CONTENTS PREFACE 1 INTRODUCTION 2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Overview Contemporary trends 3 CLIMATE AND ARCHITECTURE Climatic factors Climatic zones and their characteristics Comfort conditions and climate-wise requirements 4 PRINCIPLES OF SOLAR PASSIVE ARCHITECTURE Introduction Simple techniques Site Microclimate Building orientation Planform Building envelope Advanced solar passive techniques Direct gain Thermal storage wall Thermal storage roof / roof pond / skytherm Roof radiation trap Solarium (attached green house / sunspace) Isolated gain Passive cooling concepts Evaporative cooling Nocturnal radiation cooling Passive desiccant cooling Induced ventilation Earth sheltering / berming Wind tower Earth-air tunnels Curved roofs and air vents Insulation Varytherm wall Daylighting Basic principles of daylighting Challenges and developments Case Studies Solar Energy Centre, Gurgaon H. P. State Co-operative Bank Building, Shimla DESIGN GUIDELINES Introduction Guidelines Hot and dry climate Warm and humid climate Moderate climate Cold and cloudy, and Cold and sunny climate Composite climate Conclusion 6 TECHNIQUES FOR ESTIMATION OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE Introduction Techniques and limitations Simplified method for performance estimation Conditioned building Steady state method Empirical method Non-conditioned building Advanced techniques REFERENCES APPENDIX I TABLE I-A Recommended daylight factors TABLE I-B Average emissivities, absorptivities and reflectivity's of some building materials APPENDIX II Global solar radiation and ambient temperature data APPENDIX III TABLE III-A Decrement factors and time lags of some construction-types TABLE III-B Physical properties of glazing materials TABLE III-C Thermophysical properties of building materials TABLE III-D U-values of flat roofs TABLE III-E U-values of walls APPENDIX IV Technical glossary