Thermal Surface Analysis of Multi-Storey Apartment Buildings in Penang, Malaysia
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International Conference on Applied Science, Technology and Engineering J. Mech. Cont.& Math. Sci., Special Issue, No.-4, November (2019) pp 277-287 Thermal Surface Analysis of Multi-storey Apartment Buildings in Penang, Malaysia Ahmad Sanusi Hassan1, Asif Ali2 1,2School of Housing Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia Corresponding Email: [email protected] https://doi.org/10.26782/jmcms.spl.4/2019.11.00027 Abstract The objective of this study is to compare thermal surface performance on west façade of two multi-storey apartment buildings, between Arte S and Plaza Ivory located in Penang, Malaysia. The data was collected from a fieldwork survey during three consecutive sunny days in July from 12 pm to 7 pm in the evening at hourly interval. Fluke Ti20 was used to measure the surface temperature. This device captured thermal images of the front facade of the buildings. The result of the analysis illustrates the surface temperatures of these two case studies influenced by the design of the building forms, materials and envelopes. The finding shows that the Case Study 2 has warmer building surface temperature than Case Study 1 due to its elliptical building plan's form, a glass material and lack of shading devices on its facade. The result also reveals that the architects who design these buildings have an unsatisfactory level of awareness in reducing the surface temperature which causes heat gains to the indoor areas. Keywords : Thermal surface temperature, Multi-storey apartments, Thermal performance, Topical Climate I. Introduction This study is to evaluate a level of thermal surface performance on apartment building facades in the tropics. Two apartment buildings are selected as case studies located in Penang, Malaysia. This analysis is necessary because it can be used as an indicator to the problem of heat gain to the indoor area of the building. The study contributes one of the domain information towards developing sustainable building design as an important discourse among the scholars during last few decades (Balaras & Argiriou, 2002; Kates et al., 2001; Ostrom, 2009; Tilman, Cassman, Matson, Naylor, & Polasky, 2002). The rationale of this study is to measure the thermal surface performance of two high-rise apartments selected as the case studies which have a design with different building form. Plaza Ivory has a rectangular plan design which creates a cuboid building form whereas Arte S has an elliptical plan which creates a cylindrical building form. Plaza Ivory represents conventional apartment design in Penang, Malaysia with concrete structure and brick walls while Arte S is a Copyright reserved © J. Mech. Cont.& Math. Sci Ahmad Sanusi Hassan et al. 277 International Conference on Applied Science, Technology and Engineering J. Mech. Cont.& Math. Sci., Special Issue, No.-4, November (2019) pp 277-287 high-tech apartment design using concrete structure and floor with glass wall as the main construction materials. The building industry has an impact on global warming and sustainability (Akan, Dhavale, & Sarkis, 2017). Huge amounts of electricity are being consumed to improve the indoor areas of the buildings to achieve thermal comfort to the occupants. Hence, the building design has been scrutinised thoroughly in a series of research studies by researchers to identify the design faults and later to recommend solution towards energy efficiency (Generalov & Generalova, 2015; Hassan, 2002; Steele, 1997). Several passive methods creating shades to the building facades have been suggested by scholars to reduce the heat gain by buildings in a tropical climate (Ali, 2013; Dehghani-Sanij, Hassan, 2002; Soltani, & Raahemifar, 2015; Smith & Levermore, 2008). Multi-storey buildings due to the height are highly exposed to direct sunlight; as a result, the buildings’ form, envelope and construction materials become important consideration factors by the architects to reduce the heat gain inside the buildings. In the case of tropical conditions, the surface of the building gets heated influenced by the sunlight and outdoor temperature which cause the heat gain to the interior spaces of the building. Efficient shading devices and proper orientation also can hinder a building facade from direct sunlight’s solar radiation. Therefore the cost of the cooling inside the building can be reduced (Datta, 2001). Hassan, Arab and Bakhlah (2015) analysed a sunlight penetration inside buildings which have different architectural styles in Kuala Lumpur. Their study indicated that the present architects seem more fascinated by the fashion or architectural styles instead of designing the building envelopes with energy efficient design. These scholars suggested that the sustainable strategy should be incorporated at the early phase of the design concept level. Ismail, Keumala, and Dabdoob (2017) argued that the topics on sustainability have not been