Evaluating Indoor Thermal Comfort In Dire Dawa City Ethiopia: A Comparative Study Of Modern And Traditional Residential Houses.

Abstract

This paper investigates indoor thermal comfort conditions in modern and traditional residential houses in Dire Dawa City, Ethiopia. The aims are to identify factors that affect the indoor thermal environment and their contribution to discomfort, assess users' thermal comfort preferences between traditional and modern residential houses, and explore possible improvements to increase occupants' satisfaction. It also compares the results between the two housing types for any differences that may be ascribed to the design, construction, and the climatic condition in the area of the other region. On-site surveys and measurement of indoor and outdoor temperature, relative humidity, and air speed are measured while occupants' perceptions and their satisfaction levels of indoor environment conditions were obtained by questionnaire. For the survey, a total of 116 targeted groups of respondents were purposively chosen from the population who had experience in living in both types of houses. Results: 88.8% of the respondents felt that the thermal sensation scale of traditional houses was better than that of modern houses; 87.1% preferred the thermal environment of traditional houses, and 87.1% were more satisfied with traditional houses than with modern houses. The recorded data’s also show that, in all four consecutive months, the traditional houses performed better than the modern houses. This paper provides useful knowledge on how design, construction, and selection of residential buildings in Dire Dawa City can be upgraded to achieve better indoor thermal comfort. The results can contribute to policy recommendations for local governments, building regulations, and guidelines for future construction projects. This paper can become a reference point for similar studies that other regions may conduct due to similar challenges arising from urbanization and climate change impacts on housing conditions.