Livable of the past-rural affordable settlement in current urban environment

Abstract

In Indonesia, traditional houses were designed according to the rural environment, which had the maximum natural ventilation and minimum building heat gain. Currently, the occupant population and building growth are significant factors affecting energy efficiency. Moreover, technological advances demand electric applications, which results in higher internal heat gain and cooling loads, particularly in the lowland tropical regions, which has a higher temperature than upland areas. On the other hand, the change in an environment still controls the cooling loads with the minimum potency of wind speed to restore the thermal comfort as a new building adaptation model. This study aimed to evaluate the thermal condition and the energy performance of traditional tropical houses using the Ecotect Analysis program for cooling load analysis based on the field study data. The results showed that the highest cooling loads were the result of sol-air and internal heat gain elements. The building envelope's conduction factor significantly affects indoor temperature fluctuation indicated by a similar trend in heat gains and heat losses.