Preliminary Study to Show the Effect of Building Envelope Materials on Thermal Comfort of Buildings Located in Hot Humid Climate

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to study the effect of building envelope constructed with different materials on thermal comfort of buildings located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Four different buildings constructed with brick, glass, stone, and gypsum are taken into account to study the difference in temperature of the indoor and outdoor environments. Also, this paper explores the heat conducted by walls of different materials with different thicknesses. In addition, survey is conducted among the residents of Jeddah to know their perspective about thermal comfort of buildings. From the study, it is found that building envelope constructed with glass is more effective compared to envelope constructed with other materials of with least thickness of wall. Also, it is found that the envelope constructed with brick is more effective in absorbing the heat provided the thickness of the walls remains the same.