Innovation & Evaluation of Roofing component in Hot & Dry Climate - A case of Bhuj-Kutch

Abstract

Owing to the large quantum of construction undertaken, the building industry consumes an enormous amount of energy annually. A portion of this can be attributed to the materials used for construction, right from their extraction to application. In terms of a building’s operational energy, the right building envelope design can go a long way in reducing the consumption. Walls, roofs and openings are the three primary components of the envelop that contribute towards heat gain from the external environment. Roofs are the component of a building, which are in maximum contact with sun, thus end up becoming the biggest source of heat gain during the day and heat loss during night which effect the ambient temperature to a great extent.

By and large, in order to achieve thermal comfort indoors, maximum energy is consumed after occupation thus varying the occupational energy. An appropriate choice of material can help improve the structure’s thermal performance particularly in Hot & Dry climate while quantifying heat gain. To this end, there is a need to bridge the gap between the techniques from traditional vernacular systems to the present context with conventional techniques, innovation takes the major part. Few vernacular and conventional materials were identified, innovated and have been evaluated based on their materials’ properties for relative thermal performance and surface temperatures for a socially, ecologically and economically sustainable.

This is done onsite wherein at one time eight modules were executed keeping the roofing components variable and the wall, module size, size of opening and materials are maintained constant, to produce results that are then compared to the conventional practice. Further, all the eight modules were analyzed for relative thermal performance.