Effects of Natural Ventilation on Thermal Comfort in Low-income Tropical Housing

This paper evaluates the effects of natural ventilation on thermal comfort and risk of overheating in low-income tropical housing in Uganda. Dynamic simulations are conducted in EnergyPlus to assess various strategies including single sided and cross ventilation, roof vents and night ventilation in case study dwellings. The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers Technical Memoranda 52 (CIBSE TM52) is used to assess thermal comfort conditions within the case study dwellings. The results indicate that natural ventilation strategies marginally reduce the risk of overheating. Overall, compared to other strategies, such as roof insulation, natural ventilation is less effective in terms of improving indoor comfort conditions. This paper is a part of a series of publications on the effects of climate change on thermal comfort in low-income tropical housing.