Design Optimization of Vernacular
Building in Warm and Humid Climate of
North-East India
Manoj Kumar Singh, PhD Sadhan Mahapatra, M.Tech. Jacqu es Teller, PhD
Local Environment Management and Department of Energy, Facult des Sciences Appliques,
Analysis (LEMA), Universit de Lige, Tezpur University, Department ArGEnCo, Local
Chemin des Chevreuils, 1 - 4000 Lige, Tezpur, 784028, Assam, India Environment Management and
Belgium; Integrated Research and Analysis (LEMA), Universit de Lige,
Action for Development (IRADe), C-80, Chemin des Chevreuils,
Shivalik, Malviya nagar, New Delhi 1 - 4000 Lige, Belgium
110017, India
ABSTRACT
Vernacular buildings are evolved through trial and error method over the period of time. These
buildings are constructed more on design-based approach suited to a particular climatic condition and
socio-cultural setup rather than emphasizing technological solutions or prescriptive requirements.
However, in recent times, due to quest for better thermal comfort, energy consumption is increasing in
these naturally ventilated buildings. So, it is an urgent need to analyse the present level of thermal
comfort and the occupants expectation in these buildings. In case of design based approach, passive
solar design, ventilation, insulation on the building envelope, shading and glazing area, proper
orientation of buildings etc. are the key parameters for optimization process. In this study, a vernacular
building of warm and humid climatic zone of North-East India is considered. Thermal performance
study has been done by carrying out year long measurements of environmental parameters both at
indoor and outdoor of the building along with thermal comfort survey and interaction with the
occupants. The comfort and neutral temperature for different seasons of the year have been evaluated in
the study. Solar energy modular simulation tool TRNSYS 17 is used to carry out simulations of the
building. Building 3D model is generated in TRNSYS and design optimization has been done by carrying
out parametric simulations for different scenario such as wall thermo-physical properties and thickness,
window to wall ratio, glazing type, orientation, shading, infiltration, ventilation and internal load. The
objective of the simulations is to improve the indoor thermal environment close to the comfort
temperatures obtained during comfort survey. Indoor temperature profile of the optimized building
shows significant reduction in number of discomfort hours compared to the base case.
INTRODUCTION
Vernacular buildings are the structures that use the bioclimatic concepts and locally available
building material to a large extent (Singh et al., 2011b). This provides an edge to vernacular buildings to
withstand with the local climate constraints through adaptation. However, vernacular buildings are
mainly constructed on design based approach and evolve over the period of time through trial and error
method (Ruiz and Romero, 2011; Singh et al., 2010a; Singh et al., 2010b; Singh et al., 2011b). These
buildings attract attention of researchers because these structures represent an excellent harmony
between environment, available building material and resources, socio-economic status and socio-
cultural need of occupants, climate pattern and comfort, thus putting forth a unique example of
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sustainability (Kulkarni et al., 2011; Orehounig and Mahdavi, 2011; Singh et al., 2011b). In modern
times, with the changing lifestyles, comfort standards and energy needs are increasing. Hence, it is
important to look at the energy saving potential and sustainability presented by bioclimatic aspects of
vernacular buildings (Singh et al., 2010a; Singh et al., 2010b). Vernacular buildings of North-East India
are naturally ventilated and constructed using locally available building materials. Shape and form of
these buildings are evolved over time to meet the socio-cultural and day to day requirements (Singh et
al., 2010a; Singh et al., 2011b). These buildings are still favoured by people of the region and are still
being widely constructed (Singh et al., 2010a; Singh et al., 2011b). However, in the present context of
increasing comfort requirement and energy efficiency regulation and guidelines, it is an urgent necessity
to carry out the thermal performance study of these vernacular buildings (Auliciems, 1981; Brager and
Dear de, 1998). In this study, a vernacular house located in warm and humid climate (Tezpur, India) is
considered. Selected house is modelled in TRNSYS 17 (Transient System Simulation), most widely used
solar energy modular program to carry out the thermal performance study of buildings (Bansal and
Bhandari, 1996; Beckman, 1994; Datta et al., 2001). It is a very powerful solar modeling and simulation
tool (Bansal and Bhandari, 1996; Orehouning and Mahdavi, 2011). In this study, multi-zone building is
integrated to simulation studio by Type 56. Number of studies has been carried out in different parts of
the world on the thermal performance of modern buildings by using TRNSYS. However, no study has
been done on the design aspect of the vernacular houses of North-East India. Thermal simulations are
carried out to see the effect of different design features on indoor temperature. Based on the analysis of
simulation data suggestions are made to improve the indoor temperature variation inside the house over
the year.
