Indoor housing temperatures in tropical climates exceed values associated with thermal comfort, whenever mechanical climate-control systems usually are not allowed due electrical restrictions especially in poor areas where infrastructures are inadequate to maintain a standard of living. This study aims to address thermally efficient and sustainable constructive alternatives in such severe climates. It shows how single-family residential building can achieve comfort conditions, through low-energy consumption. Different alternatives were modelled through DesignBuilder (powered by EnergyPlus), analysing options for roofs and facades solutions for comparison with a reference model for the warmer week of the year. The finding identified the most suitable orientation, and verified the influence of key aspects, such as roof-slab shading and a combination of both façade and roofing strategies. The study compared alternatives tested for different roof systems to establish the comfort hours, showing an increase of 17.86% with solely the roof system, while actions taken exclusively on façades increased the comfort hours by up to 6.55%. Finally, the combined performance of the best roof and facade options showed improvements of up to 92.86% in terms of comfort hours, with an economic impact of 4.8% needed for the practical implementation of the best alternative.
AkhmatGZamanKShukuiTSajjadF.Does energy consumption contribute to climate change? Evidence from major regions of the world. Renew Sustain Energy Rev2014;
36: 123–134.
2.
HeinonenJJunnilaS.Residential energy consumption patterns and the overall housing energy requirements of urban and rural households in Finland. Energy Build2014;
76: 295–303.
3.
ChastasPTheodosiouTBikasD.Embodied energy in residential buildings-towards the nearly zero energy building: a literature review. Build Environ2016;
105: 267–282.
4.
AllouhiAEl FouihYKousksouTJamilAZeraouliYMouradY.Energy consumption and efficiency in buildings: current status and future trends. J Cleaner Product2015;
109: 118–130.
5.
AllouhiAKousksouTJamilAEl RhafikiTMouradYZeraouliY.Economic and environmental assessment of solar air-conditioning systems in morocco. Renew Sustain Energy Rev2015;
50: 770–781.
6.
Van VuurenDPNakicenovicNRiahiKBrew-HammondAKammenDModiVNilssonMSmithKR.An energy vision: the transformation towards sustainability interconnected challenges and solutions. Curr Opin Environment Sustain2012;
4: 18–34.
7.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate change 2014: synthesis report. Summary for policymakers.
Geneva:
IPCC, 2014.
8.
VeraSOrdenesM.Evaluación del desempeño energi-térmico de una vivienda social en Chile, utilizando un programa de simulación energética de edificios. Revista Ingeniería De Construcción2011;
17–13: 133–142.
9.
VilladiegoKVelay-DabatMA.Outdoor thermal comfort in a hot and humid climate of Colombia: A field study in Barranquilla. Build Environ2014;
75: 142–152.
10.
SharminTSteemersKMatzarakisA.Analysis of microclimatic diversity and outdoor thermal comfort perceptions in the tropical megacity Dhaka, Bangladesh. Build Environ2015;
94: 734–750.
11.
KneifelJWebbD.Predicting energy performance of a net-zero energy building: a statistical approach. Appl Energy2016;
178: 468–483.
12.
MirrahimiSMohamedMFHawLCNikIbrahimNLMohammad YusoffWFAflakiA.The effect of building envelope on the thermal comfort and energy saving for high-rise buildings in hot–humid climate. Renew Sustain Energy Rev2016;
53:1: 508–1519.
13.
LüXLuTKibertCJViljanenM.A novel dynamic modeling approach for predicting building energy performance. Appl Energy2014;
114: 91–103.
14.
BalvísESampedroOZaragozaSParedesAMichinelH.A simple model for automatic analysis and diagnosis of environmental thermal comfort in energy efficient buildings. Appl Energy2016;
177: 60–70.
15.
Información Ambiental. Ministerio de medio ambiente y recursos naturales de la república dominicana.
Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic: Author, 2013.
16.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2017Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy.
Atlanta, GA:
American Society of Heating, Refrigeration an Air-Conditioning Engineers, 2017.
17.
Boletín Balance Nacional de Energía Neta (BNEN) 2003–2013. Comisión Nacional de Energía.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic:
Author, 2013.
18.
Potencial de radiación solar en la República DominicanaComisión nacional de energía.
Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic, 2013.
19.
ImanWNaziWMRoyapoorMWangYRoskillyAP.Office building cooling load reduction using thermal analysis method a case study. Appl Energy2017;
185: 1574–1584.
20.
AldossaryNARezguiYKwanA.Domestic energy consumption patterns in a hot and humid climate: a multiple-case study analysis. Appl Energy2014;
114: 353–365.
Energyplus energy simulation software Department of Energy’s USA, https://energyplus.net/ (2015) (accessed 1 August 2018).
23.
