Reducing Cooling Demands in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Study on the Thermal Performance of Passive Cooling Methods in Enclosed Spaces

Abstract

The paper aims to explore the effect of different passive cooling measures using thermal modelling and predicting. Solar shading, green roofs and cool paints were incorporated as passive cooling measures to evaluate their combined effects on indoor environment, thermal comfort and its importance in energy conservation. A field experiment study was conducted in the sub-Saharan climate of Kiambu, Kenya where microclimate indicators were measured for validating and predicting the thermal behaviour. For this study, both mechanical and natural ventilation were restricted. Modelling and prediction were done in Design Builder and EnergyPlus software. The computer model was validated with data measured for 20 days on the field. A correlation value of 0.85 between the predicted values and the observed values was recorded. This result shows that this energy prediction process can provide reasonable predictions in cooling loads and the effect of passive cooling in reducing indoor temperature gains.

Keywords

• modelling and simulation
• sub-saharan climate
• passive cooling
• building
• energyplus
• energy efficiency.