Table1 Properties of the selected vernacular house
House details Properties
Building type Vernacular house (Local common name : Assam type)
Climatic zone Warm and humid
Build up area (m2) 94
Brick, cement, sand, plywood, asbestos sheet/wood, galvanized tin
Building material
sheet
Ventilation type Naturally ventilated
Summer temperature : Maximum : 30 35 0C; Minimum: 22 27 0C
Temperature range
Winter temperature : Maximum : 25 30 0C; Minimum: 20 15 0C
Layout and orientation Open layout, NW-SE
Relative humidity (%) 75 - 90
Altitude (m) 48
Elevation of building 4.8 m (floor to eaves 3.8m and ceiling to roof top 1m)
North-East India is classified into three climatic zones (warm and humid, cool and humid and cold
and cloudy) and vernacular houses in each climatic zone possess distinct climatic responsive features
(Singh et al., 2007). Table 1 and 2 present the specific details and building materials of the selected
vernacular house in warm and humid climatic zone. Figure 1 presents the layout of the selected
vernacular house in warm and humid climatic zone (numbers in the Figure 1 represent the zone number).
It can be observed from Figure 1 that openings (windows and ventilators) are evenly distributed on the
facade of the house. It is found that windows of the zone 2 and 3 are made up of wood with single
glazing (30% of total window area). Ventilators are made up of wood with single glazing (35% of total
ventilator area). It is found from the thermal performance study of the selected house that the maximum
indoor temperature swing is 10 0C (Singh et al., 2010a). It is also found from thermal performance
analysis that the house is more comfortable in pre-summer and summer season compared to pre-winter
and winter season (Singh et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2010a). Figure 2 represent the 3D drawing created in
Trnsys3D and Google SketchUp. In 3D model, window on exterior faade are constructed by adding all
the windows on exterior wall of same zone (keeping the area same) to reduce the complexity of the
model. Since the selected vernacular house is naturally ventilated so auxiliary heating, cooling and
mechanical ventilation are kept off for all simulations. In case of naturally ventilated building indoor air
temperature variation is the most important parameter so entire study is focussed on analysis of indoor
temperature variation in different zones of the house. In this house zone 2 and zone 3 are occupied for
maximum duration of time so due consideration is given to the temperature profile of these two zones.
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Indoor temperature variation of base case is also compared with the data collected during thermal
monitoring work carried out in 2008 to judge the accuracy of the developed model.
Figure 1 Layout of the house with different Figure 2 3D Drawing of the vernacular
zones house
Figure 3 Methodology of the study
METHODOLOGY
Vernacular house in warm and humid climate is locally called Assam type in this region (Singh et
al., 2011b). This build form is very popular and it has wide acceptance because it fits well into social-
cultural setup, economical to construct, easy to maintain and above all meets the climatic constraints
(Singh et al., 2011b). In modern times, with changing life style, demand for better comfort and energy
use regulations is forcing occupants to explore different options that modify the indoor environment.
Thus, it becomes necessary to study the design aspects of vernacular house for its energy efficiency. This
enables us to understand the thermal behavior of the vernacular house with respect to design
modification required in the building design. Figure 3 represents the methodology followed to carry out
the present study. Parametric simulation studies are carried out by using TRNSYS and MATLAB
simulation tool is also used to process the simulation data. Three different 3D models like without false
ceiling, false ceiling with common attic space and false ceiling with individual attic space are made in
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Google SketchUp. All these models are used to carry out the simulation for all eight possible building
orientations. It has been tried to find out the best model by analyzing the simulation data which provides
close result to thermal comfort survey data (Singh et al., 2010a; Singh et al., 2011a). This house is being
selected as base case for further simulations with design modifications. Figure 3 also shows the seven
cases for which the base case model simulation is carried out with design modifications. Table 3 presents
the specific details of seven cases for which the simulations are carried out. The different scenario for the
simulation are (i) applying different insulation to the walls of base case house (ii) replacing windows and
ventilators with double glazing of base case (iii) increase and decrease the windows and ventilators area
to base case (Table 2) (iv) replace the increased windows and ventilators area with double glazing to
base case. The house considered for this study is naturally ventilated so the zone temperature is
considered as the main output parameter along with zone heat gain due to infiltration. The infiltration is
kept at 3 ACH (air changes per hour) for this naturally ventilated house for all simulation cases.
