A Review of the Roof Design and its Influence on the Thermal Performance of Buildings in Equator Area with Warm Humid Climate

In equator area, roof is building element that plays a role in protecting the building from solar radiation because the sun traverses almost perpendicular. The character of warm humid climate is not only high radiation but also high humidity and rainfall. The roof design in the past has a large roof shape, the use of local materials and ventilation existed to get a good thermal performance. Roof designs of modern building mostly have a variation on the roof shape, materials and construction that may affect the thermal performance. This study provides a review of research on the roof design and its influence on the thermal performance of building in warm humid climate. For this purpose, all papers are categorized in two main groups namely pitched-roof and flat-roof. This study shows that the variety of roof shape, materials and construction on modern roof design causes each roof design has the different strategy to improve thermal performance. Roof designs of modern building rely on insulation material to reduce heat transfer. The strategy to reduce radiant heat transfer on pitched-roof depends on kind of insulation and its placement. The strategy to reduce conduction heat transfer on flat-roof depends on kind of insulation and air gap thickness. Combination of insulation material and cool paint on both roof designs is not only reduces heat flux but also lowers surface temperature so that contributes to reduce heat dispersion to the surrounding air. Natural ventilation is still required on certain roof designs to help improve the thermal performance of building