Simulation of a typical house in the region of Antananarivo, Madagascar. Determination of passive solutions using local materials

TL;DR

This study simulates a typical house in Madagascar's highlands to identify passive design solutions using local materials, aiming to improve thermal comfort and reduce environmental impact during winter.

Contribution

It introduces a methodology for designing passive solutions tailored to Madagascar's climate using local materials and simulation tools.

Findings

Passive solutions improve indoor thermal comfort.

Use of local materials reduces environmental impact.

Simulation results guide optimal building component choices.

Abstract

This paper deals with new proposals for the design of passive solutions adapted to the climate of the highlands of Madagascar. While the strongest population density is located in the central highlands, the problem of thermal comfort in buildings occurs mainly during winter time. Currently, people use raw wood to warm the poorly designed houses. This leads to a large scale deforestation of the areas and causes erosion and environmental problems. The methodology used consisted of the identification of a typical building and of a typical meteorological year. Simulations were carried out using a thermal and airflow software (CODYRUN) to improve each building component (roof, walls, windows, and soil) in such a way as to estimate the influence of some technical solutions on each component in terms of thermal comfort. The proposed solutions also took into account the use of local materials and the standard of living of the country.