It is difficult to design for thermal comfort in low cost housing due to construction and dimensional constraints placed by regulatory and cost requirement. Low-cost houses have failed to achieve satisfactory temperatures which makes inhabitation bearable. Comparisons in building environmental behaviour have been made between the traditional Malay and modern houses in Malaysia using the Welsh School of Architecture Environmental Data Logger on five different types of low-cost houses. Two houses represent the traditional Malay house and the other three are typical of the modern low-cost designs. Analysis and comparison of data collected, was used to determine the degree of environmental and design failures in modern low-cost houses. The data was also used to validate a computer thermal model to contribute to the objectives of a parallel Tripartite Research Group Project, comprising of Universiti Sains Malaysia, the UK Building Research Establishment and The University of Wales, the aim of which was to investigate low cost housing design solutions. From a combination of environmental monitoring and computer modelling, it was determined that air movement, ventilation rate and sunshadings was the predominant criteria for thermal comfort in Malaysian homes. Since it was found that wind is almost calm for nearly half the year, air movement by temperature difference (stack effect) was investigated. The second part of this thesis investigated the double-skin roof as a solution to the problem of discomfort by achieving the required air movement and ventilation rate, as well as providing sunshading to enhance comfort. A scale model of 1:3 was constructed and placed under the solar simulator. Results obtained have been used to inform design guidelines.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:492980 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Rahman, Abdul Malek bin Abdul |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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