ISWS2006 – International Seminar on Wetland and Sustainability,

Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Baru 21-23 August 2007

Environmental Performance Analysis

of a Semi-Detached House in Kuala Lumpur
Puteri Shireen Jahnkassim1, Maisarah Ali11, Yousif A Abakr 2
1
International Islamic University Malaysia , P.O.Box 10, 50728 Kuala Lumpur
2
The University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyeh, Selangor
Email: puterishr@iiu.edu.my

ABSTRACT

The widespread availability of air-conditioning technology and the rising income and
lifestyle of city dwellers has brought about the predominant use of air-conditioning as a means of
daytime and nighttime comfort cooling. The assumption of air-conditioning usage in low-energy
design reverses the prioritization of bioclimatic strategies from open-planning/lightweight
construction towards more heavyweight, thermal mass, compact massing and planning in order
to reduce heat gain and volume for cooling. The following is a summary of a study of the impact
of selected features in a residential development consisting of 36 units of semi-detached and 4
units terrace houses in a gated community. The particular interest of this work is the impact of the
use of double cavity brick as external wall material in the first three levels of the house –
particularly in terms of its effect on the heat gain into the internal space. The results reinforces
the general principle that more massive buildings store diurnal heat. The use of increased thermal
mass in a building reduces and attenuates peaks during the day but because it stores heat that is
later released during the night. Although in colder climates with large diurnal swings, these
outcomes may be beneficial, under the hot, humid climate, the increase in nighttime temperatures
should be taken into account in design. Hence in such a case the use of ventilative cooling
(cooling effect through air movement and ventilation) is an effective strategy when employed at
night.

Key words: Building simulation, Computational Fluid Dynamics, energy analysis, double cavity
wall, low energy design

1. INTRODUCTION in the 3rd and 4th level. Built-up area range

Due to the rapid rise of urbanization and
development in urban areas in Malaysia, a
rise of air-conditioning use has also been
observed. This is related also to the
widespread availability of technology and
the rising income and lifestyle of city
dwellers. The assumption of air conditioning
usage reverses the priorisation of bioclimatic
strategies from open-planning/lightweight
construction towards more heavyweight,
thermal mass, compact massing and
planning. The following is a summary of a
study of the impact of selected features in a
residential development consisting of 36
units of semi-detached and 4 units terrace
houses in a gated community. Each unit
features of a four-storey structure with a
double frontage design, foyer space in the
ground level, dining, kitchen and living room
in the 1st floor bedrooms and family rooms
from 3719 to 4333 sq.ft. The units are
aligned in a courtyard arrangement with a
central communal garden with communal
facilities such as gym and multi-purpose hall
located at opposite ends of the courtyard.
Of particular interest is the impact of the
use of double cavity brick as external wall
material in the first three levels of the house
– particularly in terms of reducing the heat
gain into the internal space. The impact in
terms of reduction in energy use and
improved occupant comfort are also of
interest. Ecological features implemented in
the development but not tested in this
study include a rain harvesting system which
collects rainwater for landscape
maintenance in the development.
 ISWS2006 – International Seminar on Wetland and Sustainability,
Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Baru 21-23 August 2007

2. OBJECTIVES Table 1:Summary of methods of analysis

The main objective of this study is the Focus Methods of analysis

evaluation of the buildings thermal
performance and the impact of the double 1.Energy analysis Thermal simulation
wall on it; some of the main points of Excel spreadsheet
concern are the following,
• To model and test the impact of the (APACHE SIM)
double cavity external wall feature for
one (1) selected unit in based on
selected occupancy profile and air 2. Solar analysis SUNCAST
conditioning, lighting and appliance Animation/graphics
usage profile;
• To analyze the impact of the cavity
wall on internal temperature with 3. Internal Multi-zonal
(with selected windows partially temperatures (MACROFLO)
open) and without natural ventilation
(with windows closed) CFD (MICROFLO)
• To visualize the temperature
distribution and airflow patterns at
the hottest time of the day for a
representative day (with selected 3.1 The Model used
windows partially open) through an
internal Computational Fluid Example of the model used in simulation
Dynamics (CFD) analysis . (selected unit) is shown in Fig.1 and
• To model and test the solar
shadowing impact of all units perspective view in Fig 2.
including the overshadowing impact
of two adjacent developments
consisting of high-rise condominiums
on the entire developments for
different times of the day.

3. METHOD

The study involved computer simulation

using an internal CFD and a short field
study.

