Comparative Thermal Analyses of Adobe and Brick Buildings in Islamabad
Abstract
Conventional urban buildings in Pakistan built of brick and concrete envelopes without much regard to the climatic events of the region are a common practice prevalent in this country. These buildings, which are normally un-insulated, consume large amounts of electricity or natural gas for heating, cooling and lighting the buildings. Except in the rural areas, where 61.24% (2015, mundi) of the population live, adobe (mud) buildings are not built in these urban areas. At the government level there are plans to build 500, 000 houses for low income families. The thermal characteristics of adobe buildings are considered in this research, which compares the comfort levels and thermal lag between two identical test buildings, one made of adobe and the other made of brick and concrete. Both the buildings are built with heat sensors embedded within the building envelopes and within the building spaces. The thermal behavior of the two test buildings were monitored since October 2011 for more than a year and was intended to encompass all seasons in Islamabad. While substantial data was received – some more than the 40,000 estimated data points – this research focuses on specific winter and summer days to analyze and synthesize the results to arrive at some meaningful conclusions.
Keywords
Building envelope, Adobe building, Brick building, Comparative thermal analysis