Assessing the indoor comfort and carbon dioxide concentration in high-rise residential buildings in Kuala Lumpur : the people's housing programme

The government of Malaysia has an ongoing People's Housing Programme (PPR) to construct one million affordable housing units across the country. It is trying to address the problem of squatters and housing woes of the low-income population, especially in densely populated areas. The first-generation design samples of these high-rise PPR are now being superseded by a new design for the second-generation of the construction of such buildings. After the occupation of the buildings, the users have generally installed air conditioned units, which indicates that the original design process of the buildings had not taken into consideration the environmental issues and the subsequent indoor comfort and air quality of the units. The main objective of this research is to investigate the actual indoor comfort and carbon dioxide level which could be found at three different zones in both PPR generations. The results for the first-generation of PPR showed that the average operative temperature at the different levels of the buildings surpass the CIBSE Guide A, ASHRAE Standard 55-2010 and Malaysian Standard 1525:2014 limits. For the second-generation, the gradually increasing operative temperature profile for the unobstructed facing zone has resulted from the gradient wind profile in the urban areas. The eddies and recirculation regions of the wind movement at the obstructed facing zone had reduced operative temperature at intermediate part of the building and the weaker stack effect happened in the enclosed facing zone decreased the operative temperature at higher part of the buildings. The outcomes of the research intend to inform future design of these buildings, so that they achieve indoor comfort and air quality for the occupants as well as the subsequent reduction in consumption of energy and resources

Traditional values and their adaptation in social housing design : towards a new typology and establishment of 'Air House' standard in Malaysia

Large migration from rural areas to urban areas like Kuala Lumpur has led to some implications for economic, social and cultural development. This high population has placed enormous demand on the existing housing stocks, especially for low-income groups. However, some issues arise, one of which is overheated indoor air temperature. This problem contributes to the high-energy usage that forces huge sums of money to be spent on cooling the house by using mechanical equipment. Therefore, this study focuses on thermal comfort in social housing, and incorporates traditional values into its design to achieve a certain measurement of natural ventilation in a house. From the study, the carbon emission and energy consumption for an air-conditioned house is 67%, 66% higher than a naturally ventilated house. Therefore, this research has come up with a new typology design, which has a large exposed wall area and full-length openings on the opposite walls to increase cross ventilation. At the end of this research, the measurement of thermal comfort for a naturally ventilated building called 'Air House' has been identified

Natural ventilation potential in Kuala Lumpur : assumptions, realities and future

Malaysia accounts for 11% of Southeast Asia’s carbon emissions in recent years, is the third highest emissions contributor in the region. It has been estimated that 25% of these carbon emissions are generated from the buildings, especially from the electrical and mechanical equipment that are present in residential buildings. Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, has 81.5% of the high-rise buildings in the country and half of the buildings are residential. They have supposedly been designed as predominantly naturally ventilated, but the occupants had to add inefficient mechanical ventilation to achieve the required cooling. It is due to the lack of acknowledgement of the hot, humid climate of Malaysia by the current building regulations and the fact that the requirements for energy use are not customised for residential buildings. Recent developments concerning the use of green rating tools are helping to improve the sustainable design of buildings. This paper reviews these existing regulations and green rating tools and explores the full potential for natural ventilation in Kuala Lumpur, to substantially reduce carbon emissions while considering both the health and comfort of the occupants. It concludes that the building regulations should be revised to deal with current and future climatic conditions and to achieve the critical conditions that allow for natural ventilation in Kuala Lumpur

Natural ventilation potential in Kuala Lumpur : assumptions, realities and future