Field study methods were focused on a

short monitoring of the internal conditions
with physical measurements of
environmental parameters such as
temperature, humidity and airflow. The aim Fig. 1 Perspective view of model (1
is to undertake some measurement to unit) used for simulation (APACHE)
compare with the simulation output.
Specifically, the thermal comfort study
involved continuous measurements
(temperature, humidity, air velocity).

The method of analysis is shown in

Table 1
 ISWS2006 – International Seminar on Wetland and Sustainability,
Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Baru 21-23 August 2007

Table 2 Operating schedule and internal gain

for bedrooms

Cooling • The cooling load are set to full

night operation
• Kids bed room also cooled at
afternoon for two hours
• Set at 24’C
• Minimum percentage
saturation at 30%
• Maximum percentage
saturation at 60%

Casual gains (people) • Maximum sensible gain is at

90 W/P
• Maximum latent gain is at 60
Fig. 2 Perspective view of model (whole W/P
development) used for solar analysis and • Occupant density is at 10
m2/P
simulation( SUNCAST)
Casual gains (fluorescent lighting) • Lights are set to be on from
7pm to 11pm
• Maximum sensible gain is set
3.2 Orientation of the model at 3 W/m2
• Maximum power consumption
The orientation of model (whole is set at 3 W/m2
• Radiation fraction is set at
development)
Site plan only is shown in Fig 3.
N
0.45

Casual gains (miscellaneous • Maximum sensible gain is at

10 W/m2
• The maximum power
consumption is at 10 W/m2
• Radiation fraction is at 0.5
• Maximum latent gain is
at 0
N

Table 3 Operating schedule and internal gain

for living room, dining room, family room

Cooling • Cooling is of night and operates

for about 3 hours afternoon.
• Minimum percentage
saturation is at 30%
• Maximum percentage
saturation is at 60%

Fig. 3. Orientation of model – Whole Casual gains (people) • Maximum sensible gain is at
development including all units and adjacent 90 W/m2
• Maximum latent gain is at 60
high-rise apartments W/m2
• Occupant density is at
10m2/P
3.3 Operating schedules and internal • Profile that is set is slightly
gains (for energy analysis) different during the
weekdays and weekend

The operating schedules and
internal gains for bedrooms is shown in
Table 2 and living room, dining and family is
shown in Table 3
Casual gains (fluorescent lighting)
• Lights are on from 7:00 pm
until 11:00 pm
• Maximum sensible gain is
set at 3 W/m2
• Maximum power
consumption is set at 3 W/m2
• The radiation fraction is set
at 0.45

Casual gains (miscellaneous) • Maximum sensible gain is at

10 W/m2
• Maximum power
consumption is at 10 W/m2
• Radiation fraction is at 0.5
• Maximum latent gain is at 0
 ISWS2006 – International Seminar on Wetland and Sustainability,
Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Baru 21-23 August 2007
Each simulation run by APACHE-
SIM (energy analysis) is completed for a
full year i.e. beginning 1st of January and
ending on the 31 set December.
Simulation runs for internal temperature
internals in done for the month of January.
Results for the cooling load and total
energy performance for the total year are
identified for the selected options.
The APACHE-simulation program
requires a full weather data set containing
hourly weather data for climatic conditions
over the whole year (i.e. 8760 records).
The hourly data for 1995 was used (the
hourly climatic parameters supplied are
dry-bulb temperature, wet-bulb
temperature, wind-direction, wind- speed,
diffuse solar radiation, direct solar
radiation, cloud cover, and humidity). The
annual variation is less than 2°C and the
average diurnal variation of temperature is
6°C to 8°C. The mean maximum
temperatures during the day lies between
27°C and 33°C while the minimum varies
between 22°C to 27°C. Night
temperatures do not vary to the same
extent, the average usually being between
21°C to 24°C. Mean monthly relative
humidity falls within 70to 90% but basically
vary from 55% to 95% throughout a day.
The MULTI-ZONAL ANALYSIS tool
is used to analyze the impact of infiltration
and natural ventilation in the building on
the predicted temperatures within the
internal spaces which are linked to thermal
comfort of occupants. The impact of
ventilation can also be included in the
energy analysis. The analysis uses a
zonal airflow model to calculate bulk air
movement in and through the building,
driven by wind and buoyancy induced
pressures.
3.3 Energy Study
The aim of the energy analysis is to
predict the annual operational energy
which includes the requirements for space
cooling, lighting and other uses which are
lumped into one parameter including
refrigeration, cooking, appliances and
equipment. Of underlying interest in the
impact of the double cavity wall on cooling
loads, cooling energy use and conduction
gains for a representative year.
In this study, finite difference
techniques are selected to model the
transmission and storage of heat in the
building fabric and simultaneously
analyses the performance of the building
with user - selected time steps. The
output of AP-SIM provides a breakdown of
cooling and total energy loads including
system cooling energy and the fuel energy
consumption. The data is reviewed for
every month of the year. The results are
checked against an energy estimation
study following a site visit to the show
house with its air-conditioning units,
lighting and appliances usage.
The energy analysis was carried out
base on the assumption in Table 4
Table 4 Summary of Characteristic of Model
(Energy Analysis)
Design scheme Description
Wall With double cavity wall
Combined inner and outer brick
leaf with 50 mm airgap
CIBSE U-value 1.0734
with single leaf brick wall
CIBSE U-value 2.606
Adjacency Wall facing adjoining unit
modelled with internal adjacent
temp. conditions
Roof Concrete tiles + 50 mm airgap +
radiant reflector( Alum.) + 50 mm
glass fibre quilt
Occupancy 10 m2/person
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Field Study
It was found that there is
resemblance and concordance between the
results of the simulation and the outcome of
the measurements i.e. temperatures in the
foyer , living and dining was about 27deg
until 11 a.m. rising up to 28 deg, then 29 deg
and peaking at about 30 deg for most of the
spaces.
4.2 Internal Temperatures
 ISWS2006 – International Seminar on Wetland and Sustainability,
Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Baru 21-23 August 2007

