Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664

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Passive control methods for a comfortable indoor environment: Comparative

investigation of traditional and modern architecture of Kerala in summer
A.S. Dili a,∗ , M.A. Naseer b , T. Zacharia Varghese c
a
Department of Architecture, TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, Kerala, India
b
Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Kerala, India
c
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Kerala, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Scientific investigation on traditional architecture of Kerala, that is known for its use of natural and pas-
Received 15 July 2010 sive methods for a comfortable indoor environment, has been revealing remarkable results recently.
Received in revised form Qualitative analysis of the passive methods adopted in traditional buildings and detailed quantitative
19 September 2010
investigation carried out during all seasons to evaluate thermal comfort have already been reported.
Accepted 5 November 2010
As a step ahead, in order to understand the performance of traditional building in comparison with
that of modern building, a field study was conducted simultaneously in a selected traditional and a
Keywords:
modern residential building during the most unpleasant summer period. The study was conducted by
Kerala
Traditional architecture
continuously monitoring the indoor and outdoor conditions of both the buildings using a custom made
Modern building instrument called “Architectural Evaluation System”. The results reveal that an efficient passive and natu-
Indoor environment ral control system exists in Kerala traditional architecture in providing a comfortable indoor environment
Summer irrespective of the outdoor climatic conditions.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction controls are used [12–14]. The building’s characteristics influence

The main purpose of a building is to provide an environment
that is comfortable, and spoils neither the health nor performance
of its occupants [1]. A good indoor environment is important to the
success of a building, not only because it will make its occupants
comfortable, but also because it will decide its energy consumption
and thus influence its sustainability in terms of energy [2,3].
The role of passive controls in reducing the need for high-energy
solutions has become important during today’s energy-economic
crises [4]. Natural and passive cooling method for buildings, can
improve indoor environment quality, provide thermal comfort, and
reduce energy consumption in buildings. As a result, the study of
natural and passive methods for controlling indoor environment
has gained more and more attention in recent years [5].
The energy savings using passive and traditional techniques in
houses for the purpose of maintaining thermal comfort in compari-
son with modern techniques are established in many investigations
[6–9]. Moreover, the trend towards more efficient architectural
designs is pausing challenges to the engineers to provide healthy
low-energy design solutions [10,11].
The indoor environment in naturally ventilated buildings
greatly depends on the local climate and the way environmental
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 944 7303875; fax: +91 474 2712023.
E-mail addresses: dili as@yahoo.com, dili@nitc.ac.in (A.S. Dili).
the impact of outdoor climate and play a major role in controlling
the indoor thermal conditions [15]. Studies on passive environ-
ment control methods of achieving thermal comfort in buildings
and studies for extracting methods and techniques from traditional
buildings are in progress in various countries [16–24]. Researches
on the aspect of thermal comfort and energy efficiency of buildings
are also underway throughout the world [25].
Although, about 48% of the energy consumed in Indian residen-
tial buildings is used for providing thermal comfort indoors [26],
studies on environment control aspects of traditional architecture
have been reported only recently [27–40].
Kerala, located in the southwest coast of India, has a charac-
teristic Warm-Humid climate because of its geographic settings
[41]. The presence of high amount of moisture in the atmosphere
for major part of the year causes thermal discomfort as there is
less evaporation, resulting in sweating. Prolonged exposure to such
thermal discomfort conditions can create adverse effects includ-
ing extensive loss of efficiency in work along with physical strain
[42–44].
The authors have conducted an investigation on the passive
environment control system of traditional architecture of Kerala. A
qualitative analysis discussing in detail about the passive concepts
adopted in traditional buildings, a quantitative investigation car-
ried out during all seasons to evaluate thermal comfort and a study
based on questionnaire survey among the occupants of traditional
and modern buildings on the subjective responses of thermal com-

