The question posed in this thesis is: by incorporate traditional architecture forms
and design features, can new housing provide thermal comfort without the need
for excessive use of air- conditioning as is the case in current new building
methods and designs. There has been some evidence that the new type of housing
being built in the hot areas in Yemen has inherently produced unacceptable
comfort conditions resulting in a greater use of air conditioning while the
traditional housing naturally provided more comfortable conditions and did not
need to use air conditioning.
This thesis investigated the effect of different building materials on both human
comfort and energy consumption in domestic buildings in the Yemen with special
reference to the City of Seiyun.
The methodology used in this thesis was divided into two parts. The first part
dealt with a questionnaire and building monitoring relating to the perceived
thermal comfort inside three types of houses and the use of fans and/or air
conditioning to maintain thermal comfort.
Based on the results of this survey a computer model was calibrated and used to
carry out a parametric study into the choice of building materials and architectural
design to optimise the design of housing to minimise the use of air conditioning.
The results of the survey indicated that occupants were more dissatisfied with
their internal environment in housing constructed of concrete than in traditional
housing and also they used a significant amount of air conditioning to maintain
thermal comfort.
The main conclusion to be drawn from this work was that it was possible to
design new housing in such a way so as to reduce the demand for air conditioning
and at the same time provide thermal comfort and inhabitant satisfaction with
building appearance. Also one of the most effective design features was the use
of a courtyard with a high thermal mass