Malaysia accounts for 11% of Southeast Asia’s carbon emissions in recent years, is the third highest emissions contributor in the region. It has been estimated that 25% of these carbon emissions are generated from the buildings, especially from the electrical and mechanical equipment that are present in residential buildings. Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, has 81.5% of the high-rise buildings in the country and half of the buildings are residential. They have supposedly been designed as predominantly naturally ventilated, but the occupants had to add inefficient mechanical ventilation to achieve the required cooling. It is due to the lack of acknowledgement of the hot, humid climate of Malaysia by the current building regulations and the fact that the requirements for energy use are not customised for residential buildings. Recent developments concerning the use of green rating tools are helping to improve the sustainable design of buildings. This paper reviews these existing regulations and green rating tools and explores the full potential for natural ventilation in Kuala Lumpur, to substantially reduce carbon emissions while considering both the health and comfort of the occupants. It concludes that the building regulations should be revised to deal with current and future climatic conditions and to achieve the critical conditions that allow for natural ventilation in Kuala Lumpur

Improving indoor air quality using dynamic insulation and activated carbon in an air permeable ceiling

Indoor air pollution has proven negative impacts on the urban population in many developing countries. In Kuala Lumpur, high-rise housing programmes are not addressing IAQ and thermal comfort. As household incomes rise, residents are resorting to retro-fitting wall mounted split, air conditioning units; a strategy that is neither cost nor carbon effective. This paper reports on the results of computer modelling in conjunction with scale model trials (1:5) of a ‘Dynamic-Hybrid Air Permeable Ceiling’ (DHAPC) designed to filter, cool and dehumidify, the incoming air mass. This filter membrane, when combined with activated charcoal, reduced carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, benzene and particulate levels by up to 90%. These techniques now require to be replicated at 1:1 scale; however, the initial data suggest that such an approach, could make a major contribution to improving indoor air quality and thermal comfort with a much reduced carbon penalty. Practical application : Air pollution is now being recognised as having major negative impacts on public health. The use of insulation, as a large area and volume air filter, would appear to be a highly effective technique to reduce particulate matter, and when combined with activated charcoal that absorbs/adsorbs toxic gasses, can significantly improve indoor air quality in cities across the world that are presently exceeding WHO air quality guidelines

High-rise social housing in hot-humid climates : towards an 'airhouse' standard for comfort

The pressure to provide social housing in a fast and economic way as well as outdated regulations constraint the design of these buildings and has serious implications for the comfort of its occupants and the environment. This becomes more critical in hot-humid climates such as Malaysia with uniformly high temperature and humidity as well as low wind speeds. In its capital, Kuala Lumpur, an extensive program of construction of high-rise social housing is being carried out but shortly after the flats are occupied, or as soon as they can afford it, the residents fit wall mounted air conditioning units. This research started by looking at Malay vernacular architecture and the traditional strategies for ventilation and cooling. After a review of current building regulations and green tools employed in the country, two campaigns of fieldwork were carried out to assess the actual indoor and outdoor thermal and air quality conditions in the buildings, which were found inadequate for both local regulations and international recommendations. The fieldwork allowed also identifying the critical design issues to address. A ventilation and filtering ceiling system has been identified as one of the possible solutions for the current situation and has been tested through physical and computer models. It improves comfort by reducing the air temperature, humidity, airborne particle and gases as well as constantly providing adequate airflow rate. It is the first attempt to develop what we have named the 'Airhouse' standard for tropical countries

Balancing comfort and indoor air quality in high-riser buildings for social housing in Kuala Lumpur : from regulations to construction

Large cities such as Kuala Lumpur are facing significant environmental challenges concerning air quality and energy efficiency, but their undergoing major construction programs of social housing are not addressing these problems in full. Indoor environ-mental conditions should be taken into consideration while designing these buildings so that they could achieve indoor comfort and air quality as well as the subsequent reduc-tion in consumption of energy and resources. Increasing pollution levels and dated build-ing standards are two of the key issues to be taken on board to allow for a more appro-priate design. Natural ventilation should be promoted but allowing the outside air enter-ing the indoor spaces is obviously permitting also hot and polluted air in. Our research started with a detailed analysis of the existing building regulations in Malaysia and cur-rent design practice in social housing in Kuala Lumpur. Two campaigns of fieldwork have been carried out to measure and assess the indoor comfort as well as the external and internal air quality in recently completed high-rise social housing buildings in Kuala Lumpur, part of the large People’s Housing Program (PPR). In order to address the find-ings from the fieldwork and assessment, the ‘Dynamic-Hybrid Air Permeable Ceiling’ (DHAPC) system, combining dynamic insulation in the ceiling compartment with sever-al ventilation systems, has been developed and tested. The experiments tried to identify the best option for the configuration of the ventilation in the DHAPC considering the in-door space compartments, either fully passive, hybrid or fully mechanical. Several po-rous materials were tested in the DHAPC compartment, in order to measure the required air temperature, humidity, PM2.5 and PM10 in the indoor space. These experiments suggested that the ventilation configuration of hybrid-positive (F-B) and hybrid negative (B-F) are the best options for reducing polluted air and indoor discomfort, achieving a significant reduction of air temperature, humidity and particles, in particular with lower air speed

