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ISSN Online: 2688-7231

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-524-0

Proceedings of the 26thNational and 4th International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference December 17-20, 2021, IIT Madras, Chennai-600036, Tamil Nadu, India
December, 17-20, 2021, IIT Madras, Chennai, India

Effect of roof insulation and cool paints on thermal comfort of a naturally ventilated building located in a hot and humid climate

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHMTC-2021.3700
pages 2451-2456

Abstract

The present study deals with estimating the thermal performance of roof insulation and cool roofs for naturally ventilated buildings in hot-humid climates. The building simulations are performed for a naturally ventilated classroom located in Kolkata. EnergyPlus is used to simulate the building energy flows. The objective is to determine the total number of hours in a year that is thermally comfortable for the occupants. The occupant thermal comfort is assessed using different adaptive thermal comfort standards e.g., EN 15251, ASHRAE 55-2017, and IMAC 2016. To determine the effect of a combination of cool paints and roof insulation, a detailed study on thermal performance is carried out for different values of solar reflectivity of cool paints and roof insulation thickness. Results show that the application of cool paints increases the thermal comfort hours by 10-20% and roof insulation increases the thermal comfort hours by 5-8%, depending upon the comfort standard. Interestingly for the building considered, combining cool paints with roof insulation is found to be detrimental compared to only cool paints.