Table 2 Input parameters for base case building
Thermal conductivity Density Specific heat
Building materials
(W/m-K) (kg/m3) (kJ/kg-K)
Plaster 0.721 1762 0.84
Brick 0.811 1820 0.88
Tin sheet 61.06 7520 0.50
Asbestos sheet 0.245 1520 0.84
Wood(window, doors and ventilators) 0.17 900 1.7
Foam insulation (10cm) U1 0.144 1.4 10
Wooden wool (10 cm) U2 0.33 0.025 400
Mineral wool (10 cm) U3 0.16 0.90 80
Table 3 Wall construction and thermo-physical properties of materials with thickness
Case Wall configuration Over all heat transfer
coefficient (W/m2 K)
External wall Internal wall External Internal
wall wall
Base case+single
Plaster (1.5cm) + brick Plaster (1.5cm) + brick
glazing window with 2.103 3.056
(23cm) + plaster (1.5cm) (11cm) + plaster (1.5)
wooden frame
Base case + double Plaster (1.5cm) + brick Plaster (1.5cm) + brick
2.103 3.056
glazing window (23cm) + plaster (1.5cm) (11cm) + plaster(1.5)
Plaster (1.5cm) + brick Plaster (1.5cm) + brick
Base case + wall with
(23cm) + plaster (1.5cm) + (11cm) + plaster (1.5) + 0.316 0.331
insulation 1
insulation U1 (10cm) insulation U1 (10cm)
Plaster (1.5cm) + brick Plaster (1.5cm) + brick
Base case + wall with
(23cm) + plaster (1.5cm) + (11cm) + plaster (1.5) + 0.568 0.621
insulation 2
insulation U2 (10cm) insulation U2 (10cm)
Plaster (1.5cm) + brick Plaster (1.5cm) + brick
Base case + wall with
(23cm) + plaster (1.5cm) + (11cm) + plaster (1.5) + 0.343 0.304
insulation 3
insulation U3 (10cm) insulation U3 (10cm)
Base case + decreased Plaster (1.5cm) + brick Plaster (1.5cm) + brick
2.103 3.056
window area (23cm) + plaster (1.5cm) (11cm)+ plaster (1.5)
Base case + increased Plaster (1.5cm) + brick Plaster (1.5cm) + brick
2.103 3.056
window area (23cm) + plaster (1.5cm) (11cm) + plaster (1.5)
Base case + increased
Plaster (1.5cm) +brick Plaster (1.5cm) + brick
window area + double 2.103 3.056
(23cm) + plaster (1.5cm) (11cm) + plaster(1.5)
glazing
BUILDING MODEL GENERATION AND SIMULATION
TRNSYS 17 simulation tool is used to model the selected vernacular house to study the energy flow
in the house as well as in between the zones of the house. TRNSYS is a quasi-state simulation tool
(Bansal and Bhandari, 1996; Beckman, 1994). Its modular structure provides a tremendous flexibility
and facility to users to customise the generated model (Singh et al., 2009; Beckman et al., 1994). It runs
through hourly values but user can reduce the time step according to the system requirement (Beckman
et al., 1994; Singh et al., 2011b). A systematic approach has been adopted to develop a multi-zone model
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of the selected vernacular house in TRNSYS using TYPE 56. Type 56 in the simulation tool also
provides a provision to give 3D geometric surface information as input for detailed radiation calculation.
