Thermal Comfort Environment of Mud Shelters in Nepal (A case in Hilly and Mountain Region)

Abstract

Nepal, a country with high geographic variation due to tectonic plate movements, has different climatic conditions in different regions. Due to the climatic variations, it consists of locations with hot and cold locations where the surrounding is not suitable for human habitation. However, the adaptation of people to the surrounding environmental condition in terms of the people’s habit and their housing architecture has helped a lot in creating settlements in beautiful but remote locations of Nepal. Many houses are made up of mud which can be found in all the regions, namely, the terai, mountainous and hilly regions of Nepal. Nevertheless, the form, type of material, and its use vary according to the need of the people in their respective regions. Studies have shown that traditional mud architecture, as well as modern ones, are better in thermal performance as mud has a high thermal mass. In the context of Nepal, there have been studies of thermal comfort and thermal adaptations of people in different types of houses. However, there is a lack of research on mud architecture and its effect on the thermal performance of residential dwellings and the thermal comfort of the people. In addition, people are opting for modern concrete buildings wiping out the traditional methods of construction that show both cultural tourism values. This study reveals the thermal performance and comfort of traditional mud shelters in comparison to modern concrete structures located in the cool temperate and warm temperate climatic regions of Nepal. Moreover, the architectural elements of both traditional and modern mud shelters were studied which consists of different types of passive design strategies for climate responsive designs. In both regions, mud shelters performed better than the modern concrete structures, modern mud shelters have overall better performance than both traditional mud and modern concrete structures. But there may be other reasons influencing the results like cooking habits and clothing as well. Designing changes are suggested for traditional mud shelters for better performance for better utilization of available direct and passive solar energy around the region.