LOW-ENERGY

ARCHITECTURE
CHAPTER 12

ince the early 1970s, efforts to improve the energy performance of

residential, commercial and institutional buildings have been
increasing (Baird et at, 1984). The sun is an important factor in
keeping a building warm or cool, providing both assets and liabilities. The
promises of economic, direct solar energy conversion to electricity by
photovoltaics and other solar technologies encourage the concept that
buildings in the future will no longer be only consuming the support of
socio-economic development. In the future, urban buildings will be able to
produce much of their own energy needs. This transformation of the city
from 'consumer' to 'producer' of energy is a potential enterprise of
enormous magnitude (Hawkes, 1995). The amount of renewable energy
that impinges on buildings is well in excess of the energy required
(Anderson, 1991). If buildings could be clad in advanced materials and
able to utilise technological systems capable of converting more natural
energy, then there could be energy to spare and even enough to be
supplied to the hinterland. Thus we could have an ultimate paradigm the
sustainable city. However, towards this end, we need to change our
architectural designs from air-conditioned glass-walled buildings visibly
consuming energy. Such a possibility demands ambitious action. With the
ultimate goal being the sustainable city, a number of measures can be
addressed immediately.

SOLAR HEATING
Energy for buildings accounts for an important part of Jamaica's energy
requirements. The best known domestic use of solar energy is for heating
water. Solar heaters have no adverse environmental effect at any time in
the life of the system.

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The use of low-iron tempered glass, improved insulation, and durable

selective coating has led to increases in the performance of solar heater
collectors from the 35 to 45 percent of the early 1970s to the 50 to 60
percent range available today. Major improvements have been made in
the reliability of solar heaters with the advent of brushless pumps for solar
systems although temperature sensors still seem susceptible to drift and
failure.
Quality is the paramount requirement of a successful solar water
heater. The market for solar heating will expand in Jamaica when
affordable systems of high quality are available and when users have
reason for complete confidence and satisfaction in them. Solar heating
systems have been granted tax incentives by the government of Jamaica
to stimulate their increased use. It is now simply a question of stimulating
the market.
SOLAR COOLING
Active solar cooling may be defined as utilising the sun's energy to help
offset the net cooling load (space-conditioning or refrigeration) of a
building. The concept of solar cooling makes sense because the cooling
load is roughly in phase with the sun's intensity.
The coupling of solar energy and the absorption refrigeration concept
to produce cooling was first attempted in 1872 in France when Abel Pifre
used steam from a solar-heated boiler to operate an absorption cooler.
Early units operated intermittently, extracting heat at night from a
substance which was cooled and then replenished through solar heating
during the following day. These devices were generally used to produce
ice to preserve food.
By the 1960s, continuously operating solar-powered cooling systems
suitable for either food preservation or air-conditioning had been
demonstrated. Various experimental heat-driven Rankine, desiccant, and
absorption systems were developed and field tested. High initial cost and
poor thermal performance, however, prevented solar cooling from being
speedily implemented.
The economics of solar cooling, not unlike many other solar
technologies, depend on several fluctuating elements, amongst which are:
interest and inflation rates;
capital cost of solar and conventional equipment;

LOW-ENERGY ARCHITECTURE 137

taxes and depreciation;

operating costs, including fuel rates.

