
4.2. Thermal storage wall:
In this method thermal wall is placed between the living area
and glazing which prevent the sun light to directly entering
into the living place. This approach is generally used in the
cold climate. There are many ways to construct walls which
are as follows:
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As the air between wall and glazing heats up, it starts moving upward and it enters into the living space. This process
continues in the night as wall is warmer than the air. Whereas
in summer vent 1, 2, and 4 are kept open. As the air between
glazing and wall heats up it starts moving upward and it is discharged into atmosphere from vent 1 and so fresh air drawn
in to the living space from the windows and opening. So by
this way ventilation and cooling can be done in summer. To
reduce the heat transfer from the glazing to outside, insulation
is applied outside to the glazing in the winter at the night time.
4.2.2. Water wall:
In this method water drums are placed behind the glazing and
water is used as a thermal storage. As water has high specific heat it can store large amount of heat, and also in water,
temperature distribution is uniform. Heat transfer is also fast
in water wall so temperature control is needed and also some
times vents are provided to maintain the temperature of living
space. Water wall needs less area of wall per square foot of
space as compared to the masonry wall. Temperature fluctuation in case of water wall is also less as compared to the
masonry wall.
4.2.3. Transwall:
This wall incorporates the features of both the direct gain and
trombe wall. Transwall is semitransparent which admit some
portion of the solar rays and which provides heating and illuminating the living space. Whereas, some portion of solar
energy is stored in the wall and which is transferred latter,
which is used in the night.
4.3 Specially added features:
Apart from the thermal wall and direct gain methods, there are
some constructions which are constructed into the buildings
to enhance the indoor environment, which are described in
the following section.
4.3.1. Roof pond:
Roof pond is constructed on the roof which collects the solar
energy and stores it in the form of heat in the water, which is
filled into roof pond. Roof pond can be constructed, or separate tank is placed on the roof, which consist glazing on the
top of it and which consist movable insulation.
Figure 4.3 Roof Pond ([Link])
1. Trombe wall
2. Water wall
3. Trans wall
4.2.1. Trombe wall:
In this method glazing is applied on the out side of the wall.
As the sun rays admit from the glazing it heat the air and
warm air starts moving upward and cold air enters the space
between wall and glazing. In winter vent 1 and vent 4 are kept
closed and vent 3 and 2 are kept open which is shown in the
figure 4.2
Figure 4.2 Trombe Wall
In summer, during day time this insulation covers the glazing whereas in night it is removed and so cooling of water
provides cooling effect in the room. In addition to this, water
is also sprinkled on the roof to provide evaporating cooling. In
winter as the water in the pond heats up during the day this
heat is conducted from the roof and which heats up the air
in the living space and provide comfortable condition in the
winter. And during the night insulation is kept on the glazing of
the roof pond to reduce the heat transfer.
4.3.2. Green house:
In the building, green house can be constructed in such a
way that green house and living space can have one common
wall. By this way green house can be used to grow vegetation
in the cold climate and also it can be used as a solar collector
and storage. As sun rays fall on the green house common
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wall which separates the living space and green house absorb the solar energy which is conducted in the living space.
Common wall can be masonry or water wall. If water wall is
used then temperature fluctuation of the living space is small
as compared to the masonry wall. To increase thermal load
water filled container can also be placed in the green house.
Thermal storage can also be constructed by means of active
rock storage system. In this system warm air is allow to pass
through the rock bed which is constructed below the floor or
the rock filled wall, which stores the heat and at night it is
utilized for heating indoor cool air.
4.3.3. Solar chimney:
This is the new approach to incorporate chimney type construction in the building, which acts as a thermal storage in
the building. Solar chimney basically is the construction which
is incorporated in the roof of the building, which has one absorber plate which absorbs the solar energy, which is south
facing in northern hemisphere and while passing from the solar chimney air gets heated and then it is supplied to the living
space by opening the vent 2 . Whereas in summer vent 2 is
kept closed and vent 1 of solar chimney is kept open which is
shown in the figure 4.4 Figure 4.4solar chimney
So as the air gain heat form the absorber plate it starts moving upward and it goes in to the atmosphere form vent 1 and
air enters in the living space from the windows and openings
and by this way good ventilation can be provided.
ISSN - 2250-1991
to the rock storage and cool water or air comes in to the collector. So by thermo siphoning effect flow takes place in this
system.
4.3.5. Wind tower:
Wind tower is generally used in hot and dry climate for cooling
purpose, only the requirement is that site should experience
good wind flow. Wind tower is a hollow tower type construction in the building which has opening at the top of the tower.
