Assessment of indoor thermal condition of a low-cost single story detached house: a case study in Malaysia

Thermal comfort is an important factor to ensure good thermal condition of a house. To understand the current indoor thermal situation of a typical lowcost single story detached house in Malaysia, several parameters of thermal comfort need to be measured. The main objective of this study is to analyse the indoor thermal condition of a low-cost single story detached house through measurement of the indoor air temperature. The methodology applied in this study was field measurement to validate the IESVE simulation model of a low-cost single story detached house of a rural area, located in Kuala Pilah. Field measurement was done under two different conditions: (i) windows and door closed and (ii) windows and door opened. Air temperature, air velocity, and relative humidity data were collected using thermal comfort meters and a weather station. The data were used to validate the model generated by IES simulation software. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to find out the statistical significance between the variables and to initiate passive design strategies using IES software to make indoor thermal condition more comfortable. Statistical analysis revealed that indoor air temperature (Ta) is statistically significant with time but not with the conditions. In opposition, air velocity (Va) is correlated with the conditions but not with indoor air temperature and time. Afterward, the window sizes were enlarged, and roof insulation was added to the simulation-based models to observe the temperature changes. Results show that in both cases, the temperature reduced to some extent but was not satisfactory nor in the recommended indoor air temperature range. Therefore, more careful deliberation is needed to design the layouts for the low-cost detached houses. Using roof insulation material is also important to improve the indoor thermal condition of the lowcost single story detached houses in Malaysia