The performance of solar-actuated chillers and dehumidifiers has

improved by approximately 50 per cent over the past ten years. However,
it will be necessary to increase system efficiency as well as to reduce the
size and cost of the ancillary collector array. Improvements in the
performance of these systems will ultimately come about through better
solar collector design, increased chiller component heat-transfer
effectiveness, new liquid and solid desiccant materials, and more effective
cooling system configurations. The reliability of cooling systems and
collectors will be important issues.
However, not until cost, performance and reliability are resolved will
solar cooling systems be commercially viable. At present, costs remain
high and the industry stagnant.
PASSIVE COOLING
Passive cooling is a low energy-intensive method of keeping a building
cool by relying on architectural design. Heat avoidance techniques, natural lighting and natural cooling methods are incorporated in the
structure to minimise energy consumption while improving the indoor
comfort level. Natural cooling methods include natural ventilation, night
cooling, earth-contact cooling, and cooling by evaporation or radiation.
Passive cooling systems often utilise the same building materials found in
conventional structures, operate with little or no mechanical assistance
and are very unlikely to malfuncition.
For many decades, buildings in the tropics have used passive cooling
techniques to optimise comfort levels. Among these are buildings raised
above the ground on blocks or stilts to improve ventilation, covered
porches, large overhangs and light-coloured roofs to reflect the sun.
Other key aspects of passive cooling technology include the use of
insulating materials that retard heat flow, air infiltration, radiant heat
transfer barriers below the roof, window design, desiccants for moisture
reduction and new types of high performance glass.
The benefits of passive cooling are obvious; considerable peak load
reduction for the utility company, improved comfort, lower utility bills and
little additional cost to the builder. Yet, few incentives

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exist in Jamaica to encourage passive features. The building code does

not provide for or encourage the significant potential benefits of passive
cooling and today's consumers are largely unaware of them. In fact,
today's consumers generally treat passive cooling techniques as extras
rather than basic home components.
An important component of passive cooling is the siting of the building.
The ideal bioclimatic layout of tropical buildings is low density in dispersed
patterns with access to ventilation on all sides by porches and verandahs.
This ideal is no longer possible due to pressure of population on land
resources. The resulting high cost of land means that the distance
between buildings is often reduced to a minimum. As Cooke (1980)
shows, lower building densities have many advantages including:
maximum flow of air around all sides of the buildings avoiding hot
spots and solar-heated recesses.
allowing the use of outdoor space as an alternative or complement
to indoor functions.
providing privacy by distance so that air movement is not impeded
by walls.

LOW-ENERGY ARCHITECTURE 139

Placing tropical buildings on stilts above ground (Figure 12.1) and

extending their vertical massing are techniques of maximising access to
cooling breezes. Orientation is also important in site planning. Solar-gain
surfaces should face the sun to optimise irradiation. All other surfaces
should be shaded. Also, properly shaded structures should be, as far as
possible, wind oriented.
There is a variety of passive ventilation techniques such as solar
chimneys, Trombe walls, wind towers and roof vents. Domed roofs resist
solar gain and improve ventilation (Gadi and Ward, 1990; Givoni, 1994)
further suggests the use of pumps as part of the passive concept which
enhances a building's indoor climate.
It has been shown (Sayigh, 1995) that the limiting factors in heating or
cooling in a given climate are:
1. Thermal Mass: the material with which the buildings are made
should preferable be indigenous. Materials of a region are usually
the most suitable building material for that location and climate. In
woodland, wood is the obvious choice for building material; in a
mountainous region, stone might be preferable. A good building
material should have a thermal dispersion that is appropriate to the
region. If we require cool outside air to penetrate the building and
reduce the temperature then the building should be designed with
the shortest possible thermal dispersion, say half an hour. A high
mass building (concrete walls externally insulated) will have
significantly lower maximum indoor temperatures than one with a
low mass. Therefore, for light-weight buildings in the tropics,
continuous ventilation is the main comfort strategy (Givoni, 1994).
2. Ventilation: one of the simplest methods of achieving comfort in a
building, especially if cross-ventilation is coupled with good indoor
air speed. This type of cooling is the best strategy in warm, humid
regions, with air speed between 0.5 and 2 m/s, when the outside air
temperature does not exceed 32C and the diurnal range is less
than 10C.
3. Night Ventilative Cooling: convective cooling of the building
structure. It applies when the diurnal temperature exceeds 12C
and works best when the minimum summer

