Thermal Performance of Brazilian Modern Houses: A Vision through the Time

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess the influence of envelope components on the thermal performance of modern naturally-ventilated houses built in the 1950’s and 1960’s in Goiânia, located in middle-west of Brazil. The study is based on a vision through the time. This study allows the analysis of how passive strategies have been treated before the establishment of the sustainable concept, helping us to reflect on the future from a historical perspective. Seven rooms in two houses were selected for in situ measurements and simulations. Indoor and outdoor air temperatures and relative humidity were measured with data loggers HT-500, during 91 days in three different months in 2011: June (low air temperatures and low relative humidity); September (high air temperatures and low relative humidity); and December (medium air temperatures and medium relative humidity). The measured dates are analyzed allowing the comparison among different building comfort zones. Two different building energy simulation programs, EnergyPlus and AnalisisBio, are used to solve the energy balances and to evaluate the thermal performance and the comfort of the cases. The main conclusion is that it is possible to identify, at the same time, technical limits of applied solutions that result in a thermal performance below its potential, and, a considerable reduction on the thermal demand of the modern naturally-ventilated houses.