Passive design strategies for residential buildings in a hot dry climate in Nigeria

Abstract

The hot dry climatic zone of Nigeria is characterized by a period of high temperature and low relative humidity between February and May. Between these months, the daily mean maximum indoor temperature of most buildings is about 37ºC with low indoor air velocity. A study of residential buildings in Bauchi state, Nigeria shows that most occupants of the buildings have persistent and growing problems with the indoor environment due to high indoor temperature. Most buildings are characterized by poor design in relation to the climate, which requires a great deal of energy for cooling during climatic extremes. Other problems are poor natural ventilation, inadequate surfacevolume ratio and poor building orientation. This has led to negative consequence that affect the occupant's physiological comfort, capacity for mental and physical work, health and leisure. This paper identifies passive design strategies that can be adopted in this climatic region to minimize the use of energy for cooling, improve occupant's comfort and enhance low energy architecture. The objective is to reduce overdependence on electricity demand and energy use in residential buildings. The result of the study shows that adopting certain passive design strategies through appropriate selection of building materials, proper building orientation, adequate natural ventilation and application of some design elements can provide natural cooling and reduce the energy used for cooling in the buildings. The paper concludes that this will limit the energy demand for cooling and will also result in an adapted architecture to the climatic environment, which will encourage innovation design solutions for building professionals in a hot-dry climate.

Application of Passive Cooling Techniques in Residential Buildings: A Case Study of Northern Nigeria

“…The dry season occurs between September and May, while the rainy season is between May and September. The hottest month in this reg ion is April with 40.5ºC, wh ile the coldest months are December and January, with 6.11ºC and 7.22ºC respectively [3].…”

Mitigating High Energy Consumption for Residential Buildings in The Gambia.

“…The use of vegetation to shade a house is a cooling technique that can be very effective [25]. A well-placed plant can deliver effective, cool shade, as well as add to the aesthetic value of a building.…”

Remodelling façade design for improving daylighting and the thermal environment in Abuja's low-income housing

“…The main objective of this (later) phase of evaluation was to examine the indoor thermal experience of the residents in relation to the outside air temperature across the various neighbourhoods. Likewise, Akande and Adebamowo [18] reported the findings of a comfort field study of residential properties in Bauchi in northern Nigeria. Akinwolemiwa and Gwilliam [19], on the other hand, have explored low energy and passive cooling opportunities to improve thermal comfort in low-income residences in Lagos through the use of financially affordable living walls (vertical green systems).…”