Housing, climate, and comfort

Contents
Climate and design
Basic data for climatic design
Thermal comfort
Climate and comfort through the day
Climatic types in relation to building needs
Site selection
The form of dwellings
Thermal properties of walls and roofs
Required thermal performance for walls and roofs
Thermal properties of internal walls and floors
Additional climatic design criteria for roofs
Design of openings for sun and light
Design of openings for air movement and ventilation
Aids to achieve comfort
Condensation
Reducing internal heat gains
Total design

Since the shift in economic growth away from the established manufacturing areas to the developing countries of the world, more building professionals than ever before are designing for climates with which they are not familiar. This new book, which combines theory with a wealth of practical data, deals comprehensively with the environmental design problems of the whole range of climate types: the dry tropics, the sub-tropics, the warm equatorial belt, monsoon and composite climates, and the colder climates of the uplands and higher latitudes. It begins by guiding the reader in the use of meteorological data and by demonstrating the relationship between climate and thermal comfort. The author then goes on, in a lucid text supplemented by many illustrations and diagrams, to give practical advice on such matters as site selection, type of construction and window design. The final part of the book puts forward an integrated view of how individual solutions to the design of particular building elements can be pulled together into a coherent overall scheme. The text thus provides a much needed fundamental reference for all those involved in construction in the developing countries of the world - whether students, teaching staff, commissioning organisations or professional members of the building team.