• search hit 1 of 3
Back to Result List

Field study of the building physics properties of common building types in the Inner Himalayan valleys of Bhutan

  • Traditionally, buildings in the Inner Himalayan valleys of Bhutan were constructed from rammed earth in the western regions and quarry stone in the central and eastern regions. Whilst basic architectural design elements have been retained, the construction methods have however changed over recent decades alongside expectations for indoor thermal comfort. Nevertheless, despite the need for spaceTraditionally, buildings in the Inner Himalayan valleys of Bhutan were constructed from rammed earth in the western regions and quarry stone in the central and eastern regions. Whilst basic architectural design elements have been retained, the construction methods have however changed over recent decades alongside expectations for indoor thermal comfort. Nevertheless, despite the need for space heating, thermal building performance remains largely unknown. Furthermore, no dedicated climate data is available for building performance assessments. This paper establishes such climatological information for the capital Thimphu and presents an investigation of building physics properties of traditional and contemporary building types. In a one month field study 10 buildings were surveyed, looking at building air tightness, indoor climate, wall U-values and water absorption of typical wall construction materials. The findings highlight comparably high wall U-values of 1.0 to 1.5 W/m²K for both current and historic constructions. Furthermore, air tightness tests show that, due to poorly sealed joints between construction elements, windows and doors, many buildings have high infiltration rates, reaching up to 5 air changes per hour. However, the results also indicate an indoor climate moderating effect of more traditional earth construction techniques. Based on these survey findings basic improvements are being suggested.show moreshow less

Download full text files

Export metadata

Metadaten
Document Type:Article
Author:Jun.-Prof. Dr. Mark F. JentschORCiD, Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Kulle, Tobias Bode, Toni Pauer, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Chem. Andrea OsburgORCiDGND, Karma Namgyel, Karma Euthra, Jamyang Dukjey, Karma Tenzin
DOI (Cite-Link):https://doi.org/10.25643/bauhaus-universitaet.3139Cite-Link
URN (Cite-Link):https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20170419-31393Cite-Link
URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2017.03.001
Parent Title (English):Energy for Sustainable Development 38
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2017/04/18
Date of first Publication:2017/03/04
Release Date:2017/04/19
Publishing Institution:Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Institutes and partner institutions:Fakultät Bauingenieurwesen / Professur Bauchemie und Polymere Werkstoffe
Fakultät Bauingenieurwesen / Juniorprofessur Urban Energy Systems
First Page:48
Last Page:66
Tag:Air tightness; Building monitoring; Himalaya; Indoor climate; U-value
GND Keyword:Luftdichtheit; Wärmedurchgangszahl; Raumklima; Monitoring; Himalaja
Dewey Decimal Classification:600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 620 Ingenieurwissenschaften / 620 Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
BKL-Classification:56 Bauwesen / 56.55 Bauphysik, Bautenschutz
Licence (German):License Logo Creative Commons 4.0 - Namensnennung (CC BY 4.0)