Module 3

Climate Design FACTORS

Important Note:
These presentation's contents were taken from different Internet website sources
for classroom purposes only and are not claimed by the presenter.
This learning material must not be uploaded to the internet or posted on
any social media platform outside of the FB Group Tropical Design Class
Importance of Climatic Design
• Climate has a major effect on building performance and energy consumption.

• The process of identifying, understanding and controlling climatic influences at the

building site is perhaps the most critical part of building design.

• The key objectives of climatic design include:

To reduce energy cost of a building
To use "natural energy" instead of mechanical system and power
To provide comfortable and healthy environment for people
 Building Performance
• Building performance is an attribute of a building that expresses how well that building carries
out its functions. It may also relate to the performance of the building construction process.

• Categories of building performance are quality (how well the building fulfils its functions),
resource saving (how much resource is needed to fulfil its functions) and workload capacity (how
much the building can do).

• The performance of a building depends on the response of the building to an external load or
shock. Building performance plays an important role in architecture, building services
engineering, building regulation, architectural engineering and construction management.

• Prominent building performance aspects are energy efficiency, thermal comfort, indoor air
quality and daylighting.

http://www.bpi.org/standards
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_performance
To reduce energy cost of a building
1. Natural Lighting – Passive daylighting
2. Natural Ventilation – Passive Cooling
To use "natural energy" instead of mechanical system and power
1.Renewable Energy
• Solar – Home , Solar Farm generation
• Wind
• Geothermal
• HydroPower
• Biomass
• Others –Salt lamp , Gravity lamp
To provide comfortable and healthy environment for people
1.Healthy Indoor Environment(HIE)
• Indoor Air Quality
• Thermal Comfort
• VOC – Volatile Organic Compound
• Visual Comfort
Factors Affecting Climatic Design:
https://www.regenerative.com/magazine/five-factors-affect-microclimates

• The local micro-climate and site factors will affect the actual
environmental conditions of the building.

• The important site-related factors should be considered when making the climate
analysis:

Topography - elevation, slopes, hills and valleys, ground surface conditions.

Vegetation - height, mass, silhouette, texture, location, growth patterns.

Built forms - nearby buildings, surface conditions.

Major thermal design factors to be studied include:

solar heat gain
conduction heat flow
and ventilation heat flow.
 Micro-climate
• A microclimate is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in
the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a
substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square meters or
square feet (for example a garden bed or a cave) or as large as many square
kilometers or square miles. Because climate is statistical, which implies spatial
and temporal variation of the mean values of the describing parameters, within
a region there can occur and persist over time sets of statistically distinct
conditions, that is, microclimates. Microclimates can be found in most places.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microclimate

• A microclimate is an area that has a distinct climate that differs from the area around it. It can be as small as a
few square feet or meters, or as large as many miles or kilometers. Understanding microclimates is really
important in order to take advantage of the heat, cold, protection, moisture, dryness, or whatever the
microclimate provides. Oregon State University Free Permaculture Course

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzWhnudcIhA
 WHAT IS PERMACULTURE

• Permaculture integrates land, resources, people and the environment

through mutually beneficial synergies – imitating the no waste, closed
loop systems seen in diverse natural systems. Permaculture studies and
applies holistic solutions that are applicable in rural and urban contexts at
any scale. It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water
harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural building, forestry, waste
management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology,
economics and community development.

• Permaculture (the word, coined by Bill Mollison, is a portmanteau of

permanent agriculture and permanent culture) is the conscious design
and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the
diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the
harmonious integration of landscape and people — providing their food,
energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a
sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a
stable social order.

https://permaculturenews.org/what-is-permaculture/
 There are five main factors that affect microclimates

Topography
• The shape of the land is a significant influence on microclimates. While on a large
scale, weather systems have a certain predictability (related to the rotation of the
earth and the interplay between ocean and land), these patterns can get disrupted
at the local level by topographical features such as aspect and slope.

• Aspect refers to the direction that a slope faces. This will determine how much
solar radiation it receives, which in turn impacts upon temperature and shading. In
the northern hemisphere south-facing slopes are exposed to more direct sunlight
than opposite slopes, as are north-facing slopes in the southern hemisphere. This
will cast longer shadows on the opposite side of the slope, which must be taken
into account when deciding which species of plant to place there. (This is also the
case on flatter ground where trees, hedges, fences and walls cast shadows.) Even
small dips and indentations on your property can affect the microclimate, as they
can form collection points for cold air and as a result sometimes form frost pockets.
https://www.regenerative.com/magazine/five-factors-affect-microclimates
https://www.climate-policy-watcher.org/vegetation/what-causes-microclimates.html
• The angle of slope on a geological feature is a major factor in determining the influence of wind and
water on a site. The steeper the slope the faster wind will move uphill. This can impact not only on
vegetation on the windward side, but also cause increased turbulence on the leeward slope as the
wind falls back down on the other side of the slope. The appropriate placement of windbreaks can help
to alleviate these effects, while if you do have steep slopes on your site that create a lot of wind, you
may wish to investigate harnessing this energy with turbines.