successfully integrated into the curriculum of architectural education so far to counter the architectural practice in the building industry paying attention to the importance of energy efficiency in the building design. This study uses a thermal imaging camera in the fieldwork survey. This camera also is used for several purposes like, to recognise the hotspots of fires, to detect the overheating of power cables, to determine the heat leaks, to measure fever, to detect defects in buildings and to study the urban heat island (Balaras & Argiriou, 2002; Meola, 2013; Meola, Di Maio, Roberti, & Carlomagno, 2005). Besides, it is a tool for analysing thermal surfaces of building facades which indicate thermal surface performance (Arab, Hassan, & Qanaa, 2017 & 2018; Hassan & Arab, 2017a & 2017b). The objective of this research is to identify the results of thermal surface temperatures of two high-rise apartment buildings using comparative analysis, one with conventional and the other one with high-tech envelope design measured using a thermal imaging camera, Fluke Ti20. The camera will measure thermal surfaces at a western facade of these two case studies. The data shall provide a pattern for the thermal behaviour of the facades, which consequently indicates the thermal surface performance of the building envelopes which influence the amount of heat gains inside the buildings. II. Research Methodology Copyright reserved © J. Mech. Cont.& Math. Sci Ahmad Sanusi Hassan et al. 278 International Conference on Applied Science, Technology and Engineering J. Mech. Cont.& Math. Sci., Special Issue, No.-4, November (2019) pp 277-287 Two multi-storey apartment buildings namely Arte S and Plaza Ivory Apartment, located at Bukit Gambir, Gelugor in Penang Island are selected as the case studies. The location of Penang Island is at 5°21'31.3"N, 100°17'33.6"E slightly at the north of Equator with a tropical climate condition. The research methods are a fieldwork survey and its data analysis of the selected two case studies. In this research, the survey will use the Fluke Ti20 infrared camera to measure the surface temperature. To reduce the survey’s error, the survey will be conducted in three consecutive sunny days at an interval of one hour when capturing thermal images from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The thermal image camera Fluke Ti20 will be positioned at a distance of 450 feet (137 meters) to the western facade of the buildings. The survey was conducted on 14, 15 and 16 July 2018. During the survey, the temperature range of the camera screen was set from 16.5°C to 43.5°C in order to get the uniform colours when illustrating the results. The temperature results produced on the thermal images are automatically configured with temperature grids. For the ease of the analysis, this study utilised only most top grids’ four columns and five rows of the Plaza Ivory which have at the same height to the Arte S Apartment. The readings observed from these selected grids are named as A1-A4, B1-B4, C1-C4, D1-D4 and E1-E4 as illustrated in Figure 1. Fig. 1. Selected grid points of the thermal images in the Case Study 1 (right) and Case Study 2 (left) One of the reasons to select these case studies is that both apartments have a facade at west orientation. These western facades are surveyed because the facades expose to a high outdoor temperature from direct sunlight during the evening time. Western facades face more intense evening sunlight and warmer surroundings in comparison to morning sunlight (Hassan et al., 2015). Hence to get the extreme results to the outdoor temperature, the evening time is chosen for the survey. Both the case studies are selected from the same locality located side by side to each other to Copyright reserved © J. Mech. Cont.& Math. Sci Ahmad Sanusi Hassan et al. 279 International Conference on Applied Science, Technology and Engineering J. Mech. Cont.& Math. Sci., Special Issue, No.-4, November (2019) pp 277-287 avoid the time lag between the images captured. Time difference to snap the images between two case studies is from 3 to 5 minutes, the time taken in transferring and setting up the camera from one location to the other location. Selection of the days for the fieldwork survey is not the scope of this study. The study is to compare the thermal surface performance of the building facades during the sunny days which has high outdoor temperature and direct sunlight. Case Studies Various multi-storey apartments and condominiums are built in Penang Island in the recent years due to the limitation of land. For this research, two such case studies, Arte S and Plaza Ivory apartment are selected, located 300 feet (91 meters) apart from each other at Bukit Gambir in Penang (Figure 2). The Case Study 1 is Plaza Ivory Apartment, formerly known as University Place, located at Halaman Bukit Gambir, built in 2004 by Ivory Properties Group. The building has a conventional design with concrete structures and floor slabs enveloped with brick walls and glass windows.