Close
Thermal performance assessment of dwellings in high-altitude zones 鈥� Case in the Ecuadorian Andes
Funded by听Secretaria de Educaci贸n Superior, Ciencia, Tecnolog铆a e Innovaci贸n听听(Senescyt) - Ecuador
In Ecuador, 1.2 million households live in substandard dwellings mainly associated with poor-quality building materials. Despite the establishment of a national goal for reducing housing shortage, few actions have been considered to address the qualitative housing deficit. The existing building codes incorporate functional, structural and safety requirements while building thermal performance criteria is currently being included in the Ecuadorian building code. Due to the lack of supporting evidence from field research, the minimum requirements are being adopted from the standard ASHRAE-90.2 for low-rise residential buildings. This standard provides the criteria for meeting minimum energy efficiency requirements and acceptable thermal comfort. However, dwellings in the Ecuadorian Highland are unconditioned and operate under free-running conditions throughout the year. Furthermore, householders鈥� perception regarding indoor environment may be affected by particular weather and geographical conditions. This region is characterised by narrow annual temperature oscillation, diurnal temperature variation and high levels of solar radiation are due to its latitude and elevation. Because of this singular climate conditions and non-energy consumption related to building conditioning, the adoption of energy targeted building criteria may not be appropriate for the local conditions. Therefore, this study seeks to identify the appropriate indexes to provide a holistic approach for the establishment of the minimum construction class for the design of low-cost housing in the Ecuadorian Andes. The indoor environmental indicators will be defined through subjective votes regarding the local inhabitants鈥� perception. The votes will be collected through a field study and analysed according to existing standards. The indoor environment index will be used for assessing the dwelling's performance. Reliable thermal performance predictions will be achieved through a calibrated data-driven approach using indoor data collected on-site and outdoor weather data from nearby stations. The research outcomes are expected to contribute with grounded evidence to the development of local building policy.