Tropically Adapted Passive Building: A Descriptive-Analytical Approach Using Multiple Linear Regression and Probability Models to Predict Indoor Temperature

Abstract

The quest for energy efficiency in buildings has placed a demand for designing and modeling energy-efficient buildings. In this study, the thermal energy performance of a tropically adapted passive building was investigated in the warm tropical climate of Malaysia. Two mock-up buildings were built to represent a “green”, made of clay brick double-glazed passive building and a conventional, made of concrete “red” building. The mean indoor temperature of the passive building was found to be always lower than that of the red building throughout the experiment during different weather constellations. Our research builds upon existing work in the field by combining multiple linear regression models and distribution models to provide a comprehensive analysis of the factors affecting the indoor temperature of a building. The results from the fitted multiple linear regression models indicate that walls and windows are critical components that considerably influence the indoor temperature of both passive buildings and red buildings, with the exception of passive buildings during the hot season, where the roof has a greater influence than the window. Furthermore, the goodness-of-fit test results of the mean indoor temperature revealed that the Fréchet and Logistic probability models fitted the experimental data in both cold and hot seasons. It is intended that the findings of this study would help tropical countries to devise comfortable, cost-effective passive buildings that are green and energy efficient to mitigate global warming.