During the day time as the wind tower is heated due to the
solar radiation, air also gets heated up and it starts moving
up. Due to this, from the windows and ventilation opening air
comes into the living space and by this way good ventilation
can be provided. During the night as tower gets cool down,
air also gets cool down and sinks into the living space. By this
way cooling effect can be produce. To enhance the cooling effect during the day time, water sprinkler is kept which humidifies the air as well as it also cools the incoming air. And this air
is sinks in to the living space and provides cooling.
4.3.6. Earth wind tunnel:
In this technique, wind tower is attached with the underground
tunnel. Openings are provided in to the living space for the
air flow. This is generally used in the hot and dry climate for
cooling purpose. Below few meters in the earth, the temperature is almost constant, in summer temperature is below the
ambient temperature and in winter it is above the ambient
temperature. So in winter air while passing through the tunnel, gains heat and which heats up the living space. Whereas,
in summer air gets cool down while passing through the tunnel and which provide cooling of the living space. Some times
instead of the tunnel pipes are buried in the ground. Also by
sprinkling water on the ground and by shading it by growing
vegetation temperature of tunnel can also be reduced, which
in turn enhance the cooling effect.
These methods are used only when the new building is to
be constructed, but there are certain techniques which can
be used for the existing buildings. These techniques are discussed in the following section.
5. Retrofitting in the building:
In the existing building, very simply passive solar retrofit could
involve without spending much money. Retrofitting is basically the method in which people can make their own decision
for the retrofitting, and can bring their own ideas for the retrofitting. It depends on the climate, which is explained in the
following section.
4.3.4. Isolated gain:
In this system solar radiation collection system and storage
system is isolated form the living space
Figure 4.5 Isolated heat gain
It gives great flexibility in construction of the building. And so
building orientation can be independent of the solar collecting
system. The collecting area required is generally 40% to 60%
of total floor area of living space. In this system solar radiation
heats up the air or water which is circulated in to the collector
system and as it gets warm up it moves up and gives heat
5.1. Cold climate:
In the cold climate, main aim is to increase the solar gain, and
reduce the heat loss from the building, so in the existing building some arrangement is done to achieve the same. Some
methods are as following:
1. To reduce the heat loss from the building, some insulation
is provided at the outer surface of the wall.
2. At night heat is lost by the windows, so insulation or shutter is provided for the windows. Shutters are generally
placed at the inside surface of the window.
3. To increase solar gain reflectors are placed out side to the
windows.
4. Some times reflectors are placed outside the windows on
the shady side of the building to increase the solar gain.
5. With a little work, an electric motor can be attached to
a reflector to make it rotate incrementally throughout the
day allowing a steady beam of light to enter a given window.
6. Some times water filled bottles are placed next to the
windows (in side the livings space) to make use of solar
gain by it. As sunlight strikes the wall, heat is stored in the
water which is then slowly radiated outward.
7. In Australia it is general practice to fit sun lizard, which
works on the thermosiphon principle. It mainly consists
of black painted absorber surface and glazing on the absorber plate. And it is well insulated from the other sides.
It is generally fitted to the south side. As the air gets heat-
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ed due to the absorber plate, it starts moving upward and
this air is supplied in the living space and cold air form the
living space enters in to it. So main principle is just like
trombe wall.
8. Green house can also be retrofitted in to the existing
house.
5.2. Hot climate:
In hot climate, main aim is to reduce the heat gain. Some
methods of retrofitting to reduce heat gain are discussed below:
1. To reduce solar gain during day time reflectors can be
placed out side the window glazing, and during night time
it can be removed.
2. Roof pond can also be constructed for the cooling in the
hot climate.
3. Some times along with roof pond, water sprinkler is also
used to spray the water on the roof for providing evaporating cooling.
4. To reduce solar gain internal curtains are also used for
the window.
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5. To reduce solar heat gain, shading devices are used.
These devices are such that its length can be varied as
per the suns motion during the day.
6. Surface of the roof or terrace is so constructed that it
reflects the sun rays which falls on it. Sometime roof is
painted with white colour.
7. Conduction of the heat is also depends on the colour and
texture of the exterior surface. The closer to white colour,
and the smoother and shinier, the more reflective the surface and the cooler the building will be.
6. Conclusion:
This paper explains different climatic conditions of India &
passive architectural techniques. Explained passive architectural techniques can be used in building, depending on location, at conceptual stage to minimize energy consumption.
Individual techniques detail analysis can be done to optimise
building construction with respect to climatic zone.
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Ghaemmaghami P. S., Mahmoudi M., Wind tower a natural cooling system in Iranian traditional architecture, International Conference Passive and Low Energy Cooling
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