Introduction to Environmental or Climatic Design

(continuation_Part 3)

C. CLIMATIC DESIGN

The climatic design of a building is a method which helps to reduce the building energy
demand for heating and cooling and also it aims to use natural energy resources in order to
provide more comfort in buildings.

The Key Objectives of Climatic Design:

 To reduce energy cost of a building.

 To use "natural energy" instead of mechanical system and power.
 To provide comfortable and healthy environment for people.

Factors Affecting Climatic Design:

The local micro-climate and site factors will affect the actual environmental conditions
of the building. Micro-climates are small regions within a general climate zone that have their
own unique climatic conditions.

Factors that cause micro-climate:

1. Solar Radiation - Sun-exposure in an area, especially when it comes to hillsides and

mountains.

Sun Path
 o Solar radiation is the radiant energy received from the sun.
o It is the intensity of sunrays falling per unit time per unit area and is usually
expressed in Watts per square metre (W/m2 ).
o The radiation incident on a surface varies from moment to moment depending on
its geographic location (latitude and longitude of the place), orientation, season,
time of day and atmospheric conditions.
o Solar radiation is the most important weather variable that determines whether a
place experiences high temperatures or is predominantly cold.

Solar Radiation: Effect of Time

2. Temperature - a degree of hotness or coldness the can be measured using a thermometer.

It's also a measure of how fast the atoms and molecules of a substance are moving. It is
measured in degrees on the Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin scales.

Ambient Temperature
Source: Oblack, Rachelle. "A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Ambient Air Temperature."
ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/what-is-ambient-air-temperature-3443637.

In weather, ambient temperature refers to the current air temperature —the

overall temperature of the outdoor air that surrounds us. In other words, ambient
air temperature is the same thing as "ordinary" air temperature. When indoors,
ambient temperature is sometimes called room temperature.

When calculating the dew point temperature, the ambient temperature is

also referred to as the dry-bulb temperature. The dry bulb temperature is a
measure of the dry air temperature without evaporative cooling.
What Does Ambient Air Temperature Tell Us?

Unlike maximum high and minimum low temperatures, ambient air

temperature tells you nothing about the weather forecast. It simply tells what the
air temperature is right now, outside your door. As such, its value constantly
changes minute-by-minute.

Do's and Dont's of Measuring Ambient Air Temperature

To measure the ambient air temperature, all you need is a thermometer

and to follow these simple rules. Don't and you'll risk getting a "bad" temperature
reading.
o Keep the thermometer out of direct sunlight. If the sun is shining on your
thermometer, it's going to record the heat from the sun, and not the ambient
heat in the air. For this reason, always be careful to place thermometers in the
shade.
o Don't place your thermometer too low near the ground or too high above
it. Too low, and it will pick up excess heat from the ground. Too high and it
will cool from winds. A height of around five feet above ground works best.
o Place the thermometer in an open, well-ventilated area. This keeps the air
circulating freely around it, which means it will represent the temperature of
the surrounding environment.
o Keep the thermometer covered. Shielding it from the sun, rain, snow, and
frost provides a standardized environment.
o Place it over a natural (grassy or dirt) surface. Concrete, pavement, and
stone attract and store heat, which they can then radiate towards your
thermometer giving it a higher temperature reading than the actual
environment.

Ambient vs. Apparent ("Feels-Like") Temperatures

Ambient temperature can provide a general idea of whether you will need
a jacket or a sleeveless top, but it does not provide much information about how
the weather will feel to an actual human being as she steps outside. That's because
the ambient temperature doesn't take into account the relative humidity of the air
or the impact of the wind on human perceptions of heat or cold.
The amount of moisture (mugginess) or humidity in the air can make it
harder for sweat to evaporate; this, in turn, will make you feel warmer. As a
result, the heat index will increase even if the ambient air temperature will remain
steady. This explains why dry heat is often less bothersome than moist heat.
Winds can play a role in how cold a temperature will feel to human skin.
The wind chill factor can cause the air to have a perceived lower temperature.
Thus, an ambient temperature of 30 degrees Fahrenheit can feel like 30 degrees,
20 degrees, or even ten degrees in a stiff breeze.
 Concepts Related To Dew Point Temperature
Source: http://tornado.sfsu.edu/geosciences/classes/m356/Dewpoint.htm

All gases can be "forced" to become liquid (condense) by the process of

cooling. For conditions on the earth, only one gas can be condensed by cooling, water
vapor. The temperature at which such condensation would occur is called the DEW
POINT TEMPERATURE. (Dew point is the temperature at which saturation occurs.)

The difference between the dew point temperature and the actual temperature is
related to RELATIVE HUMIDITY. When the temperature is cooled to the dewpoint
then the relative humidity is 100%. If there is a large difference between the temperature
and the dewpoint temperature, then the relative humidity is very low (e.g., 10%).

It can be shown that the dew point temperature is also related to the total number
of water vapor molecules present. In essence, the dew point temperature also is a rough
measure of how much water vapor is present. This is why dew point temperatures are
characteristically higher over oceans and in areas that have access to air flowing from the
oceans.

