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An Overview of Implications and Suggestions for Reducing Temperature Rise in Buildings Located in the Tropics

Received: 23 January 2023    Accepted: 17 February 2023    Published: 27 February 2023
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Abstract

Climate models predict that greenhouse gas warming will cause temperatures to rise faster in the coming years with a serious impact on people living in the tropics. The building sector is acknowledged as one of the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and poorly designed buildings are not capable of proving thermal comfort to building occupants. This paper presents an overview of how the built environment can respond to this global threat of climate change. It observed that human behavior through adaption to changes in indoor temperatures may be one of the solutions to these rising temperatures. Furthermore, building materials that are good conductors of heat were found to be unsuitable for use in building construction. The application of passive design strategies in buildings located in tropical climates can minimize energy consumption and at the same time improve the thermal comfort of the occupants. Furthermore, an effective way to minimize energy consumption in warmer climates is to select appropriate building materials that contribute to cooling the indoor temperature. This paper recommends that properly designed naturally ventilated buildings that consider sustainable building materials can respond to the globally rising temperatures. The information gathered from the overview of this paper will serve as a guide to professionals in the built environment.

Published in Research & Development (Volume 4, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14
Page(s) 20-26
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Built Environment, Climate Models, Greenhouse Gas, Temperature, Tropics

References
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[2] Wong, Nyuk & Chen, Yu. (2008). Tropical urban heat islands: Climate, building and greenery. Taylor and Francis Group. London and New York 1st education.
[3] Eckstein, D., Künzel, V., Schäfer, L., & Winges, M. (2019). Global Climate Risk Index 2020. Bonn: Germanwatch.
[4] Humphreys, M. A., & Hancock, M. (2007). Do people like to feel ‘neutral’?: Exploring the variation of the desired thermal sensation on the ASHRAE scale. Energy and Buildings, 39 (7), 867–874.
[5] Cosmas, N. C., Chitedze, I., & Mourad, K. A. (2019). An econometric analysis of the macroeconomic determinants of carbon dioxide emissions in Nigeria. Science of the Total Environment, 675, 313–324.
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[8] Vellei, M., Herrera, M., Fosas, D., & Natarajan, S. (2017). The influence of relative humidity on adaptive thermal comfort. Building and Environment, (124) 171–185.
[9] López-Pérez, L. A., Flores-Prieto, J. J., & Ríos-Rojas, C. (2019). Adaptive thermal comfort model for educational buildings in a hot-humid climate. Building and Environment, 150, 181–194.
[10] Masson-Delmotte, V. (2018). Global Warming of 1.5 OC: An IPCC Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming of 1.5° C Above Pre-industrial Levels and Related Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Pathways, in the Context of Strengthening the Global Response to the Threat of Climate Chang. World Meteorological Organization.
[11] Carlucci, S., Bai, L., de Dear, R., & Yang, L. (2018). Review of adaptive thermal comfort models in built environmental regulatory documents. Building and Environment, 137, 73–89.
[12] Nicol, J., & Humphreys, M. A. (1973). Thermal comfort as part of a self-regulating system. Building Research & Practice. 1 (3) 174-179.
[13] Humphreys, M., Nicol, F., & Roaf, S. (2015). Adaptive thermal comfort: foundations and analysis. Routledge.
[14] ASHRAE, A. (2017). Standard 55-2017. Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.
[15] Davies, M. G. (2004). Building heat transfer. John Wiley & Sons.
[16] Aflaki, A; Norhayati, M; Mohmoud, Z; Baharum, M. (2015). A review on natural ventilation applications through building façade components and ventilation openings in tropical climates. \ Energy and Building (101) 153-162.
[17] Beccali, M., Strazzeri, V., Germanà, M. L., Melluso, V., & Galatioto, A. (2018). Vernacular and bioclimatic architecture and indoor thermal comfort implications in hot-humid climates: An overview. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,(82) 1726-1736.
[18] Tammy Amasuomo, T., & Oweikeye Amasuomo, J. (2016). Perceived Thermal Discomfort and Stress Behaviours Affecting Students’ Learning in Lecture Theatres in the Humid Tropics. Buildings (2075-5309), 6 (2).
[19] Lança, M., Coelho, P. J., & Viegas, J. (2019). Enhancement of heat transfer in office buildings during night cooling− reduced scale experimentation. Building and Environment, (148) 653–667.
[20] Munonye, C. (2021). Determining the diurnal variation in comfort temperature in school buildings in the warm and humid climate. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation. Vol. 39 No. 5, pp. 766-781. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-07-2020-0056
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Charles Munonye, Oluchi Ifebi, Nkechi Maduka, Michael Ngobili. (2023). An Overview of Implications and Suggestions for Reducing Temperature Rise in Buildings Located in the Tropics. Research & Development, 4(1), 20-26. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14

