Material Performance of Vertical Surfaces and its Effects on Outdoor Thermal Comfort: Case of Hot and Dry Regions

Abstract

[EN] The thermal comfort of outdoor open spaces in hot and dry regions is an important aspect that needs to be considered when designing neighborhoods. Jaisalmer town which experiences harsh conditions during long summers is selected as a study area. This study analyses the material performance of vertical surfaces and their effects on outdoor thermal comfort. The existing site and its surface materials were studied, and on-site measurements were taken in June 2022. The was then compared with other scenarios which were simulated using Envi-MET 5.0.1. The scenarios were developed with the morphology exactly the same as the base case and variation in terms of surface materials. Four different configurations were developed including the base case. The results showed that the Case 1 scenario performed poorly, whereas case 4 showed the lowest temperatures. A strong correlation is observed between surface temperature and thermal parameters as well as albedo and thermal parameters. Making efforts in reducing the surface temperature and albedo can reduce the PET and Tmrt significantly. East-west oriented scenario showed the highest values for all the thermal parameters due to the longer exposure direct solar radiation. This study is an effort to emphasize the attention towards the efficient and appropriate material use which is also in harmony with the climate of the town. The traditional Jaisalmer limestone showed good positive results for all the analyses performed in this paper.