Development of a Bioclimatic Building Envelope for Indoor Thermal Comfort in Hot and Semi-Arid City of Petrolina in Brazil

Mehta, Ketki; Banteli, Amalia

Abstract

This chapter investigates the effect of building fabric elements on the indoor thermal comfort of a hot, dry semi-arid city, measured using the Toe–Kubota equation, focusing on Petrolina in Northeast Brazil, Southern Hemisphere. Indoor thermal comfort in free-running buildings of hot semi-arid tropical climates of the southern hemisphere is under-researched; standard tools such as Fanger’s comfort model and ASHRAE’s model for adaptive thermal comfort do not predict occupant comfort accurately enough to form informed design decisions. However, several recent thermal comfort studies, including those by Toe–Kubota, Lamberts, Candido, de Vecchi, de Dear, and Manu, have added theory, tools, and standards that extend geographically and provide a climate-specific application. This chapter examines research specific to hot semi-arid climates, with a focus on Petrolina in Brazil.

After reviewing current research and literature, the Toe–Kubota equation was adopted. The acceptable temperature range and thermal comfort requirements were defined specifically for Petrolina. The concept of preferred temperature was adopted in addition to thermal neutrality. Upper and lower thermal limits of comfort were defined separately, not equidistant from the line of thermal neutrality. Thermal modelling simulations of a free-running building were conducted to investigate thermal comfort, as defined by Toe–Kubota. Another focus throughout this investigation was to achieve thermal comfort without reducing daylight. The effect of building fabric elements—U-value, window size and orientation, thermal mass, porosity, shading, double roof, and vents—was investigated, and results were compared with recommendations of RTQ-R label and Passivhaus standards for Petrolina. Results suggest that in an unconditioned building envelope, it is possible to achieve acceptable levels of indoor thermal comfort and daylight for hot semi-arid zones for 76% of the time and a preferred temperature range 36% of the time, with adequate natural daylighting, using bioclimatic building envelope.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design (SEEDS 2021)
• Start Date: Sep 1, 2021
• Publication Date: Apr 2, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 7, 2025
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• ISBN: 9783031739477
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-73947-7_9