0378-7788/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2010.11.006
654 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664
Fig. 1. Plan and section of Puthiya Kovilakam located at Nilambur – selected area is marked in rectangle [36].
fort have been reported [32–40]. However, it is essential to have a
comparative study of traditional building vis-à-vis modern building
to verify the effectiveness of such a passive control system. A field
study was thus conducted simultaneously in a selected traditional
and a modern residential building during the most unpleasant sum-
mer period.
This paper presents the passive environment control system of
Kerala traditional architecture by analyzing various thermal com-
fort parameters in comparison with that of modern building.
2. Experimental investigation
2.1. Building description
2.1.1. Traditional building
Since the design of Kerala traditional residential buildings is
based on a modular concept with four blocks built around an open
courtyard strictly adhering to the ancient rules pertaining to geo-
metrical grids, proportions and scale, the investigation is confined
to a typical traditional residential building in a selected location.
The traditional residential building selected for the study is
located at Nilambur in the Malappuram district of the northern
part of Kerala. The building (Puthiya Kovilakam) is nearly 300 years
old. It has three rectangular courtyards in which one courtyard is
surrounded by a double storeyed structure while the other two
courtyards are surrounded by single storeyed structures. The inter-
nal space taken for the investigation is around the courtyard of
1.83 m × 3.66 m surrounded by double storeyed structures. The
courtyard has an inward looking verandah of 1 m width. Two sides
of the courtyard are semi open spaces that are used for living.
The other two sides are provided with rooms having windows and
doors opening to the courtyard. The average room height of the
building is 2.1 m. Plan with selected area for the study marked and
a section of Puthiya Kovilakam located at Nilambur is shown in
Fig. 1 [36].
2.1.2. Modern building
In order to have a logical comparative analysis, the modern
building was also selected from the locality of the traditional build-
ing. The residential building selected for the study is located at the
south-west side of Puthiya Kovilakam at a distance of 50 m. The 26
years old building “Shinnu” has two bedrooms with other activity
spaces arranged as shown in Fig. 2. This building has more or less
the most common layout that is generally seen in modern houses.
This single storeyed building is constructed with the modern mate-
rials i.e., 20 cm thick walls of brick masonry plastered with cement
mortar and roof of reinforced cement concrete (RCC). The roof has
a slope of 10◦ towards the north and south side for easy drainage
of the rain water. The average room height of the building is 3.2 m.
A bedroom of size 4.2 m × 3.6 m located at its North-West side
(marked in Fig. 2) is selected for the investigation. The bedroom
has two windows of size 1.7 m × 1.5 m each, one on the northern
side and other on the western side as shown in the figure. The
windows are provided with shades projecting 60 cm from the wall
for protection from sun and rain.
2.2. Experimental setup
The authors have devised an instrument setup called Architec-
tural Evaluation System (AES) with electronic sensors (to record
air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity and
air movement), data logger, memory module (to record data from
 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664
Fig. 2. Plan and section of the modern house taken for investigation.
all sensors) and a computer interface (to view and download data
to the computer) to continuously record the comfort parameters
over a period of time. The threshold speed of air movement sen-
sor is 0.39 m/s and is capable of sensing the required indoor air
flow suitable for the investigation. A schematic representation of
Architectural Evaluation System (AES) is shown in Fig. 3.
2.3. Field measurements
Continuous data for a period from mid February 2010 to mid
May 2010 were recorded simultaneously in both traditional and
modern buildings. The investigation was carried out keeping the
windows open for allowing natural indoor air movement through-
out the whole period. This is because natural air flow is an important
parameter in determining indoor thermal comfort in a passive
system especially in warm-humid climate. Air temperature, mean
radiant temperature (MRT), relative humidity (RH) and air move-
ment were recorded using AES that was set to 15 minutes recording
interval. The installation of AES done in the traditional and modern
building is described below.
In the traditional residential building (Puthiya Kovilakam), the
temperature sensors were fixed at the bottom and top of courtyard,
in the semi open space around the courtyard and in a bedroom adja-
655
cent to the courtyard. MRT sensors were fixed in the bedroom and
semi open space. Sensors were located inside the building to record
the air movement in the semi open space around the courtyard. RH
sensors were kept in the courtyard, in the semi open space and
in the bedroom. Simultaneous recording of outside ambient tem-
perature, RH and air movement were done using sensors suitably
located around the building. A photograph showing the installation
of AES in and around the courtyard of Puthiya Kovilakam is given in
Fig. 3.
In the modern residential building (Shinnu), the AES sensors for
air temperature, MRT, RH and air movement were positioned in the
selected bedroom as shown in Fig. 3. Outdoor ambient temperature
and wind speed were also recorded simultaneously. The selected
area of the modern house was kept fully in passive mode (no active
systems like A/C, fans, coolers, etc. were operated) during the period
of investigation.
3. Results
The results obtained from the traditional and modern building
during the period of investigation, the interpretation of the results,
the comparative analysis of the results and the discussion on them
are described in the following sections.
656 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664

Fig. 3. Arrangement of AES in the modern and traditional residential buildings.