HuangKTHwangRL.Future trends of residential building cooling energy and passive adaptation measures to counteract climate change: the case of Taiwan. Appl Energy2016;
184: 1230–1240.
24.
CardinaleNRospiGStefanizziP.Energy and microclimatic performance of Mediterranean vernacular buildings: the Sassi district of Matera and the truly district of Alberobello. Build Environ2013;
59:590–598.
25.
MartinaitisVZavadskasEKMotuzieneVVilutieneT.Importance of occupancy information when simulating energy demand of energy efficient house: a case study. Energy Build2015;
101: 64–75.
26.
BlancoJMBuruagaARojíECuadradoJPelazB.Energy assessment and optimization of perforated metal sheet double skin facades through design builder; a case study in Spain. Energy Build2016;
111: 326–336.
27.
PrajongsanPSharplesS.Enhancing natural ventilation, thermal comfort and energy savings in high-rise residential buildings in Bangkok through the use of ventilation shafts. Build Environ2012;
50:104–113.
28.
De la TorreSYousifC.Evaluation of chimney stack effect in a new brewery using DesignBuilder-EnergyPlus software. Energy Procedia2014;
62:230–235.
29.
RahmanMMRasulMGKhanMMK.Energy conservation measures in an institutional building in sub-tropical climate in Australia. Appl Energy2010;
87: 2994–3004.
30.
ChowdhuryAARasulMGKhanMMK.Thermal-comfort analysis and simulation for various low-energy cooling-technologies applied to an office building in a subtropical climate. Appl Energy2008;
85: 449–462.
31.
BekkoucheSMABenouazTYaicheMRCherierMKHamdaniMChellaliF.Introduction to control of solar gain and internal temperatures by thermal insulation, proper orientation and eaves. Energy Build2011;
43: 2414–2421.
32.
KimJHongTJeongJKooCJeongK.An optimization model for selecting the optimal green systems by considering the thermal comfort and energy consumption. Appl Energy2016;
169: 682–695.
33.
ChenYRaphaelBSekharSC.Experimental and simulated energy performance of a personalized ventilation system with individual airflow control in a hot and humid climate. Build Environ2016;
96: 283–292.
34.
PeetersLde DearRHensencJD’haeseleerW.Thermal comfort in residential buildings: comfort values and scales for building energy simulation. Appl Energy2009;
86: 772–780.
35.
Kumar MishraARamgopalM.Field studies on human thermal comfort an overview. Build Environ2013;
64: 94–106.
36.
SantosAGhisiELambertsR.Performance evaluation of long-term thermal comfort indices in building simulation according to ASHRAE standard 55. Build Environ2016;
102: 95–115.
37.
AttiaSCarlucciS.Impact of different thermal comfort models on zero energy residential buildings in hot climate. Energy Build2015;
102: 117–128.
38.
BravoGGonzálezE.Thermal comfort in naturally ventilated spaces and under indirect evaporative passive cooling conditions in hot humid climate. Energy Build2013;
63: 79–86.
39.
FilippanCFlores LarsenS.Summer thermal behaviour of compact single family housing in a temperate climate in Argentina. Renew Sustain Energy Revi2012;
16: 3439–3455.
40.
GrigolettiGSattlerMAMorelloA.Analysis of the thermal behaviour of a low cost, single-family, more sustainable house in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Energy Build2008;
40: 1961–1971.
41.
OrtizJFonsecaASalomJGarridoNFonsecaPRussoV.Comfort and economic criteria for selecting passive measures for the energy refurbishment of residential buildings in Catalonia. Energy Build2016;
110: 195–210.
42.
NganyaTLadevieBKemajouAMbaL.Elaboration of a bioclimatic house in the humid tropical region: case of the town of Douala-Cameroon. Energy Build2012;
54:105–110.
43.
JannotYDjiakoT.Economie d’ energie et confort thermique dans l’habitat en zone tropicale. Int J Refrigerat1994;
17: 166–173.
44.
Informe general del IX Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda2010 Oficina Nacional de Estadística. Ministerio de Economía, Planificación y Desarrollo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 2012.
45.
M016: Recomendaciones provisionales para espacios mínimos en la vivienda urbanaDirección general de reglamentos y sistemas. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1982.
46.
M009: Recomendaciones generales para la construcción de edificacionesDirección general de reglamentos y sistemas. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1982.
47.
YonghuaC. Integration of sentry visibility sensor into Campbell scientific data logger CR1000. In: The 12th international conference on environmental science and engineering (CEST2011), Bali Island, Indonesia, October 8–10 2011;pp.1137-1143.
48.
TaleghaniMTenpierikMVan Den DobbelsteenA.Indoor thermal comfort in urban courtyard block dwellings in the Netherlands. Build Environ2014;
82: 566–579.
49.
ISO 4217:2015. Codes for the representation of currencies.
Geneva:
The International Organization for Standardization, 2015.
