A Review of Thermal Design for Buildings in Hot Climates

Abstract

Most of the developed world currently lives above the tropic of Cancer in cold climate regions. It follows that most of the top architectural firms are from the same countries, and most of their work is based on that experience. Experience that does not travel well to hotter countries. This paper is mainly concerned with the climates of the Middle East region, which are hot in summer and have mild or cold winters, and where the humidity ranges from dry to humid. It is a review of the factors, designs, and solutions that designers sometimes ignore, undervalue, or on the other hand, put too much weight on when working in such climates. An overview of thermal solutions is conducted, and a critique and suitability of each one for hotter climates are offered. Some of the solutions, which are thought to be helpful, have little benefit, especially traditional ones, which are not up to present-day standards and lifestyles. Others, such as courtyards, do more harm than good. A couple of case studies to evaluate houses with and without thermal measures showed improvements of 23-48%. The paper will evaluate architectural, cooling, and building design solutions according to suitability in dry and medium humidity, warm and hot countries.