3.1. Results from traditional building
It is observed that the outdoor temperature has a diurnal varia-
tion of 13 ◦ C i.e., from 28 ◦ C to 41 ◦ C in the region during summer.
The indoor temperature was varying from 31 ◦ C to 35 ◦ C showing a
diurnal variation of 4 ◦ C only (Fig. 4). The lower part of the court yard
was found to be cooler by about 8 ◦ C from the maximum outdoor
temperature during the day, while the upper part of the courtyard
has a temperature 3 ◦ C lower than the maximum outdoor tempera-
ture. The minimum temperature of the upper part of the courtyard
was found to be almost the same as that of the bedroom tempera-
ture. The maximum temperature recorded inside the bedroom was
found to be lower than that of semi open space around the court-
yard. There was no time lag observed between outdoor and indoor
temperature and the decrement factor (ratio of diurnal variations
in indoor temperature to that of outdoor temperature) is 0.30.
The variation of air temperature and MRT, recorded in the semi
open space and the bedroom is shown in Fig. 5. While the maxi-
mum air temperature of semi open space was slightly more (about
1 ◦ C) than that of bedroom, the minimum temperature is in syn-
chronization with that of the bedroom. While the maximum MRT
of the bedroom was about 2 ◦ C lower than the maximum air tem-
perature, the maximum MRT of the semi open space was about
4.5 ◦ C lower than the air temperature. The minimum air temper-

Outside ambient Courtyard Top Courtyard Bottom Semi open Bedroom

43
42
41
40
39
Temperature in Degree C

38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18
Time in Hours

Fig. 4. Air temperature vs. time – traditional building.

 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664 657

Outside Ambient Temp Semi open Temp Bedroom Temp Semi open MRT Bedroom MRT
43
42
41
40
39
Temperature in Degree C
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18
Time in Hours

Fig. 5. Air temperature and MRT vs. time – traditional building.

atures and the minimum MRTs of the corresponding spaces also from this figure that the indoor air flow is continuous and
have the same trend in variation but with a lesser margin as evi- maintained around 0.5 m/s and is not totally dependent on the out-
denced from Fig. 5. It was clear from this figure that the semi open door wind. This is due to the effect of internal courtyard which
space has much low MRT compared to that of the bedroom even also allows a continuous and controlled air flow through the
when the air temperature of the semi open space is higher than building.
that of the bedroom.
The variation of RH of outdoor, courtyard, semi open space and 3.2. Results from modern building
bedroom and the corresponding air temperature of outdoor and
bedroom of the traditional house is shown in Fig. 6. It is clear that A diurnal variation of 12.5 ◦ C (28–40.5 ◦ C) was observed out-
the RH is inversely proportional to the air temperature. While the doors when the bedroom temperature was varying from 31 ◦ C to
outdoor RH was varying from 32% to 95%, the bedroom RH was 37 ◦ C showing a variation of 6 ◦ C (Fig. 8). While the maximum air
varying from 50% to 80%. And, while the courtyard was having more temperature of the bedroom was 37 ◦ C, the corresponding MRT was
fluctuation in RH, the bedroom was having the least fluctuation. It 38 ◦ C. And, while the minimum air temperature of the bedroom was
is evident from Figs. 4 and 6 that the variation of RH is well related 31 ◦ C, the corresponding MRT was 31.5 ◦ C. It is clear from Fig. 8 that
to the variation of temperature of the respective spaces. all MRT readings are higher than the corresponding air temperature
Fig. 7 shows the variation of indoor air movement with respect readings except for some hours during the day. During that period
to the fluctuating outdoor wind speed in the traditional build- (9 am to 12 noon), the MRT was matching with the air temperature,
ing for a continuous period of 19 days in summer. It is evident as evidenced from the figure. A time lag of about 3 h was observed

Outside Ambient Temperature Bedroom Temperature Outside RH

Bedroom RH Courtyard RH Semi open RH
43 100
42
95
41
40 90
39 85
38
Temperature in Degree C

80
Relative Humidity (%)

37
36 75
35
70
34
33 65
32
60
31
30 55
29 50
28
27 45
26 40
25
35
24
23 30
18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18
Time in Hours

Fig. 6. Air temperature and RH vs. time – traditional building.

