Análisis comparativo del confort térmico entre unidades de vivienda con diferentes sistemas constructivos ubicadas sobre 3000 m.s.n.m.

Abstract

Thermal comfort in housing ensures a better quality of life for its occupants. In recent years, the consummation of contemporary houses with vernacular influence has been observed. These houses typically located in rural areas, have the potential to regulate the thermal environment with fewer energy resources, while contemporary homes often generate a prolonged exposure to low temperatures, which is reflected in the health of their inhabitants. This research compares the thermal comfort between two contemporary houses with vernacular influence (TRA-01 and TRA-02) and two houses with regular contemporary construction systems (CON-01 and CON-02) located in the rural parish of San Juan, Riobamba canton, situated at approximately 3,200 meters above sea level. To carry out this comparison, the variables of exterior and interior temperature and relative humidity were monitored over a period of 8 days, with readings taken every 5 minutes for subsequent processing. Additionally, to establish the thermal comfort range of each house, the predominant outdoor average temperature was used and to evaluate the thermal comfort, the operative temperature was obtained, which is one of the most used indexes for assessing thermal comfort. Furthermore, to complement the study, thermal perception surveys were conducted among the users of the houses. The results show that contemporary houses with vernacular influence exhibited a stable interior temperature with an average fluctuation of (2.13°C); however, only one of the houses (TRA-02) was within the comfort range 37.5% of the time while (TRA-01) being 100% of the time outside the comfort range. In the regular contemporary houses, much wider ranges of internal oscillation were observed (7.57°C), resulting in both houses (CON-01 and CON-02) being outside of the comfort range 85,06% and 100% of the time severally. The difference in thermal behavior between vernacular and contemporary homes is due to the value of the thermal envelope transmittance, The main passive strategies used in the dwellings with the best thermal performance were (TRA-01) the orientation regarding the predominant wind, the thermal mass and the attached greenhouse, (TRA-02) the search for the optimal orientation, the optimization of the openings and the correct selection of the type of glass and carpentry and (CON -02) the thermal mass on the roof and the existing enclosure layer which demonstrates that the thermal response is not solely a function of the construction system used, but rather, a system of complex variables such as thermal transmittance (U value), the immediate environment, the amount of glass surface, the orientation of the home and especially the quality of the construction.