140 JAMAICAS ENERGY

temperature is below 20C. In such cases the coolness of night air

can be stored within the structural mass of a building with air speed
of 2-3 m/s or exhaust fans can be used to remove the hot air from
the building and replace it with cool night air.
4. Radiative cooling: radiative loss during the night can cool roofs,
walls and floors by an average of 3 to 5C during the night and be
used during the day to gain interior comfort. Thick roof construction
is one approach and even water ponds on the roof can be used for
cooling.
5. Shading: this combines little or no solar gain with retention of
coolness from night radiation within the shaded zones. There are
many designs of windows which reduce solar radiation
transmittance into buildings (Taleb & Al-Wottar, 1988; Talmatamar
et aI., 1955).
The first step in shading is to orient the building to have the least
direct impact from the sun. The next step is to prevent solar gain by
means of shading devices, rejecting the solar gains by means of
ventilation and absorbing solar gain in thermal mass. Wall colour
can be important; a white wall, or a wall shaded by vegetation is
effectively exposed to a low level of radiation, even when facing
east or west. Eastern windows equipped with appropriate operable
shutters can be protected from the sun while taking advantage of
ventilation from the easterly wind (Givoni, 1994). Fixed external
shading devices such as awnings are effective because the solar
radiation is rejected before it enters the building. However, this
effectiveness varies with the seasonal geometry of solar radiation,
as affected by the sun's movement. Indoor shading devices reflect
solar energy which has passed through the glazing into the room
and back out through the glazing. They are less effective than
external shades because some radiation is reflected back into the
room and some absorbed by the surface of the shading device. All
shading devices influence the view through glazed windows: an
overhang, a Venetian blind, an opaque blind, fine wood lattice,
bamboo screens and solar control films may all reduce

LOW-ENERGY ARCHITECTURE 141

the solar gain by the same amount but they will alter the view
through the aperture quite differently in each case.
6. Evaporative Cooling: applicable mainly in arid regions, this
process is adiabatic with no heat being gained or lost. The air is
cooled by mechanical evaporative cooling. Evaporative cooling can
be produced by the use of porous roof materials (Kimura, 1994).
The roof materials soaked by rain water are naturally evaporated by
solar radiation. The roof materials used traditionally include thatch,
wood shingles, wooden skin and unglazed roof tiles. They are all
moisture absorbent, allowing evaporative cooling, while glazed roof
tiles are not.
DAY LIGHTING
Day lighting involves the skilful use of natural light as an effective lighting
source for a building during its daytime operation.
According to De Herde and Nihoul (1994), day lighting design
approaches include four concepts:
penetration; collection of natural light inside the building,
distribution; homogenous spreading of light into the spaces or
alternatively focusing of the light,
protection; reducing the direct penetration of the sun's rays into the
building by shading,
control; controlling light penetration by fixed or moveable screens to
avoid visual discomfort.
The strategies for day lighting, cooling and heating are shown in Figure
12.2.
Interest in day lighting became important in the 1970s with the
awareness that in many large buildings the single largest energy
consumer was electric lighting and not cooling. However, energy savings
do not result if electric lighting cannot be turned off or dimmed. Day
lighting has merits beyond mere energy savings. It is extremely effective
at reducing peak load which will lower peak cost to the utility. The building
owner benefits from reduced consumption whilst the utility benefits by
being able to spread out demand in order to lower peak cost. This could
help to reduce the long-term need for new power plant construction. It may
be well to consider providing direct financial incentives for day lighting
strategies in order to reduce demand.

142 JAMAICAS ENERGY

The most significant technological improvements have been in the

availability of new glazing materials. One example is selective transmitting
low-emissivity (low-e) glass coatings which block unwanted heat while
allowing in visible light. Another advance is in the area of optical switching
materials (i.e. thermochromatic, photochromatic and electrochromatic
glass) which control their optical properties in response to light, heat or an
electrical field.
The environmental function of a building is to mediate between the
variable external climate and the stable conditions required for human
comfort. Bioclimatic awareness in urban planning, day lighting, and natural
cooling of buildings result in lower energy consumption, relatively
comfortable living conditions and a more