658 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664

Outdoor Indoor
3

2.5
Wind velocity in m/s

1.5

0.5

0
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Interval in days

Fig. 7. Wind speed vs. time – traditional building.

between outdoor and indoor air temperature and the decrement
factor is 0.48.
Fig. 9 shows the variation of indoor air movement with respect
to the fluctuating outdoor wind speed in the modern house for a
continuous period of 19 days in the peak summer. It is evident from
this figure that the indoor air movement is not at all continuous and
is fluctuating between 0 and 1.5 m/s and is totally dependent on the
outdoor wind.
3.3. Comparison and analysis of results
It is observed that, when the minimum temperature recorded in
the bedrooms of both buildings are the same, the maximum tem-
perature of the modern bedroom is higher than traditional by about
2.5 ◦ C. There is a drastic difference between the MRTs recorded in
the bedrooms of the two buildings. The MRT values are always
higher in the modern bedroom and the increase in MRT is from
1.5 ◦ C to 5.5 ◦ C (Fig. 10).
The diurnal variations of outdoor and bedroom air tem-
perature corresponding to traditional and modern houses are
shown in Fig. 11. From this figure, it is clear that in tradi-
tional building, the rate of increase of indoor diurnal variation
is less compared to that of outdoor diurnal variation. It can
also be observed that the indoor diurnal variation is approach-
ing a steady state when the outdoor variation reaches beyond a
limit.
On the other hand, in the modern bedroom, the rate of increase
of indoor diurnal variation with respect to that of outdoor is
very high and it shows an increasing trend (Fig. 11). These
distinct trends in the indoor diurnal variation of both the build-
ings reveal the difference in their passive environment control
systems.

Outdoor Ambient Temperature Bedroom Temperature Bedroom MRT Bedroom RH

43 100
42
41 95
40 90
39
Temperature in Degree C

38 85
Relative Humidity (%)

37
36 80
35 75
34
33 70
32
31 65
30 60
29
28 55
27
26 50
25 45
24
23 40
18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18 00 06 12 18
Time in Hours

Fig. 8. Air temperature, MRT and RH vs. time – modern building.

 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664 659

Outdoor Bedroom
3

2.5

2
Wind velocity in m/s

1.5

0.5

0
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Interval in days

Fig. 9. Wind speed vs. time – modern building.

Traditional Building Modern Building

43
42
41
40
39
Temperature in Degree C

38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
Min Max Min Max Min Max

Outdoor Ambient Bedroom Temperature Berdroom MRT

Fig. 10. Comparison of air temperature and MRT – traditional and modern buildings.

It can be observed that in the traditional building, the indoor
air temperature is kept a little higher than the outdoor mini-
mum temperature during the night while the same is kept lower
than the maximum outdoor temperature during the day main-
taining a range of 31–35 ◦ C. In the modern building on the other
hand, the minimum temperature indoors is kept either equal
or lower than that of traditional building during the night but
the maximum temperature is much higher than that of tradi-
tional building during the day maintaining a range of 31–37 ◦ C
(Fig. 12).
The variation of indoor (bedroom) air temperatures of both tra-
ditional and modern buildings with respect to the variation of
outdoor ambient temperature is shown in Fig. 13. Another very
important factor that is evident from this figure is the “time lag”.
While there is no time lag between the outdoor and indoor temper-
ature in the traditional building, a time lag of about 3 h is noticeable
in the modern building during the day and about 1 h during the
night.
4. Discussion
Ventilation has an important role in buildings to create
thermally comfortable environment by regulating indoor air
parameters, such as air temperature, relative humidity and air
speed [45]. Building envelope to control the heat from sun through
conduction and radiation along with appropriate ventilation can
provide a comfortable indoor environment in warm-humid cli-
mate. Recent studies reported that such a system is embedded
in traditional architecture of Kerala to control its indoor environ-
ment irrespective of the seasonal variations of the climate [35,36].
660 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664

