Smart ways to build an energy conserving home in Thailand

Thai Natural Estates Co., Ltd. has done research of how to perform energy saving constructions in Thailand. This article explains some smart and easy techniques that anyone can implement when building an energy conserving home in Thailand.

The most important criteria that one should have in mind when building an energy conserving home in Thailand are indoor temperature and visibility, by protecting the building from outside heat and considering sunlight and proper lamps. The weather conditions on the construction location are by far the most important aspect to thoroughly investigate before planning you house.

Roof

Weather conditions in Thailand are hot and humid all year round. Buildings have to be designed to prevent heat from outside to penetrate the building as well as transporting heat from inside and out. There are two parts of the building that are very important considering heat protection, the roof and the walls. The roof and wall materials need to have good characteristics for preventing heat and humidity to be transported into the building, while good air flow will balance the inner temperature. An insulator prevents the heat from being transported into the building and also keeps the cold inside, unlike a cold country, where the insulation will prevent the cold from coming into the building and keep the heat inside. About 80% of the sunlight hits the roof making it the most important part to insulate. There are two parts under the roof that should be insulated, the inner side of the roof with reflecting foil and the upper side of the ceiling with foil covered rock wool. It is also important to consider ventilation under the roof so that the accumulated heat can be eliminated.

Walls

The sun rises from the east and orients to the south and goes down in the west. As the sunlight is not so strong in the morning the strongest sunlight hits the wall in the south and the west. The characteristics of wall materials should be determined by criteria as:

Resistivity: A high value of resistivity is preferable. It is the quotient between the material’s thickness and its conductivity,
Conductivity: Is a measure of the heat conduction of a material. A low value is preferable.
Thermal capacity: Gives a material’s ability to store heat. A low value is preferable in Thailand

Thailand the heat mostly comes from the outside of the building. To lower the interior temperature a well protected wall and roof is needed by using proper materials. There are different ways to build a good insulated wall. The methods which are usually used in Thailand are.

Double brick wall: Bricks have high density and thermal capacity. A brick wall will store the heat inside itself in daytime and slowly release this heat during night time. In Thailand, the structure of a double brick wall when each consecutive layer of bricks is placed perpendicular to the other is called “1-brick wall”.

Double brick wall with insulator: A double wall consists of two single ½-brick walls with a spacing of xx cm between them. In this spacing an insulator is placed for extra heat protection. The drawback of this method is that the damaged insulator can’t be replaced afterwards. This is called “double ½ brick wall”.

Composite wall: A mass wall, such as a brick wall, combined with a framing wall, like a gypsum wall, is called a composite wall. The low mass material should be on the outer side of the wall.

Single walls: are built by light concrete blocks, AAC, which have good heat protecting capacity why any additional heat insulator is not needed. Single walls built by concrete blocks have as good properties as brick walls. A higher heat protecting capacity can be reached by combining the concrete block wall with a proper insulator.

Windows

The heat is also transmitted into the building through the windows. Choosing an appropriate glass for the windows is thus necessary. Building a single light concrete block wall with many float glasses which let the more than 80% of the heat in would be a faulty energy saving method because the heat would come through the windows anyway so that the heat protection from the light concrete block wall will be useless. The best heat protection is offered by reflecting glass that is common in bigger buildings. Reflective glass is not aesthetically beautiful in private homes where a tinted low energy glass with green colour offers the best alternative.

Trees

The sunlight hitting the house can be reduced by planting trees around the house. The trees give a nice environment and also protect the house from the sunlight as. The trees that are planted should be tall, so that they can protect the roof from the sun and also let the light shine through under the trees to give good visibility inside the house.

Visibility

The power consumption can be reduced by using low energy bulbs such as low loss ballast and compact fluorescent. For better visibility in the building, the house should be designed to get as much natural light as possible. One way is to use transparent roof tiles, with transparent roof tiles at the north side of the house; the northern light will shine up the dark part of the house, like a hallway where there are no windows. This can reduce the power consumption because no need to light up the place. The northern daylight has low heat emittance which is suitable to use inside the house. Transparent roof tiles would increase the incoming heat inside the house. The builder has to be certain that the reduced power consumption caused by less electrical lighting is greater than the increased power consumption caused by electrical cooling for the incoming heat through the transparent roof tiles, otherwise this method would not be energy reducing but rather energy consuming.

Weather condition and ventilation

The fence or the trees around the house should be designed to allow passage of light and air. The wind in Thailand orients from the southwest. Placing windows in the southwest will make the house more comfortable. For a good air flow, the house can be designed to get more sunlight in the back. The temperature in the back will get higher and give rise to higher pressure. The difference in pressure in the front and the back of the house, results in air moving from the high pressure area to the low pressure area. If windows are placed in the front and the backside, the air can flow through the house.

By: Stefan Stolt For more information: Thai Natural Estates Co., ltd. Phone number: 087 – 694 75 15 www.thainaturalestates.com