Passive cooling techniques through reflective and radiative roofs in tropical houses in Southeast Asia: A literature review

Abstract

Cooling is one of the major concerns in building tropical houses. This problem is exacerbated by the heat gain of the roof, which constitutes 70% of the total heat gain. The passive cooling technique is one of the innovative practices and technologies that provide buildings with comfortable conditions through natural means. Reflective and radiative processes are the methods used to decrease heat gain by facilitating the elimination of excess heat in a building׳s interior to maintain a comfortable environment. Given that the potential of these techniques vary from region to region, their application in the tropics should be examined. Exploring these approaches in detail allows us to rethink how to effectively adapt these techniques to overcome the build-up of heat in modern tropical houses in Southeast Asia. This study reviews the physical characteristics of these approaches to guide architects and building designers. Results indicate a great reduction in operational cost. However, the significant differences in the performance of colour and material properties should be considered, given that the selected approach strongly affects the required thermal conditions of a building.

Keywords

• Passive cooling
• Reflective roof
• Radiative roof
• Southeast Asia
• Tropical houses