The internal temperatures were It can be assumed that if windows

analyzed using the multi-zonal tool are opened, the internal conditions will
MACROFLO. The following figures show the follow more closely the external
internal temperature patterns for one week conditions. Under such conditions,
in January for selected spaces in the house. improved comfort conditions depend on
The results also show trends for one higher indoor air speeds. The flow of
representative day in January. The internal outdoor air through a building extends
temperatures are compared with the the upper limit of the comfort zone
external temperatures taken from the beyond the limit for still air conditions
external weather data used in the program. and this provide a direct physiological
The focus of the output is: cooling effect. Hence when efficient
cross ventilation is achieved during
• The foyer, family and living, and daytime, the temperature of indoor air
selected bedrooms. and surfaces closely follow that of the
• Two different scenarios were ambient air temperature.
considered:
o With cavity bricks 34

o Without cavity brick wall for 33

32

selected areas 31

30

T e m p e r a tu r e  ( C )
29

28

Assumptions (all models) 27

Closed windows Case 26

25

24

In most models and options, the 23

windows are assumed to be closed. The 22

Sun M on T ue We d T hu F ri Sat Sun

aim here - and justification - is to attempt Da t e : S u n  0 1 /J a n  t o  S a t  0 7 /J a n

highlight the impact of the decreased D ry ­b u l b  te m p e ra tu re : (p a l a m _ ty p e b _ 0 6 0 2 0 5 _ te st0 1 .a p s)

A i r te m p e ra tu re : l v0 0 _ fo y e r_ 0 1  (p a l a m _ ty p e b _ 0 6 0 2 0 5 _ te st0 1 .a p s)

conductions gains as a results double wall

option on the internal temperatures.
Hence this serves to isolate the impact of
Fig. 3 Temperature distribution in foyer
heat gain through conduction gains
space for one week in January (internal
through the external wall. Hence
vs. external temperature) with cavity wall
ventilation gains are not included in this
(all windows closed) (air conditioning OFF)
calculation (except for infiltration gains -
which is set at 0.5. ac/hr). 34

33

Opened windows Case 32

In the multi-zonal analysis, only the 31

30

categories ‘External glazing’, ‘Internal

T e m p e r a tu r e  ( C )

29

glazing’ and ‘Door’ are important. 28

Elements in these categories are called 27

26

‘openings’. They may be assigned data 25

allowing the tool to simulate the passage 24

of air through them. An opening type is a 23

type of building element which can be 22

0 0 :0 0 0 6 :0 0 1 2 :0 0 1 8 :0 0 0 0 :0 0

selected and consists of a specification of D at e : S u n  0 1 /J a n

the element’s air flow characteristics and A i r te m p e ra tu re : l v 0 0 _ fo ye r_ 0 1  (p a l a m _ typ e b _ 0 6 0 2 0 5 _ te st0 1 .a p s)