LOW-ENERGY ARCHITECTURE 143

benign effect on the physical environment. Passive solar design in the

tropics focuses on cooling whilst preventing internal conditions from
becoming too cold in cool weather (Norton, 1992). Cooling requires
shading, ventilation and the provision of thermal mass. Passive cooling
reduces the auxiliary energy load by ventilating, cooling and providing
lighting and so reduces the operational costs of the building. Buildings can
incorporate passive features which have active elements, such as fans, or
evaporative cooling systems or moveable insulation (Fuller, 1993).
OTHER FACTORS
In low-energy architecture the use and control of wind is an important
factor in the design of a bioclimatic house. One example is the wind
towers used in the desert climate (hot days and cold nights) of Iran. In the
Middle East countries, wind towers with evaporative cooling pads placed
at the tower entrance are a highly effective passive design feature
(Bahadori, 1994). The structure is a kind of chimney divided into vertical
sections by brick walls (Bahadori, 1994; Gallo, 1994). At night the tower
cools off. During the daytime the walls cool the surrounding air and, as it
becomes denser, it flows downward and into the building where the
pressure of the cool air pushes the hot air out (Figure 12.3). Heat stored in
the

144 JAMAICAS ENERGY

wall during the day is passed to the air at night, creating a rising current.
This is an ancient system of air-conditioning with variations found in
buildings in Italy and many Mediterranean countries dictated by the need
to provide interior comfort before elaborate artificial systems came into
use. Wind towers, with an element of evaporative cooling from moist
surfaces, may well find practical application in the Caribbean.
Conventional and modern versions of wind towers can be incorporated
aesthetically into the design of modern buildings.
The primary purpose of passive solar designs is to reduce commercial
energy consumption. Such designs need to be managed effectively after
occupancy if potential benefits are to be realised (Nutt, 1994). Figure 12.4
sets out a matrix for the phases for important decision making. It can
provide a structure for describing

LOW-ENERGY ARCHITECTURE 145

and comparing the energy impacts of pre-occupancy design and

engineering decisions with the potential impacts of post-occupancy use
and management. It suggests that post-occupancy phases of decisions
are important in respect to solar energy shedding, energy distribution,
energy use and control. This has been the experience with many lowenergy designed buildings in Jamaica. The PCJ Resource Centre on
Trafalgar Road in Kingston is a case in point (Figure 12.5). Built according
to criteria set by Dubin & Long (1978), and Dubin-Bloome (1983), as a
leading-edge design for energy efficiency in 1987, by 1996 its energy
efficiency had been decreased by poor occupancy practices to less than
40 per cent of its expected capability at the original occupancy. This
shows that we need to be aware that passive solar design expectations
may be based on optimistic assumptions about how the building will be
used and be modified by those using it.
Nevertheless, there are clear benefits to be derived from the wider
adoption of renewable energy technologies in building design. For
example, photovoltaics can be integrated into the built environment as part
of design or as independent landscape armatures. Figure 12.6 shows two
differing scales at which

146 JAMAICAS ENERGY

photovoltaic technology can be integrated into urban community

structures. In one way, PV panels comprise a cover for the surface of the
built volume; in the other, PV panels can be treated as an independent
array set outside the urban structure it supplies.
In order to increase the market impact of passive solar systems the
following should be addressed:
incentives and standards that result in improved building efficiency;
more demonstration projects to educate the public, generate
interest and support passive solar heating and cooling systems;
energy education for professionals placing emphasis on
environmentally sensitive design;
lower priced homes should incorporate basic passive cooling
techniques.
A major market issue is operating cost versus initial cost. Until the
buyer begins to look at the longer term, passive energy features are less
likely to be built.
Obviously there are important benefits to be gained from the wider use
of renewable energy technologies in low-energy architecture. Architects
need to develop the ability and interest to deliver designs that meet lowenergy building briefs. At the same time, architects will be able to respond
only if clients commission buildings of the required type. We need to be
more active in assisting perception and promotion of the benefits that are
to be gained.

LOW-ENERGY ARCHITECTURE 147

________________
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