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The vulnerability of homes to overheating in Myanmar today and in the future: A heat index analysis of measured and simulated data

Zune, May; Rodrigues, Lucelia; Gillott, Mark

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Authors

May Zune

MARK GILLOTT MARK.GILLOTT@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Sustainable Building Design



Abstract

© 2020 The integration of vernacular strategies in Myanmar housing seems to have remained remarkably resilient and is still the norm even in modern dwellings. However, no regard is given to the possible impact of climate change. Using one-year monitored indoor and outdoor thermal environment data, typical and a morphed weather data representing future climate change scenarios, the authors investigated whether modern dwellings in Myanmar can provide thermal comfort in the present and future, and measured how vulnerable to overheating risks they are. Building envelope materials based on typical construction found locally and window shading were varied in the simulations, in order to understand their role in the resultant building performance. The analysis showed that the number of hours above 30 °C in 2019 doubled when compared to a typical weather year. This study contributes valuable insights into how the combined effect of air temperature and humidity will affect building thermal performance in future climate scenarios. Temperature readings reaching the 'danger' heat index threshold were 14.06% of the time in 2019 and only 5.49% in the typical weather year. This indicated that modern dwellings in Myanmar are facing two challenges: high vulnerability to extreme heatwave events, and inadequate response to increased mean air temperatures.

Citation

Zune, M., Rodrigues, L., & Gillott, M. (2020). The vulnerability of homes to overheating in Myanmar today and in the future: A heat index analysis of measured and simulated data. Energy and Buildings, 223, Article 110201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110201

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 31, 2020
Online Publication Date Jun 5, 2020
Publication Date Sep 15, 2020
Deposit Date Aug 13, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Energy and Buildings
Print ISSN 0378-7788
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 223
Article Number 110201
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110201
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4737255
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378778820302978

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