Performance of passive design strategies in hot and humid regions. Case study: Tangerang, Indonesia

Abstract

The building sector is one of the largest energy consumers worldwide. Especially in the hothumid Southeast Asian region, this sector consumes about 30% of primary energy demand. This is mainly dominated by air conditioning systems to provide space cooling and dehumidifying. In this paper, three passive design strategies to reduce cooling energy and attain a good daylight environment in an office in Tangerang, Indonesia, will be evaluated using both measurement and simulation methods. Improving thermal insulation, natural ventilation, and solar shading are the strategies studied in this paper. The measurement result shows that the excessive daylight can be reduced by solar shading and the indoor temperature can be reduced by both solar shading and natural ventilation. The result of the simulation also validates the effects of shading and natural ventilation on lowering the indoor temperature and reducing the cooling load. Besides, it is proved that the difference in the building's airtightness can cause an obvious difference in the effect of natural ventilation. There will be a large potential to adopt passive design even in hot and humid regions if the strategies are applied appropriately and good performance of the building, including high airtightness and proper thermal insulation, is guaranteed.

An overview of motivators and challenges of passive design strategies

“…While, adoption of PDS in Indonesia's construction industry can be traced back to a decade or earlier [29], in the last five years or so, there has been a surge in interest in PDS adoption among a wide range of construction stakeholders [30]. It was found that Indonesia was highly aware of PDS in the construction industry, however, the usage of the technology in the country was low [31]. Studies found very high awareness of PDS among the surveyed population of construction stakeholders, compared to the low adoption rate of only 4% [32,33].…”

Impact of Passive Energy Efficiency Measures on Cooling Energy Demand in an Architectural Campus Building in Karachi, Pakistan

“…Natural ventilation rooms are dependent on outdoor temperatures and the existence of openings allowing airflow between the rooms and adjacent environments [61]. Case A is suitable for ACB modification, since it gives the highest reduction in energy demand and is the closest to the comfortable temperatures, and the airtightness standard of 0.6 ACH [62,63] and the airflow standard of 0.35 m 3 /s [46] in Karachi. Figure 11 presents the heat transmission in the modified building envelope.…”

Growblock: An Alternative Solution for Indoor Thermal and Visual Comfort Improvement

“…Thus, it potentially can reduce the need for mechanical systems for cooling especially in tropical countries [27], [28]. Some of the passive design strategies that are most widely used in tropical countries, such as Indonesia, include responses to building and site orientation, applying shading or second skins, utilizing natural ventilation and natural light [29], [30]. This is due to more straightforward execution and relatively cheaper costs.…”