Traditional Building Modern Building The whole roof system acts as an insulation layer against the
Diurnal Variation - Bedroom Temperature in Degree C

10 conduction of external heat through the roof. The attic air space
is further ventilated with openings (jalli) on both sides to permit
9
maximum cross ventilation in order to remove the hot air and help
8
increasing the insulation. The breathing space between the clay
roofing tiles further helps in ventilating the under side of the roof
7 reducing the conduction of heat. The roof of the modern house is of
RCC and has a thickness of only 10 cm and that is directly exposed
6 to the interior. This allows more heat flow towards the interior
and contributes to increase internal air temperature and thermal
5
discomfort.
4 The time lag between the outdoor and indoor air temperature is
an important factor in determining thermal comfort. As shown in
3 Fig. 13, while the traditional building has no time lag between the
outdoor and indoor temperature, the same of modern building is
2 about 3 hours. The absence of time lag in traditional building can be
attributed to the highly insulative wall preventing conductive heat
1
flow and due to the continuous air flow maintained through the
0 building [35]. On the contrary, the envelope of modern building is
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 conductive and the air flow through the modern building is not at
Diurnal Variation - Outdoor Ambient Temperature in Degree C all continuous and is highly fluctuating with the outdoor air flow as
shown in Fig. 9. The concrete roof of the modern building absorbs
Fig. 11. Diurnal variation in air temperature – traditional and modern houses. heat in the day time due to the increase in outdoor temperature
and solar radiation. The heat is transmitted to the interiors through
the roof and the delay in transmitting heat results in time lag.
However a critical comparison of each aspect with that of modern
Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT) has a very important role in
buildings is also essential to make a final conclusion.
providing indoor thermal comfort [7]. The variation of MRT in mod-
ern building is very high compared to that of traditional building
4.1. Discussion on results as shown in Figs. 5, 8 and 10. It is clear that the heat gain through
radiation is also very high in modern building. In the semi open
Figs 4, 8, 11 and 13, show that the traditional building in compar- space of the traditional building, the MRT is lower (about 1 ◦ C) than
ison with the modern building, maintains a low diurnal variation that of the bedroom. This is due to the presence of indoor surfaces
of the indoor temperature. This proves the high thermal insulation that are maintained at a low temperature. Of these surfaces, the
property of the envelope of the traditional building. bottom of the courtyard is the one that is maintained at the lowest
While the thickness of external walls of the traditional building temperature (Fig. 4). Since MRT can be considered as an indicator of
is 75 cm, the same in the modern building is only 20 cm. The exter- thermal comfort in warm-humid climate, one can easily assess that
nal window openings are smaller in size in the traditional building the traditional buildings of Kerala can provide a comfortable indoor
as compared to the modern building (Figs. 1 and 2). The external environment in summer while the modern buildings cannot.
windows of traditional building are covered by wide verandahs, The real reason for thermal discomfort in summer season in Ker-
whereas the same in modern building are protected by a narrow ala is not due to the increase in minimum temperature alone, but
sunshade. is mainly due to the increase in the moisture content in the air
In the case of traditional building, the roof system is a combina- during that period [35]. From Figs. 6 and 8, it is very much evi-
tion of clay tiled roof, wooden ceiling (tattu) and a well ventilated dent that the indoor air temperature in the traditional building
attic space in between as shown in Fig. 1. is maintained between 31 ◦ C and 35 ◦ C during summer with RH

Traditional Building Modern Building Traditional Building Modern Building

32 38
Indoor maximum temperature in Degree C
Indoor minimum temperature in Degree C

31 37

30 36

29 35

28 34

27 33

26 32
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
Outdoor minimum ambient temperature in Degree C Outdoor maximum ambient temperature in Degree C

Fig. 12. Variation of minimum and maximum air temperature – traditional and modern houses.
 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664 661

Fig. 13. Bedroom air temperature vs. time – traditional and modern houses.

