ANÁLISIS TÉRMICO Y RECOMENDACIONES PARA EL DISEÑO DE CASAS SOLARES PASIVAS Y LA DIFUSIÓN DE VIVIENDAS SUSTENTABLES

Resumo

The design of passive solar houses presents a promising strategy for the improvement of thermal comfort conditions in dwellings of the central region of Chile. This way it constitutes an important option for sustainable dwellings in the region. A main objective of this publication was to prepare detailed proposals for the design of houses with solar heating and passive refrigeration, which permit to optimize the complex design equilibrium between the conflicting demands of a mediterranean climate with its hot and dry summers and cold but sunny winters. The thermal behavior of a series of house models were calculated dynamically on an hourly basis with a thermal simulation program. The necessary climate data were prepared with an own methodology, as a Test Reference Year was not available for Chile. This way, as well different types of light constructions, brick and earth constructions, with and without thermal insulation, as conventional houses and alternative constructions with d ifferent passive climatization strategies for the hot and cool period were evaluated. The design recommendations from former publications were verified with thermal simulations of complete houses, considering a wider gamut of strategies for solar heating. It was possible to present proved passive design proposals with simple solutions and local materials of lower energy content and cost. This shows, that with an optimized design it's possible to improve significantly the thermal comfort conditions in economically accessible dwellings of the region. Finally, the challenges and possibilities for the dissemination of sustainable and solar architecture are discussed. The methodology and approach developed here are extendable to other regions and climate zones of Latin America. This way the investigation contributes to the improvement of thermal comfort and the application of solar energy in the housing sector as essential elements of a sustainable development process.