This increases the accuracy of the calculations. Using Trnsys3D and Google SketchUp 3D model,
vernacular house specifying zones is created. Once the building is defined properly the building variable
needs to be updated and linked to TYPE 56.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The vernacular house in warm and humid zone is generally constructed in three different pattern
such as (a) without false ceiling (room air is in direct contact with roof), (b) with ceiling and attic space
is common (most common type of construction) and (c) with ceiling but individual attic space above
each room (walls of the houses are load bearing). 3D models for above three types of construction of
vernacular house is generated in Google SketchUp and TRNBuild and imported to simulation studio as
Type 56 (multi zone building). The simulations are carried out for all 8 possible orientations (00 due
North, 450, 900, 1350, 1800, 2250, 2700, 3150). The build up area of the selected vernacular house is 94
m2. Figure 1 presents the configuration (numbers in the Figure 1 represent the zone number) of the house
viz. zone 1: veranda, zone 2: living room/bed room, zone 3: bed room, zone 4: kitchen and zone 5: store
room. Based on the functionality and specific requirements of rooms in a vernacular house, zone
numbering is done in the selected vernacular house. Subsequently analysis of the simulation data has
been carried out keeping in mind the requirement of the zones. In this study, due consideration has given
to the temperature profile of zone 2 (living room/bed room) and zone 3 (bed room). Detailed thermal
comfort model is applied by defining the geo-position. Thermal comfort, operative temperature and
mean radiant temperature are calculated at the centre of each zone to analyse the thermal comfort. Since
the selected house is naturally ventilated, heat gain/loss due to infiltration over 24 hours for entire year is
also studied.
Simulation data of zone 2 and 3 of the house with no ceiling, ceiling with common attic and ceiling
with individual attic is analysed. It is found that the house with no ceiling show higher daily indoor
temperature swing. Also roof of all the house is made up of galvanised tin sheet, so it gain and loose heat
quickly. This happens because indoor air in this house is in direct contact with roof and in day time it
gains heat inside quickly and loose heat quickly in the night time. It is also observed that temperature
fluctuation remains high for most part of the year except for the last three months when daily
temperature swing is less. This can be explained by observing the local wind velocity profile. Low wind
velocity greatly affects the infiltration and natural ventilation. Again looking at the indoor temperature
swing of house having ceiling with common attic and ceiling with individual attic, it can be found that
difference is very less. Hence, it can be concluded that the house with individual ceiling shows slightly
better thermal performance but considering the complexity of construction and safety this can be
neglected (Assam lies in seismic zone V). Hence the house having ceiling with common attic has been
considered for further study.
Table 4 Indoor temperature range from field measurements and simulation of zone 2
Climatic Month Range of indoor temperature (C)
zone Field measurement Simulation
(place) and comfort survey
January 13 - 23 13 - 22
Warm and
April 22 - 28 22 - 29
humid
July 27 - 34 27 - 33
(Tezpur)
October 22 - 28 23 - 29
Figure 4 and 5 presents the daily maximum and minimum temperature variation for zone 2 of the
simulated vernacular house for all orientations. Similar kind profiles are also obtained for zone 3 of the
selected house. It is observed from these figures that in pre-summer and summer the orientations has no
effect on the indoor maximum and minimum temperature profile of the selected vernacular house. This
is because in naturally ventilated vernacular house infiltration is very high. However, in pre-winter and
winter months, it is found that that zone 2 and 3 of the house show some variation in the indoor
temperature depending on the orientation of the house. The effect is more visible in the minimum
temperature profile of zone 2 and 3. The reason of this behaviour can be attributed to the change in solar
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altitude angle and exposure of different zone of the house at different orientation. The orientation of real
house at Tezpur is 3150N (i.e. - 45 0N if the building is rotated anti clock wise). It is found that at this
orientation, zone 3 (bed room) is showing better thermal performance than zone 2 (living room/
bedroom). Hence, it can be concluded that the orientation of the vernacular house is wisely selected. The
maximum duration of wind direction in this climatic zone is from south, south-east and south-west.
Hence, zone 2 and 3 of the selected house are in the line of the wind in summer months. It can also be
concluded from Table 1 that in this climatic zone summer season will be uncomfortable due to persisting
high temperature and high relative humidity. Natural wind direction is used wisely in this case to
minimise the discomfort due to high relative humidity. Large openings in the form of window and
ventilators on the external faade of the house is also promoting cross ventilation. Table 4 shows the
comparison of indoor temperatures range between the field measurements and simulation of zone 2 of
the building for base case.