Achieving health and comfort in high-rise residential buildings by using dynamic-hybrid air permeable ceiling (DHAPC)

Air pollution has become a threat to the vast amount of population in many developing countries around the world. This life-threatening issue is worsening every year, in South-East Asia in particular. Despite the severity of the problem, ongoing major building programs of high-rise residential buildings in urban areas are not addressing it in full. This research explores the use of a ‘Dynamic-Hybrid Air Permeable Ceiling’ (DHAPC) as a strategy to reduce the amount of airborne particles penetrating internal spaces. This system is also designed to ensure the required constant airflow rate in indoor spaces as well as to control air temperature and humidity. Fieldwork with direct measurements in social housing in Kuala Lumpur was used to establish the exact extent of the problem. The system has been tested carrying out two experiments on physical models using synthetic recycled insulation materials and higher airflow rate. The test has achieved a healthier and more comfortable indoor environment with substantial improvements, including a 98 percent reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 particles, and a 16 percent reduction of air temperature and humidity. This experiment has proven that the DHAPC concept using recycled materials and hybrid ventilation could be the solution to poor indoor quality and indoor discomfort in high-rise residential buildings in urban areas

Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality in Densely Populated Areas: Case Studies of High-Rise Social Housing in Kuala Lumpur

Air pollution is one factor that contributes to serious health issues in developing countries. The Malaysian Environmental Department has measured that particulate matter in urban areas is significantly higher than other parts of the country. Thus, this study aims to assess the current level of indoor and outdoor air quality in a tropical city-Kuala Lumpur; and to understand the relationship between these two environments in high-rise buildings. Through a fieldwork study on two typologies of social housing in the city, particulate matters of PM10 and PM2.5 were found to be the most common substances in indoor and outdoor spaces. The first typology, which employs a compact design with light-wells, recorded a decrease in particulate matter concentrations, whereas the second, which employs atriums in its design, recorded an increase for the same substance. Therefore, a change in the ventilation concept should be implemented to address the problem of indoor air pollution using an integrated hybrid strategy of passive and low energy consumption techniques that should be explored in greater detail in the future

A Study of Zero Bid Wind Farm for Future Scotland’s Energy Demands—A New Approach

Offshore wind is in a rapid transitional phase, pushed worldwide by efforts of those to reduce climate change. Wind power is becoming a commercialised, unsubsidised competitive form of low carbon generation of renewable energy. Marketplaces reflect this growing trend with the first introduction of subsidy free bids in a tender for the Dutch and German governments. The analysis of surrounding literature of subsidy free bids and governmental policies revealed that integration of subsidy free bids have been carried out to various extents. Bids like those seen in the German and Dutch governments have been done in accompaniment with supportive policies and measures. For the UK, a possible subsidy free bid could be developed under the Scottish Sectoral Marine Plan. Owing to that, this paper investigates the feasibility of a subsidy free bid for the Scottish government. Utilising the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) metric were inserted into a detailed excel spreadsheet. This paper calculates multiple financial scenarios under the LCOE metric to provide an insight into the possible scenarios of which different models of subsidy free bids can be implemented. The main parameters associated with the BEIS metric and calculator design were investigated. These included financial cost predictions, discount rate, generational capacity and net capacity factors. The final conclusion of the generated output data, showed it was indeed possible to adopt a subsidy free bid under the current UK contract for difference (CfD) scheme under strict and favourable conditions