An environmentally conscious house for Tamare, Venezuela. An architectural proposal for warm humid climates.

A bioclimatic house for Tamare, Venezuela, designed to provide psychological, physical and social well being through improved comfort and less energy consumption is explained. Digital and analog models were built to analyze sunlight and shadow behavior and computer simulations to predict thermal performance. Assuming a maximum comfort temperature of 30° C we achieve<! 95% of satisfaction when we ventilated at night and closed the building during daytime. Some bioclimatic principles integrated in the design are: 1) minimization of solar radiation gains through windows, using solar protection and exterior building facades to generate shadows 2) minimization of conduction heat flow and thermal amplitude by adequate positioning of mass and insulation 3) control of airflow through windows, and 4) use of vegetation to diminish surrounding air temperature. Some passive cooling techniques are: 1) comfort ventilation and 2) nocturnal convective cooling. Mechanical cooling can also be used in combination with passive cooling principles. Construction of the Tamare house will begin in mid-1998 with funding from POV, the national oil company. Indoor thermal and air quality parameter will be monitored after construction to evaluate its performance