• In terms of water, a steeper slope means that water runs off the slope more quickly, meaning not
only that it has less time to percolate into the soil and so be made available to plants growing there,
but also is more likely to cause erosion of the soil on the slope, particularly in areas of heavy rainfall.
Furthermore, the position of your property in the landscape will affect temperature, with locations
higher above sea level being colder than those lower down.
Soil
• The composition of the soil affects
microclimates primarily through how
much water it retains or which
evaporates from it. A soil that has a large
proportion of clay retains more moisture
than one that is predominantly sand. The
degree to which a soil retains moisture
affects the humidity and temperature of
the air above it. After heavy rains, the
soil can contain a lot of water and modify
microclimates much like a body of water
such as a lake.

• Besides the mineral composition of the soil, the degree of coverage it has will affect temperature and
moisture evaporation. Bare soils reflect more light and heat than those covered by plants or mulch.
At the soil surface and below

• Soil exposed to the sun heats up during the day and cools during the night. Within a few centimeters of
the surface, the temperatures during the day can be extreme: 50 °C or more in a dry desert climate when
there is no water to evaporate and cool the soil. Even high on mountains, exposed dark soil surfaces
heated directly by the sun can reach 80 °C—hot enough to kill almost any lifeform
 Above the surface: the boundary layer and wind speed

• Going upwards from the soil surface into the air above, there is another succession of
microclimates. When wind blows across bare soil or vegetation, there is always some friction with
the surface that slows the wind down. This slowing down causes the air just above the soil to form
a relatively still layer known as the boundary layer. Within a few millimeters of the soil surface, the
friction is severe enough that the air is almost static

The boundary layer over a surface

• Often, right the treeline on a mountain, dense woody shrubs take over. It is
thought that shrubs can thrive at mountain temperatures too cold for trees
because they can create a strong boundary layer against the wind among their
tightly packed branches. Wind cannot blow between the branches, so the sun's
direct heat is not carried away as fast, and their leaves can thrive in the warmer
temperatures of the trapped air .
• Trees, by contrast, have a much looser growth form; so, if they are standing out
on their own the wind can blow straight through their branches and carry away
the sun's heat. Shrubs—with their heat-trapping growth form—can keep their
leaves as much as 19°C warmer than the trees, making all the difference
between success and failure in the high mountains.
Shrubs trap more heat amongst their branches than trees do, because
the wind cannot blow between the tightly packed branches of a shrub.
Water

• It is not just the moisture level within the soil that can affect a
microclimate, the water stored on the surface of the land is
also important. Over a region, the presence of lakes and
reservoirs can create a more moderate climate, while ponds,
streams and other bodies of water on your site will impact
upon the temperature of the surrounding areas in your
garden. These effects are due to the fact that water gains and
loses heat more slowly than the land.

• The water body also sends moisture into the air through
evaporation. This atmospheric moisture captures heat from
the sun, making the air around a pond warmer than areas
further away. The moisture in the air around ponds can also
influence the plants your place there, with species favoring a
more humid microclimate likely to thrive.
Vegetation

• The vegetation on a permaculture site interacts with the

soil and water to affect the microclimate. Not only does it
microclimates cover the soil and prevent heat loss and
radiation from it, it also regulates the temperature of the
soil, filters dust and other particles from the air, and can
act as a windbreak or suntrap.

• Vegetation is naturally adapted to make the most of its climate of origin. So, for instance, plants that
originate in tropical areas tend to have broad, dark leaves that allow for the maximum absorption of
sunlight, and the effective transpiration of moisture back into the air – which will in turn influence the
microclimate in the immediate vicinity. Use native plants in your permaculture design to make the most of
these adaptations.
 Artificial Structures

• Your house can impact upon microclimates by

absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at
night, by deflecting wind and creating sheltered
spots, and reflecting sunlight. But other artificial
structures can also play a part in modifying
microclimates. For instance, patios and other
paved surfaces like driveways moderate
temperature by absorbing and releasing heat,
while fences and walls can give plants
protection from wind, shade and shelter from
wind. Even rocks in the garden will have an
impact by storing and releasing heat. You can
judiciously place rocks to modify microclimates.

• Microclimates are dynamic things. As your site changes through maturation of planting, siting of artificial structures,
and even contouring of the land, so the microclimates will alter. The good thing is that you can directly influence how
this happens by your design choices, and so make the maximum use of every microclimate niche on your property.
The design variables in architectural expression that are important will
include:
Shape - surface-to-volume ratio; orientation; building height.
Building fabric - materials and construction; thermal insulation;
surface qualities; shading and sun control.

Fenestration - the size, position and orientation of windows; window glass

materials; external and internal shading devices.

Ventilation - air-tightness; outdoor fresh air; cross ventilation and

natural ventilation.
* SURFACE AREAS OF SOLAR ASPECT
Shape
Fenestration
Ventilation
THANK YOU