Figure 4 Daily maximum temperature profile of Figure 5 Daily minimum temperature profile of zone
zone 2 of the selected house with common attic 2 of the selected house with common attic
Figure 6 Daily total heat gains due to infiltration in Figure 7 Daily maximum temperature in zone 2 of
zone 2 of the selected house with common attic the selected house with different cases
Figure 6 represent the heat gain/loss due to infiltration in zone 2 for different orientations. It is
observed from this figure that the present orientation of the selected house is the best option because in
winter heat loss due to infiltration is less compared to other orientations. It is found that in summer there
is a large heat gain due to infiltration and this may be one of the reasons for high indoor temperature and
subsequently discomfort. In summer, it is expected to minimise the heat gain by operating windows and
ventilators during day time and increase heat loss in night (night ventilation). Night ventilation can be
enhanced naturally by opening windows and ventilators fully thus allowing maximum infiltration of
outside air. This can also be achieved by using mechanical ventilation at night. This will reduce the
discomfort duration in summer considerably. To avoid discomfort due to heat loss in winter, the main
activity should be to increase the heat gain and minimise the heat loss. Here also if opening and closing
of windows and ventilators are regulated intelligently then discomfort due to cold can be minimized to a
large extent. So, it is found that large window to wall area ratio in existing vernacular houses can be used
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intelligently to overcome the climatic constraint and consequently increase comfort duration in this
vernacular house.
Based on the above analysis, vernacular house of base case is selected (with common attic space and
orientation 315 0N) for further simulations. The various scenarios considered for the simulation are listed
in Table 3. Figure 7 and 8 represents the daily maximum and daily minimum temperature profile of zone
2 respectively. Similar profiles are also obtained for zone 3. It is observed from these figures that
increase of insulation has minimum effect on the indoor air temperature profile of zone 2 in summer
season. This happened due to high infiltration minimises the effect of increase in insulation. It is also
observed from Figure 7 and 8 that increase in window area with double glazing leads to increase in daily
maximum and minimum temperature in summer and winter season. However, the increase is more
prominent in winter season. This happened due to low altitude of sun in winter helping sunlight enters
directly inside the rooms through window glazing leading to increase in indoor temperature supported by
better insulation properties of double glazing. Figure 9 represent the daily temperature swing in zone 2
for different cases. It is observed from Figure 9 that when insulation is applied to the inside wall of the
building, the indoor temperature swing becomes high compared to base case. The reason for this can be
attributed to the low inertia of the insulation and also insulation is not allowing energy stored in the
external wall to radiate to indoors. Low thermal inertia and high infiltration is responsible for large
temperature swing. This situation may lead to discomfort in indoors if insulation is applied to naturally
ventilated buildings. Hence, it can be concluded that the base case is the best option with respect to the
daily indoor temperature swing of zone 2. Similar results are also obtained for zone 3.
Figure 8 Daily minimum temperature in zone 2 of Figure 9 Daily temperature swings in zone 2 of the
the selected house with different cases selected house with different cases
It is also observed from Figure 9, that decrease in window area case is showing lowest swing in
daily indoor temperature profile. However, this cannot be suggested as best design option, as it will also
drastically reduce the day lighting level and natural ventilation which will lead to discomfort. In all the
cases, high indoor temperature swing is observed from January to June months as during this period
wind velocity is high, which enhanced the heat gain and loss due to high infiltration. It is found from the
Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and thermal model analysis, that these houses show low thermal comfort in
winter and summer months (Singh et al., 2010a; Singh et al., 2011a; Singh et al., 2015). However, they
show acceptable thermal comfort in pre-summer and pre-winter months. Simulation results also show
that zone operative temperature is always lower than zone air temperature by 1 1.8 0C and zone meant
radiant temperature is always lower than zone operative temperature by 1.2 1.8 0C throughout the year.
Similar trend is also observed for all other cases also.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, vernacular building of warm and humid climate zone of North East India is considered
for design based thermal optimization by using the simulation tool TRNSYS. It can be concluded based
on the analysis that the house having ceiling with common attic is showing acceptable daily indoor
temperature swing. It is also found that the vernacular houses of this zone must have ceiling to minimize
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the daily indoor temperature swing. It is found from the analysis that due to high infiltration in naturally
ventilated building, insulation has almost negligible effect on the daily indoor temperature swing.
However, it is found that increase and decrease of window and ventilator area has significant effect on
the daily indoor temperature swing (window and ventilator area is most sensitive building design
parameter). It also can be concluded from this study that increase and decrease of glazing area has
maximum effect in the winter season when the sun altitude is less. Hence, it can be recommended that if
the window be replaced with double glazing with proper shading mechanism then the indoor thermal
conditions will be significantly improved. Thermal comfort analysis shows that buildings are thermally
more comfortable in pre-summer and pre-winter season. However, this study needs to be further carried
out by integration of airflow model with thermal model to obtain better results.
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