values of 79% and 50% while in modern building the indoor tem-
perature is maintained between 31 ◦ C and 37 ◦ C with RH of 76% and
41% respectively. This is when the outdoor temperature is varying
between 28 ◦ C and 41 ◦ C with RH of 92% and 32% respectively. It
can be concluded from these observations that the variation in RH
is dependent on the variation in temperature and the kind of build-
ing envelope or openings have no significant role in controlling RH
directly.
In warm-humid climate, the best way to achieve thermal com-
fort indoors is to have a control over the air temperature along
with a controlled and continuous air movement that can ensure the
required rate of evaporation from the body of occupants. The tradi-
tional buildings of Kerala are thus the ideal examples for the above
concept as evidenced from the investigation and earlier reports.
The modern buildings of Kerala on the other hand, lack the above
aspects and are therefore uncomfortable to stay in summer.
4.2. Thermal comfort analysis
4.2.1. Analysis using Bioclimatic chart
Fig. 6 shows that during summer days when the indoor temper-
ature of traditional building is high up to 35 ◦ C, the humidity is as
low as 50%. This falls well within the comfort region of the Biocli-
matic chart and very near to the comfort zone (Fig. 14) [46], since
the air speed maintained inside the building is around 0.5 m/s. Dur-
ing night, since temperature becomes as low as 31 ◦ C, the increase
in humidity (up to 79%) does not really affect the indoor com-
fort condition of traditional building. Thus the continuous air flow
(maintained around 0.5 m/s) inside the building provides thermal
comfort even at a high humidity as per the Bioclimatic chart.
In the modern building, during summer days when the indoor
temperature is high up to 37 ◦ C (Fig. 8), the humidity is 40%. This
does not fall even in the comfort region of the Bioclimatic chart
since the air speed maintained inside the building is negligible
and the temperature is very high. During nights, even though the
temperature is around 31 ◦ C, the absence of air flow results in dis-
comfort as per Bioclimatic chart.
and activity. For given clothing values and activity ranges, there
are environmental conditions under which most people feel com-
fortable [47].
PMV/PPD analysis based on Fanger’s comfort theory [48–50]
was performed for both the buildings; the results are illustrated
in Fig. 15. A normal clothing was assumed for the analysis.
In traditional building, the PMV values ranges from −1.2 to 1.1
and the corresponding PPD values are 36% and 30%, while in modern
building the PMV values ranges from 0.63 to 3 and the correspond-
ing PPD values are 13% and 100%. It can be noted that the PPD value
of 36% (corresponding to PMV value −1.2) can be brought up to
5% by adjusting the clothing level. The semi open space is found
to be more cooler compared to the bedroom of traditional building
except for the over heated period during the day time. This is due
to the effect of lower MRT of semi open space that contribute in the
PMV value in warm-humid climate as explained earlier.
It is evident from Fig. 15 that, traditional buildings of Kerala are
cooler most of the time in summer season. At the same time the
modern buildings are either warmer or hotter. It is very clear that
the modern building is very uncomfortable to live in especially from
9 am till midnight in summer season.
On comparing the PMV-PPD analysis and the Bioclimatic chart, it
is evident that the most suitable tool to assess the thermal comfort

4.2.2. PMV-PPD analysis

The state of comfort depends on a set of factors such as air tem-
perature, radiant temperature, humidity, air movement, clothing Fig. 14. Bioclimatic chart [46].
662 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664

PMV - Traditional Bedroom PMV - Traditional Semi Open Space PMV - Modern Bedroom
PPD - Traditional Bedroom PPD - Traditional Semi Open Space PPD - Modern Bedroom

a 3 100

2.5 90

Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD)

2
80
Predicted Mean Vote (PMV)

1.5
70
1

0.5 60

0 50
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
-0.5 40
Time in Hours
-1
30
-1.5
20
-2

-2.5 10

-3 0

Traditional Bedroom Traditional Semi Open Space Modern Bedroom

100
b
Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD)

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
-3 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Predicted Mean Vote (PMV)

Fig. 15. PMV-PPD analysis – traditional and modern houses. (a) PMV and PPD vs. time – traditional and modern houses. (b) PMV vs. PPD – traditional and modern houses.