Another very important aspect of the dew point temperature at the surface of the
earth is that it can be used as a rough approximation for how prone the atmosphere is to
develop thunderstorms. Roughly speaking, dew point temperatures during the warm
season of 60F or greater will be found in areas with developing thunderstorms. However,
this is the "weakest" rule of thumb, since several other factors relate to the tendency for
thunderstorms to occur, such as temperatures at the ground and aloft.

Rules of Thumb:

 The higher the dew point temperature, the greater the amount of water vapor is
present (source for clouds).

 The smaller the difference between the temperature and the dew point
temperature, the higher the relative humidity (the closer the atmosphere is to a
state in which water vapor would condense).

3. Air Humidity (Relative to Temperature)

Relative Humidity (RH)

o It is the percentage of water vapor (humidity) in the air relative to how much the
air can hold.
o Relative humidity tells how close the combination of temperature and humidity
are to saturation, but it does not tell the overall amount of moisture in the air.
 o It is controlled by air temperature.
High temperature = high water capacity = lower RH in regions with no or
few bodies of water but higher RH in regions with many bodies of
water
Low temperature = low water capacity = higher RH in regions with
bodies of water but lower RH in regions with no bodies of water
o Dry air has low RH while humid air has high RH.
o Air with 100% relative humidity (RH) is called saturated. Undersaturated air has
less than 100% RH.
o In tropical regions, high RH indicates that rain is likely to occur.

4. Precipitation

o It is any form of water (liquid or solid) falling from the sky. Precipitation
includes water in all its forms: rain, snow, hail or dew.
o It is usually measured in millimeters (mm) by using a rain gauge.
o Dew point – the temperature at which saturation occurs.
o Temperature and Relative Humidity (RH) are closely related to precipitation.

Forms of Precipitation

5. Wind
o Wind is the movement of air due to a difference in atmospheric pressure.
o Wind speed can be measured by an anemometer and is usually expressed in
metres per second (m/s).
o It is a major design consideration for architects because it affects indoor comfort
conditions by influencing the convective heat exchanges of a building envelope,
as well as causing air infiltration into the building.
o Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference, alternatively the
direction from which the wind is coming. Leeward is the direction downwind
from the point of reference. The leeward region of mountains generally remains
dry as compared to the windward.

Factors affecting wind

 Convection

(Convection is the circular motion that happens when warmer air or liquid —
which has faster moving molecules, making it less dense — rises, while the cooler
air or liquid drops down.)

6. Sky Condition – It generally refers to the extent of cloud cover in the sky or the duration of
sunshine. Under clear sky conditions, the intensity of solar radiation increases; whereas it
reduces in monsoon due to cloud cover.

Effects of Sky Condition

7. Bodies of water

Water features that are found in the urban zone influence the micro-climate
atmosphere of the encompassing regions positively when natural cooling from
evaporative process is required during the hot radiant day. Generally, the rise in water
 availability boosts evaporation, including the related uptake of latent heat that gives an
extra daytime cooling effect. Air temperature over or close to waterways is completely
different from that over land due to differences in the way water cool and warmth. Water
bodies are the best safeguards of radiation since they reveal very slight thermal response.
A good number of researches claimed that water bodies or water feature evaporative
cooling is still one of the best ways of passive cooling for cities (Manteghi et al., 2015;
Shafaghat et al., 2016; Völker et al., 2013). Whatever the case, evaporative cooling may
not work perfectly in hot and humid regions because of the high humidity (Manteghi et
al., 2018). (Mostofa, 2019)

8. Site-related Factors – the following are the important site-related factors that should be
considered when making the climate analysis:

a. Topography - natural landforms such as hills, mountains, valleys; elevation, slopes;

ground surface conditions.

b. Vegetation - height, mass, silhouette, texture, location, growth patterns

 For climate control, deciduous shade trees might be used to screen the hot
summer sun or in winter permit the solar radiation to penetrate to the ground, or
to the walls and windows of a building.
 Large shrubs can serve as windbreaks to reduce wind velocities.
 Changes in solar radiation or light levels are also possible with shading.

c. Man-made or Built forms - nearby buildings, surface conditions

References:

(n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2020, from http://thebritishgeographer.weebly.com/:

http://thebritishgeographer.weebly.com/the-climate-of-tropical-regions.html

A. John Arnfield. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/:

https://www.britannica.com/science/Koppen-climate-classification/World-distribution-of-
major-climatic-types

PAGASA. (n.d.). GOVPH Climate of the Philippines. Retrieved June 15, 2019, from
http://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/: http://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/information/climate-
philippines#:~:text=The%20Climate%20of%20the%20Philippines,high%20humidity%20and%20a
bundant%20rainfall.&text=The%20coolest%20months%20fall%20in,mean%20temperature%20o
f%2028.3oC.

Mostofa, T. & Golnoosh, M. (2019). INFLUENTIAL FACTORS OF WATER BODY TO ENHANCE. International
Transaction Journal of Engineering,, 1-12.