D ry­b u l b  te m p e ra tu re : (p a l a m _ ty p e b _ 0 6 0 2 0 5 _ te st0 1 .a p s)

the way they vary with time. Fig.4. Temperature distribution in foyer
space for one representative day in January
In the energy analysis, it is assumed (Windows closed, A/C OFF)
that the windows in one bedroom are
opened for a total of two hours to ‘air’ the
house.
 ISWS2006 – International Seminar on Wetland and Sustainability,
Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Baru 21-23 August 2007

4.4Computational Fluid Dynamics Suncast image:

View time = 15 Jun 07:30
su n
Site Latitude = 3.12
Longitude diff. = -18.67
Fig 5 and 6 show the result of CFD

N
Model Bearing = 85.00
Sun: azi = 66.85 alt = 4.69
simulations

ey
Eye: azi = 210.00 alt = 45.00

e
1 5 J un 07: 30

Fig. 5 Isothermal visualization showing

boundary conditions of the house indicating the
combined temperature of surfaces and air
movement and the variation in surface
temperatures.
Suncast image:
n
View time = 15 Jun 11:30 su
Site Latitude = 3.12
Longitude diff. = -18.67

N
Model Bearing = 85.00
Sun: azi = 49.20 alt = 57.58
Eye: azi = 85.00 alt = 90.00

15 J u n 11 : 3 0

Fig. 6 Vertical distribution of internal

temperatures (vertical slicing of CFD output)
with temperature variations (at 2.00 p.m. 15
January) (only two windows are opened)

4.5 Solar Shadowing Analysis 4.6 Energy Analysis

To take into account the impact of the It should be noted that the following
adjacent buildings in terms of results are related to the set of assumptions
overshadowing, the SUNCAST analysis was given relating to the cooling, and occupancy
run for whole year. The results are used as profiles which has been given in TABLE 2
an input into the thermal simulation program. and 3. Lighting energy used is not presented
The following figures show the impact of the as this parameter is not affected by the
adjacent buildings and units at different options concerning the double/single wall.
times of the day. The results should be linked to the
 ISWS2006 – International Seminar on Wetland and Sustainability,
Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Baru 21-23 August 2007