in warm-humid climate is PMV-PPD analysis since MRT is directly helps to maintain the internal court with the lowest temperature
taken as a parameter. However, both the analyses confirm the com- which in turn helps in lowering the MRT as discussed earlier.
fortable indoors of traditional building while revealing the real The control of convective heat flow is an important aspect of
discomfort of the modern building. traditional architecture of Kerala. The effect of air movement on
human thermal comfort becomes critical depending on the air tem-
4.3. The passive control system perature and RH. Air movement is helpful in achieving thermal
comfort when the air is cooler than the skin temperature and the
This investigation on the comparative assessment of traditional difference between skin and air temperature is large. Conversely, if
and modern buildings in terms of indoor thermal comfort reveals the air is only slightly below skin temperature, very large increases
that an effective passive control system is embedded in the tradi- in air speed are needed to achieve an increase in convective cool-
tional architecture of Kerala. The passive system effectively controls ing. The air movement, in combination with air temperature, will
all the three ways of heat flow (conduction, radiation and convec- affect the rate at which warm air or vapour (for example) is taken
tion) towards the interiors. away from the body, thus cooling the body temperature [51,52].
The traditional building system is highly insulative against con- This philosophy is found to be applied in the traditional interiors in
duction. The highly thick double layered external walls largely an effective manner.
protected from direct sun light with the help of external veran- The building system with optimum window openings (size as
dahs provide a good thermal insulation even when there is external well as distribution) protected by verandahs and the presence of
heating of the surfaces. The roof system with a combination of air internal courtyard induces a controlled and continuous air flow
cavities within the clay tiles topping the roof, and the wooden ceil- inside the building. The warm air from outside that is pulled into the
ing with well ventilated attic space insulate the building from the interiors becomes cooler during its gentle flow towards the inte-
conductive and convective heat flow through the roof. rior spaces as it interacts with the cooler internal surfaces and the
It was observed that the central court provides enough of dif- cold air deposition in the courtyard. The total air volume in the
fused light into the interior spaces. The internal verandah around interiors is reduced by providing low room height (210 cm). The
the courtyard protects the court from receiving direct sunlight cold air deposited in the courtyard during night will be sufficient
thereby reducing the heat gain through the solar radiation. This for conditioning the total air in the interior, throughout the day.
 A.S. Dili et al. / Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 653–664
Since the indoor air is maintained at a lower temperature, a gentle
(controlled) air flow is sufficient to provide thermal comfort to the
occupants as explained in the previous paragraph.
5. Conclusions
This investigation has attempted a comparative analysis of the
thermal performance of traditional and modern buildings of Kerala
by continuously monitoring the thermal comfort parameters in the
buildings and assessing the performance using Bioclimatic chart
and PMV-PPD analysis.
It was found that the diurnal variation of indoor air temperature
is less in traditional building of Kerala as compared to the mod-
ern building. Time lag between outdoor and indoor temperature
in traditional building is negligible while that in the selected mod-
ern building is about 3 h. This shows the high thermal insulation
property and temperature control of the traditional building.
MRT of traditional building is very low compared to that of mod-
ern house. This is due to the presence of cold air deposition and
presence of cooler surfaces in the interiors of traditional building.
This, low MRT contributes much to the indoor thermal comfort.
While air flow in traditional building is controlled and continu-
ous, that in modern house is rare and draughty. The characteristics
of air flow in traditional building maintain the air temperature at a
lower level while providing evaporative cooling to the occupants.
Analysis using Bioclimatic chart shows that traditional building
is comfortable compared to modern building. PMV-PPD analysis
confirms the thermal comfort of traditional building whereas the
modern building is proved to be very hot and uncomfortable to live
in during summer. Of the two, PMV-PPD analysis is comprehensive
since the influence of MRT is directly taken into account.
It can thus be concluded that the traditional architecture of
Kerala has an effective passive and natural control system that
is responsible for providing a comfortable thermal environment
indoors in summer that is considered to be the most unpleasant
time of the year to live indoors.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to dedicate this paper to Dr. Ziaudeen
(Late), former Principal, TKM College of Engineering, Kerala, who
provided immense help to initiate this research.
The authors extend sincere gratitude to Mr. Ravi Varma of
Puthiya Kovilakam (Nilambur) and Mr. K. Sasidharan of Shinnu
(Nilambur) for their kind cooperation in the conduct of the investi-
gation in their residences. The authors also extend sincere gratitude
to Mr. Sreejith T.S., Production Executive of EMCON, Cochin, Kerala,
for fabrication of the experimental setup.
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