Climate Responsive Architecture For Improved Indoor Thermal Comfort Of Residential Buildings In Northeast Nigeria

Thermal comfort is the primary objective of architecture,as first and foremost,it exists to shelter man from unsuitable weather conditions.The challenges of poor indoor thermal comfort in Northeast Nigeria's residential architecture have led to the employment of mechanical means to cool the indoor environment.As a result,there is excessive energy use in the pursuit of thermal comfort,and as some low-income occupants cannot afford such cooling costs,they settle for living in persistently harsh thermal conditions not suitable for healthy habitation.Moreover,the use of such energy consuming cooling mechanisms is a significant contributor to global emissions,with the domestic housing sector responsible for40% of energy consumption in Nigeria.In an age of climate change awareness and the importance of sustainability in design,it is crucial to find means of reducing our impact on the environment.Climate Responsive Architecture(CRA)has been prescribed by many studies as a solution to improving indoor thermal comfort without a significant impact on the environment.The lack of in-depth studies on the potential application of these CRA principles in Nigeria however,remains a barrier to their use in residential design,particularly for the Northeast region.Previous research has suggested that it is vital for such studies to be made to identify just how effective these passive CRA principles can be in this region,as by their nature their effectiveness is highly dependent on the climate and location they are used.This study aims to assess the potential improvements that can be made in indoor thermal comfort by using three CRA principles which are namely-Shading,Building Orientation and Thermal Mass.The study discusses these principles to determine the extent to which they can improve indoor thermal comfort and how these principles compare against each other.The research makes use of a field study where indoor temperatures are recorded across three housing typologies in the region and a thermal performance simulation study using Design Builder,which optimizes the different variables of shading,orientation and thermal mass for the different typologies.The study found that a shading system which combines the use of window shading,roof overhang and tree cover produces a 7% improvement in thermal comfort and a 26.8%reduction in cooling energy.It also found that using the optimal building orientation of 274°for which a building's short side should face can improve thermal comfort by 6.7% and reduce cooling load by 10%.The study also found that using low thermal mass exterior walls provides a 10% improvement in thermal comfort,with most of these comfort hours being at night.Using this system however increases cooling energy by 12%,due to the increase in daytime temperatures.Using exterior walls of high thermal mass,there is no noticeable improvement in thermal comfort,but there is a 46% reduction in cooling load,due to much lower daytime temperatures.Finally,an optimized system which uses all the principles of shading,building orientation and thermal mass can improve comfort by 76.6% achieving full24-hour indoor thermal comfort hours and 83.6% reduction in annual cooling load.Results further indicate that there are lesser improvements in thermal comfort made in a two-storey house(Type C)when compared to improvements made in single-floor houses(Type A and B)This study fills the research gap by providing numerical data on the effectiveness of various CRA principles in improving indoor thermal comfort in Northeast Nigeria's hot dry climate.The methodology used in this research can serve as a replicable baseline for researchers in this field to conduct similar studies.In addition,it can serve as a baseline for Nigeria's future sustainable building code,informing relevant professionals on the best design principles for improving thermal comfort in this region,with a reduced environmental impact.