underlying set of parameters concerning including the air gab, all windows are
human behavior in the houses, and it is not assumed to be completely closed excluding
able to predict and model complex human small amount of infiltration.
behavior with regards to energy and As a matter of fact we should
patterns of use. mention that the model assumed that all the
air-conditioning units are fully operating at
Table 5 Cooling load (all rooms) for one the night time and shut down at the day
representative year time, it is thought that by the night time most
Rooms cooling load (MWh) – all rooms ( the heat gain during the day time might have
been dissipated to the ambient surrounding
1 unit)
Duratio Single Double Single Double if windows and doors were assumed
n brick cavity brick cavity partially open.
wall wall wall with wall with Both of the above stated reasons
without without shading shading resulted in the magnified effect of the double
shading shading impact impact
impact impact wall application, but this should be
Jan 01- 3.899 2.042 3.741 1.975 understood as the case which eliminates all
31 other effects that might bridge or reduce the
Feb 01- 3.687 1.916 3.594 1.877 apparent big gab between the single layer
28
wall and the double wall.
Mar 01- 4.618 2.315 4.591 2.294
31
Apr 01- 4.667 2.346 4.632 2.326 Table 6: One year cooling load for bedroom
30 Jill and living room (MWh)
May 01- 5.345 2.575 5.288 2.554
31 Bedroom Jill Living Room
Jun 01- 4.936 2.470 4.797 2.426
30 Duration Double Single Double Single
Jul 01- 4.990 2.515 4.899 2.481 cavity brick cavity brick
31 wall wall wall with wall
Aug 01- 4.042 2.200 3.977 2.164 with without shading with
31 shading shading impact shading
Sep 01- 4.479 2.262 4.484 2.256 impact impact impact
30
Oct 01- 4.842 2.338 4.816 2.330 Jan 01- 0.356 0.432 0.136 0.438
31 31
Nov 01- 3.674 1.994 3.548 1.943 Feb 01- 0.345 0.410 0.123 0.412
30 28
Dec 01- 3.463 1.907 3.292 1.834 Mar 01- 0.430 0.528 0.136 0.543
31 31
TOTAL 52.641 26.880 51.659 26.460 Apr 01- 0.479 0.540 0.132 0.516
30
May 01- 0.532 0.638 0.136 0.641
31
Jun 01- 0.473 0.609 0.132 0.603
The results demonstrate the 30
incremental positive impact of the adjacent Jul 01- 0.490 0.610 0.136 0.604
high-rises which causes significant 31
Aug 01- 0.381 0.509 0.136 0.494
overshadowing impacts at critical times of 31
the day. With the modeled occupancy and Sep 01- 0.447 0.518 0.132 0.515
air conditioning usage patterns, energy 30
performance is improved when the double Oct 01- 0.488 0.527 0.136 0.541
31
cavity option is applied with the single layer Nov 01- 0.328 0.428 0.132 0.435
option. 30
The results tend to exaggerate the Dec 01- 0.325 0.392 0.136 0.378
actual effect of the double wall significantly. 31
This behavior was introduced intentionally at Total 5.072 6.140 1.604 6.119
the modeling level to study the double wall
effect on the heat flow into the building However when comparing the cooling load
spaces. At that stage in order to eliminate room by room, the impact of the double wall
other external effects and study the pure is linked to the amount of internal surface
effect of changing the wall structure by areas in the space exposed to the impact of
 ISWS2006 – International Seminar on Wetland and Sustainability,
Putri Pan Pacific, Johor Baru 21-23 August 2007
the double wall. The impact of the adjacent
unit is also taken into account in the model.
In terms of annual consumption, the
overshadowing impact of adjacent
development causes a decrease about 3 MWh
(comparing 29.9 MWH and 26. 4 MWH in
column (1) and (3) respectively.) Comparing
the options with and without the double wall
(3) and (4) , the cooling energy consumption
shows a marked impact about a 40%
decrease or savings based on the
assumptions of profiles and occupancy in the
model.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The results reflect the general
principle that more massive buildings store
diurnal heat. The use of increased thermal
mass in a building reduces and attenuates
peaks during the day but because it stores
the heat, it later releases some of these
heats during the night. Although in colder
climates with large diurnal swings this may
be beneficial, under the hot, humid climate,
the increase in nighttime temperatures
should be taken into account in design.
Hence in such a case the use of ventilative
cooling (cooling effect through air movement
and ventilation) is an effective strategy when
employed at night.
Similar results has been found in
studies by Szokolay (1990) for example,
which showed that in the tropical humid
climate (in the case of Queensland), most
comfortable conditions all year round was
achieved by a ‘heavy’ construction (in this
case slab-on-ground floor, reverse brick
walls with insulation on the outside of the
mass layer, a well-insulated roof and full
shading of all windows) through the
application of heavy construction and
cooling through ventilation at night. This has
been supported by other studies such as
Machado (1999) who tested a house design
for the climate of Venezuela. The study
found that the best performance was
achieved by a heavy weight building with
night ventilation. Soebarto (1999) also found
that for the climate of Jakarta (Indonesia) for
a heavyweight house, daytime closure of the
windows kept the inside 3-4 deg K cooler
than the outside. Hence in purely
temperature terms, a building (with closed
operation during the day) is slightly better as
the heavier mass would also reduce the
peak load and hence reduce energy use.
From the CFD analysis, there is
some stratification effect within the house as
shown by the internal CFD results. However
the overall temperatures within the house (at
the hottest time of the day i.e. 2 pm in June)
are stable and average thermal comfort
levels acceptable (i.e. below 30 deg in a
majority spaces during the hottest time of
the day and year). The stable temperatures
are linked to cooler surface temperatures in
the double cavity option as shown in the
internal CFD results (except in the upper
level).
The overall energy performance is
improved and the double cavity option
shows and improvement in cooling load and
cooling energy use for a representative year.
However the results are linked to
assumptions and the occupancy patterns
modeled in the study.
The results shown in tables 4&5
should be taken carefully as representative
results which magnifies the double wall
effect to show its significance, it might be
taken as a worst case scenario of a black
box house without any openings. The case
which may not represent closely the
performance of houses.
REFERENCES
[1]Blyth, Alistair, 1995. Towards Sustainable
design. Architect’s Journal 3 August, 1995.
[2] Shove, Elizabeth, 1993. Technical
Possibilities and Building Practices: The
realities of passive solar design. in
Proceedings of the International Passive
solar conference, Italy, 17-21 May, 1993.
[3] Vale, B. And Vale, R., 1991. Green
architecture. London: Thames and Hudson.
[4] Szokolay, Steven (2000) Dilemma of
Warm-humid Climate House Design p 144-
149. Architecture City, Proc PLEA,University
of Cambridge, James & James London
(2000)