The exploitation of fossil fuels is generally considered to be the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, fossil fuels are also considered as a finite source of energy. Since the major part of electricity production in the world still comes from fossil fuels, utility companies have necessarily started to focus more on the application of sustainable energy sources. However, replacing fossil fuels by renewable sources such as wind and solar energy comes with some specific challenges. A major issue with regard to solar and wind energy is that energy production is weather dependent. In addition to a season-dependent output level, daily fluctuations in production can also be observed.Electricity production in Small Island Development States (SIDS 1 ) remains heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels. In 2009, 98% of the electricity supplied in the Caribbean SIDS was produced from fossil fuels. The problems associated with fluctuating production levels in a transition towards solar and wind energy are particularly relevant for SIDS. Most of these islands have an isolated electricity infrastructure which is not connected to the electricity infrastructure of other countries. As such, they lack the option of crossborder agreements to deal with intermittency. Instead, to guarantee a reliable electricity supply, expensive back-up systems are needed.The island of Curaçao can be considered as unusual among SIDS in that it already uses significant renewable energy sources. Since the 1980s, Curaçao has built up considerable experience with wind and solar energy. In contrast 1 SIDS are recognized as a group of small island countries that are characterized by a small internal market, limited resources, and relative high energy and infrastructure costs. SIDS tend to share a vulnerability to climate change and possible natural disasters. The United Nations lists 57 small island developing states. These are broken down into six geographically dispersed regions: the Caribbean; the Atlantic Ocean; the Pacific Ocean; the Indian Ocean; the Mediterranean Sea; and the South China Sea.
Based on an extensive literature review on passive building designs for tropical climates, seven energy-efficient building design principles for tropical climate areas were deduced. These are: 1. To orientate a building design in such a direction that it protects from excessive solar radiation; 2. To accommodate for indoor natural ventilation; 3. That it makes maximal use of indirect instead of direct natural light; 4, That it reduces the amount of heat transmission through the roof as much as possible by natural ventilation between roof and ceiling and by lowering the roof surface temperature; 5. By preventing the use of high thermal mass materials; 6. By reducing through the exterior walls as much as possible heat transmission by e.g., preventing direct sunlight on the external walls and applying reflective paints on the external walls and; 7. By creating outdoor and transition spaces such as balconies, terraces atriums and corridors. The insights from the literature review were used as input to conduct a field study to evaluate the practice of applying passive building design principles. To this end, for 626 buildings on the Caribbean island Curaçao, it was investigated to what extent the recommended passive design principles for tropical climates were actually applied. Based on the results of the field study, several recommendations are made to improve the practice of applying passive building principles.
Based on an extensive literature review on passive building designs for tropical climates, seven energy-efficient building design principles for tropical climate areas were deduced. These are: 1. To orientate a building design in such a direction that it protects from excessive solar radiation; 2. To accommodate for indoor natural ventilation; 3. That it makes maximal use of indirect instead of direct natural light; 4, That it reduces the amount of heat transmission through the roof as much as possible by natural ventilation between roof and ceiling and by lowering the roof surface temperature; 5. By preventing the use of high thermal mass materials; 6. By reducing through the exterior walls as much as possible heat transmission by e.g., preventing direct sunlight on the external walls and applying reflective paints on the external walls and; 7. By creating outdoor and transition spaces such as balconies, terraces atriums and corridors. The insights from the literature review were used as input to conduct a field study to evaluate the practice of applying passive building design principles. To this end, for 626 buildings on the Caribbean island Curaçao, it was investigated to what extent the recommended passive design principles for tropical climates were actually applied. Based on the results of the field study, several recommendations are made to improve the practice of applying passive building principles.
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