مسکن و محیط روستا (Oct 2023)
Comparison of Strategies to Prevent Energy Loss in Traditional Bathhouses in Kerman in the Field of Urban Planning
Abstract
Among the recognized patterns in traditional Iranian architecture, bathhouses have been considered to prevent the heat loss required by users during bathing. In this regard, various assumptions have been made about effective strategies to reduce heat loss and energy storage in different interpretations of traditional bathhouses. However, the function of these strategies has not been investigated with respect to the climatic differences of different cities in Iran. Therefore, the aim of this research is to compare more accurately the recognized physical strategies in this regard, including "density in texture and neighborhood", "entering the ground", "thermal mass of the building", and "enclosing the greenhouse space among uncontrolled spaces" in two bathhouses in Kerman city. This issue has been carried out quantitatively and with an energy simulation solution, and can have more computational credibility compared to previous estimates due to the extraction of calculations from thermal modeling of the discussed bathhouses. In the research process, two bathhouses, "Ganj Ali Khan" and "Vakil Kerman", were selected as examples and the amount of heat loss was calculated during cold months using Design Builder software based on volumetric and structural evidence of the discussed bathhouses. The results of this study indicate that the thermal mass of the building and enclosing the greenhouse space among uncontrolled spaces were the most effective strategies in preventing heat loss in the discussed bathhouses. These two strategies, depending on the type of walls and the centrality of the greenhouse among other spaces, had similar efficiencies while having diverse functions. The thermal mass of the walls in Ganj Ali Khan and Vakil Kerman bathhouses had an average impact of 39% and 44%, respectively, on reducing heat loss. This value was 23% and 14%, respectively, for using uncontrolled spaces around the greenhouse. The efficiency of these two strategies was approximately two to eight times higher compared to "entering the ground" and "density in texture and neighborhood", emphasizing their importance in design.
