Thermal performance of free-running three-storey houses: an assessment through computer simulations

Abstract

Sri Lanka is presently facing a serious energy crisis due to continuous increase in energy demand annually. One of the solutions for this is energy conservation for which houses are a good candidate. The need for using active means such as fans and air-conditioning can be minimized by planning the houses with desirable passive features. In order to determine the passive performance, computer simulations were carried out for two houses with and without passive elements. A comparison of similar volumes in these two houses indicated that it is possible for the indoor temperature of certain type of volumes to rise about 5°C above the maximum outdoor temperature when passive elements are ignored.