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    ACS Style

    Charles Munonye; Oluchi Ifebi; Nkechi Maduka; Michael Ngobili. An Overview of Implications and Suggestions for Reducing Temperature Rise in Buildings Located in the Tropics. Res. Dev. 2023, 4(1), 20-26. doi: 10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14

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    AMA Style

    Charles Munonye, Oluchi Ifebi, Nkechi Maduka, Michael Ngobili. An Overview of Implications and Suggestions for Reducing Temperature Rise in Buildings Located in the Tropics. Res Dev. 2023;4(1):20-26. doi: 10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14,
      author = {Charles Munonye and Oluchi Ifebi and Nkechi Maduka and Michael Ngobili},
      title = {An Overview of Implications and Suggestions for Reducing Temperature Rise in Buildings Located in the Tropics},
      journal = {Research & Development},
      volume = {4},
      number = {1},
      pages = {20-26},
      doi = {10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rd.20230401.14},
      abstract = {Climate models predict that greenhouse gas warming will cause temperatures to rise faster in the coming years with a serious impact on people living in the tropics. The building sector is acknowledged as one of the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and poorly designed buildings are not capable of proving thermal comfort to building occupants. This paper presents an overview of how the built environment can respond to this global threat of climate change. It observed that human behavior through adaption to changes in indoor temperatures may be one of the solutions to these rising temperatures. Furthermore, building materials that are good conductors of heat were found to be unsuitable for use in building construction. The application of passive design strategies in buildings located in tropical climates can minimize energy consumption and at the same time improve the thermal comfort of the occupants. Furthermore, an effective way to minimize energy consumption in warmer climates is to select appropriate building materials that contribute to cooling the indoor temperature. This paper recommends that properly designed naturally ventilated buildings that consider sustainable building materials can respond to the globally rising temperatures. The information gathered from the overview of this paper will serve as a guide to professionals in the built environment.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AU  - Charles Munonye
    AU  - Oluchi Ifebi
    AU  - Nkechi Maduka
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    Y1  - 2023/02/27
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14
    T2  - Research & Development
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20230401.14
    AB  - Climate models predict that greenhouse gas warming will cause temperatures to rise faster in the coming years with a serious impact on people living in the tropics. The building sector is acknowledged as one of the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and poorly designed buildings are not capable of proving thermal comfort to building occupants. This paper presents an overview of how the built environment can respond to this global threat of climate change. It observed that human behavior through adaption to changes in indoor temperatures may be one of the solutions to these rising temperatures. Furthermore, building materials that are good conductors of heat were found to be unsuitable for use in building construction. The application of passive design strategies in buildings located in tropical climates can minimize energy consumption and at the same time improve the thermal comfort of the occupants. Furthermore, an effective way to minimize energy consumption in warmer climates is to select appropriate building materials that contribute to cooling the indoor temperature. This paper recommends that properly designed naturally ventilated buildings that consider sustainable building materials can respond to the globally rising temperatures. The information gathered from the overview of this paper will serve as a guide to professionals in the built environment.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 1
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Author Information
  • Department of Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli Campus, Nigeria

  • Department of Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli Campus, Nigeria

  • Department of Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli Campus, Nigeria

  • Department of Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli Campus, Nigeria

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