Investigation of indoor thermal comfort and energy demand in different locations along the sub-Himalayan belt - a simulation based study

Abstract

The sub-Himalayan region extends over 2500 km, extending over several countries. Though the effects of climate change is widely anticipated in the diverse but fragile ecosystem of the Himalayas, very less research has been conducted on the indoor environment of the buildings in these regions. In this study, a pre-validated model of 3-storey concrete residential building was used to study the indoor performance and thermal comfort in the face of climate change in the 8 (eight) different hill towns (hill stations) located from west to the east. Rise in ambient and indoor conditions were evident as a part of climate change with colder locations being affected the most. The thermal comfort assessment using both the climate chamber based PMV model and adaptive models revealed the decrease in cold related discomfort and increase in hot related discomfort. On an overall, the indoor conditions improved in these cold locations. The indoor and outdoor thermal condition and thermal comfort plummeted significantly with latitude and elevation. The heating demand in the future climate reduced by about 50–70 % in warmer locations, while the cooling demand increased by as much as 1000–2000 % in cold locations, respectively. Additionally, it was seen that the thermal environment and comfort both declined more rapidly with elevation in the locations lying in the western Himalayas as compared to those in the eastern Himalayas.