2012
Centro de Investigacin en Tecnologas de la Construccin CITEC UBB, Universidad del Bo-Bo, Concepcin, Chile
2
School of the Built Environment, University of Nottingham, UK
ABSTRACT: Housing deficit has been one of the biggest concerns within the Chilean governmental policies in the last
century. This shortage was dramatically increased due to the destruction caused by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake on
February 2010. Simultaneously, in an attempt to increase energy efficiency and comfort conditions in dwellings, the
recent implementation of a Thermal Regulation established minimum compliance standards for building thermal
performance. These challenges fostered the search for new housing solutions and alternative construction systems, been
one of the alternatives prefabricated timber-frame systems, which may deliver high quality dwellings and can also be
quickly built. This study evaluates the thermal performance and comfort conditions achieved by a dwelling built with such
construction methods, using a timber-frame social-house as a case study, designed for the south-coastal Chilean climate,
one of the most affected areas by the earthquake.
The evaluation was undertaken utilising dynamic thermal simulations through a parametrical approach, where different
factors such as the building envelope, natural ventilation and solar access were investigated. Additionally, the minimum
insulation levels established by the Chilean and British building regulations were compared with the ones commonly
utilized in timber-frame constructions. The results demonstrate that timber-frame dwellings are able to deliver good
thermal performance in the studied climate, especially when the envelope is evenly insulated and low U-values are used.
Nevertheless, it was found that the requirements established by the Chilean Thermal Regulation present gaps that need to
be addressed since they may lead to poor performance and low energy efficiency. The authors suggest that there is scope
for improvement of these regulations and that much could be learnt from the British standards investigated.
Keywords: thermal performance, thermal comfort, energy efficiency, timber-frame housing, disaster zones, social housing
INTRODUCTION
Chile, as most of the developing countries, has faced
issues related to housing deficit within its governmental
policies. In 2005, this deficit was estimated to be around
756,000 dwellings [1]. In addition, the destruction caused
by the earthquake in February 2010 added more than
190,000 dwellings [1] to the already existent housing
deficit, leaving hundreds of people without a roof.
Therefore, there is a need to build, but also, a need to
build fast, good quality housing.
In this country, most of the dwellings are made by
heavyweight construction systems such as bricks (45%)
and concrete (28%), being a small percentage lightweight
construction such as timber (13%) [2]. Nevertheless, the
recent incorporation of thermal standards within the
building regulations since the year 2007 (regulating
roofs, walls and suspended floors U-values), left the
traditional heavyweight construction systems in
disadvantage in more than half of the country, as they
make it more difficult to comply with these new
standards. As a consequence, there is a need for new
PLEA2012 - 28th Conference, Opportunities, Limits & Needs Towards an environmentally responsible architecture Lima, Per 7-9 November 2012
Section
North Faade
PLEA2012 - 28th Conference, Opportunities, Limits & Needs Towards an environmentally responsible architecture Lima, Per 7-9 November 2012
PLEA2012 - 28th Conference, Opportunities, Limits & Needs Towards an environmentally responsible architecture Lima, Per 7-9 November 2012
A5-b
A5-c
House as
designed
Max U-value
(W/m2K)
U-value
(W/m2K)
Wall
1.7
0.35
0.45
Element
Floor
0.25
3.24
Suspended
Floor
0.6
0.25
0.33
Roof
0.38
0.25
0.34
Windows
and doors
2.2
5.8 windows
2.2 doors
Code
Description
A0
House as designed
01
A1-a
A1-b
02
A1-c
A1-d
A1-e
A2-a
A2-b
A2-c
03
A2-d
A2-e
04
A3-a
A4-a
A4-b
A4-c
06
A3-c
05
A2-f
A3-b
A5-a
01 Base Simulations
<15oC
Chilean
Thermal
Regulation
(Zone 4)
Max U-value
(W/m2K)
Ext T
A0
A
15-17oC
comfort (17-23oC)
23-26oC
72
11
51
10
42
16 1
8
9
10 8
21
27
13
>26oC
15-17oC
comfort (17-23oC)
23-26oC
72
42
42
42
42
37
36
11
13
13
13
13
27
27
27
27
30
30
13
12
>26oC
16 1
10 8
10 9
10 9
10 8
11
9
11 10
03 UK standards
<15oC
Ext T
A
A2-a
A2-b
A2-c
A2-d
A2-e
A2-f
15-17oC
comfort (17-23oC)
23-26oC
72
42
40
41
41
35
29
28
>26oC
11
13
13
13
13
27
29
27
27
12
31
11
11
34
34
16 1
10 8
10 8
10 9
10 9
11 10
13
13
13
13
04 Internal Gains
<15oC
Ext T
A
A3-a
A3-b
A3-c
15-17oC
comfort (17-23oC)
72
13
13
16 1
10 8
14
13
18
19
33
27
39
38
32
>26oC
11
42
21
13
11
7 8
23-26oC
20
PLEA2012 - 28th Conference, Opportunities, Limits & Needs Towards an environmentally responsible architecture Lima, Per 7-9 November 2012
05 Natural Ventilation
<15oC
Ext T
A
A4-a
A4-b
A4-c
15-17oC
comfort (17-23oC)
23-26oC
72
42
22
14
8 8
11
13
27
14
53
11
61
64
>26oC
16
10
6
7
12
1
8
6
7
8
15-17oC
comfort (17-23oC)
23-26oC
72
42
22
14
8
9
11
13
27
14
54
12
62
65
>26oC
16 1
10 8
6 4
7 5
13 5
PLEA2012 - 28th Conference, Opportunities, Limits & Needs Towards an environmentally responsible architecture Lima, Per 7-9 November 2012
15-17oC
Ext T
A0
E1
A
A3-a
A4-a
A5-a
E2
A1-e
A3-b
A4-b
A5-b
A2-f
E3 A3-c
A4-c
A5-c
comfort (17-23oC)
23-26oC
72
11
51
10
42
21
22
22
13
14
14
13
14
14
28
7 8
8 8
8 9
16
21
13
36
11
11
12
>26oC
27
39
10
8
13
6 6
6 4
14
53
54
12
38
30
61
62
11
32
34
20
64
65
11
18
10
19
7 7
7 5
13
13
33
12 8
13 5
PLEA2012 - 28th Conference, Opportunities, Limits & Needs Towards an environmentally responsible architecture Lima, Per 7-9 November 2012