Analysis of thermal and humidity comfort of traditional versus current construction systems in Santa Ana-Ciudad Colón (Costa Rica)

Authors

  • B. G. Rodrigo Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Madrid
  • J. C. Sanabria Universidad Veritas. San José (Costa Rica)
  • M. Marchamalo Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Madrid
  • M. Umana Arquitecto. San José (Costa Rica)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/ic.10.047

Keywords:

Thermal comfort, tropical climate, adobe, concrete, construction systems

Abstract


This research was carried out in Santa Ana- Ciudad Colón (Costa Rica). The aim of this study is to compare comfort between traditional (adobe houses with ceramic tile roofs) and modern (block or precast concrete houses with galvanized sheet roofs) building systems. To analyze comfort it was designed an experiment measuring real climatic parameters in a set of houses of different building systems. Data was analysed using ISO 7730 and ASHRAE Standard 55 rules, considering variables such as the predicted mean vote (PMV), predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD) and the thermal sensation of the body for different scenarios of humidity, temperature, wind, user activity and shelter. Results show that comfort increases when the house has thick exterior walls under studied climate conditions that ensure thermal inertia and insulated roof covers to avoid over-abstraction of heat. Traditional homes present comfortable conditions in at least 97% of the recorded time while current houses present comfortable conditions

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

(1) McMullan, R.: Environmental Science in Building. Ed. Hart McLeod. Cambridge, Reino Unido, 376 pp., 2002.

(2) Fanger, P. O.: Thermal Comfort, McGraw-Hill Co.; New York, 1973.

(3) UNE-EN ISO 7730: 2006. Ergonomía del ambiente térmico: Determinación analítica e interpretación del bienestar térmico mediante el cálculo de los índices PMV y PPD y criterios de bienestar térmico local.

(4) Givoni, B.: Man, Climate & Architecture. Ed Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. Nueva York, Estados Unidos, 483 pp., 1981.

(5) Olgyay, A.; Olgyay, V.: Solar Control and Shading Devices. Princenton University press. New Jersey, Estados Unidos, 201 pp., 1957.

(6) Rodriguez Viqueira, M.; Figueroa Castrejón, A.; Fuentes Freixanet, V.; Castorena Espinosa, G.; Huerta Velázquez, V.; García Chávez, J. R.; Rodríguez Manzo F.; Guerrero Baca, L. F.: Introducción a la Arquitectura Bioclimática. Ed. Limusa Noriega Editores. Mexico D.F. México, 204 pp., 2001.

(7) Germer, J.: Estrategias pasivas para Costa Rica: Una aplicación regional del diseño bioclimático. Imprenta Carcemo, Costa Rica, 89 pp., 1986.

(8) Koenigsberger, O. H.; Ingersoll, T. G.; Mayhew, A.; Szokolay, S.V.: Viviendas y edificios en zonas cálidas tropicales. Ed. Paraninfo, Madrid, España, 329 pp., 1977.

(9) Olgyay, V.: Desing and Climate. Princenton University press. New Jersey, Estados Unidos, 250 pp., 1963.

(10) Fournier, L.: Datos de humedad relativa y temperatura máxima y mínima media mensual en Ciudad Colón. Registro particular tomados desde 1957 a 2002. Luis Fournier, Catedrático de Facultad de Física de la Universidad de Costa Rica.

(11) ANSI ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) Standard 55: 2004. Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.

(12) Stagno, B.; Ugarte, J. (2003): Arquitectura rural en el trópico, enclaves bananeros de Costa Rica. Ed: Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical, 1ª ed. San José, Costa Rica,140 pp.

(13) Rodrigo, B. G.; Sanabria, J. C.; Umaña, M.: Informe Final del proyecto Biomonitoreo de diferentes sistemas constructivos en San José. Proyecto 330-A4-076 de la vicerrectoría de investigación de la Universidad de Costa Rica. San José, Costa Rica, 60 pp., 2005.

Downloads

Published

2012-03-30

How to Cite

Rodrigo, B. G., Sanabria, J. C., Marchamalo, M., & Umana, M. (2012). Analysis of thermal and humidity comfort of traditional versus current construction systems in Santa Ana-Ciudad Colón (Costa Rica). Informes De La Construcción, 64(525), 75–84. https://doi.org/10.3989/ic.10.047

Issue

Section

Research Articles