Ask here about the pleasures and pitfalls of buying, selling or renting property and real estate in Hua Hin. Building, design and construction topics welcome. Commercial or promotional posts for real estate companies or private properties are forbidden.
Jaime wrote:
If the bricks are the small, hollow, lightweight bricks used as single skin infill between the concrete framed structure then they are actually very poor at keeping the house cool, as the construction has little thermal mass with which to absorb heat during the day, which is then released into the comparatively cooler evening air.
of particular note, the article says:
Hot humid (Tropical) climates
Use of high mass construction is generally not recommended in hot humid climates due to their limited diurnal range. Passive cooling in this climate is generally more effective in low mass buildings.
Thermal comfort during sleeping hours is a primary design consideration in tropical climates. Lightweight construction responds quickly to cooling breezes. High mass can completely negate these benefits by slowly re-releasing heat absorbed during the day.
Whilst low mass is generally the best option, recent research has shown that innovative, well insulated and shaded thermal mass designs have been able to lower night time temperatures by 3 to 4°C in hot humid areas with modest diurnal ranges. (PLEA 99)
You've missed the boat egeefay - Ellisg has already pulled me up on that one if you read further up the thread but the Thermal Mass link is excellent nevertheless - really well explained and certainly should be read by anyone thinking of building their own home in the tropics. With the lightweight form of construction, a more holistic solution as illustrated by the examples you link to seems to be the thing, rather than simply changing the external wall make up. I reiterate the point that the standard developer construction techniques and cellular designs prevalent in Hua Hin do not seem to have a cooling effect - certainly nowhere near the 4 degrees stated in the article - at least that is the case in my own house (constructed of little clay bricks sandwiched between two inch thick layers of sand and cement render).
oPPS. Sorry. Should have read the later threads before posting. I see my comment has already been dealt with.
The homes I've seen in Thailand tend to mimic western building styles...space divided into small rooms incased in a brick and mortar shell and underneath a tile roof with little ventilation.
Might be ok for colder climates but for Thailand they seem inappropriate for the tropics.
Even the old style Thai houses: wooden houses propped up on stilts would seem to be a much "cooler" type house.
So..Has anyone ever seen a house in Thailand built with passive energy efficient features? Are there any builders who specialize in that type of construction.
C'mon guys, I know I'm an intruder here, but my question is important to me. Builders I know here can't comment. You've all been there or are there? Was the workmanship described a concern - I'll leave you in peace after - honest!
egeefay wrote:So..Has anyone ever seen a house in Thailand built with passive energy efficient features? Are there any builders who specialize in that type of construction.
I haven't seen any. The journals and specialist publications often feature such homes in Malaysia and Singapore but examples from Thailand seem to be conspicuous by their absence. Another question - has anyone seen any really good modern design in Thailand?
caller wrote:C'mon guys, I know I'm an intruder here, but my question is important to me. Builders I know here can't comment. You've all been there or are there? Was the workmanship described a concern - I'll leave you in peace after - honest!
I think its difficult to comment without seeing it but generally I think that is the standard and its not too much to get worried about. It is the frame that's holding up the roof - the rest is just infill, so any cracking will be cosmetic, although falling through a weak wall from a 10th floor condo wouldn't be funny! One word in favour of the little Thai bricks in this regard - the walls made from them are probably 30 to 40 per cent mortar joint, which when rendered is probably pretty damn solid, however ropey looking. Is that conclusive enough? Put it this way - my house was built as you describe albeit with the little red bricks and it doesn't bother me - the electrics and plumbing were of far more concern!
Jaime - thanks - answer appreciated. To me it maybe reflects on the overall build quality when comparing A and B. Not just the infill. Just means its harder if you're not there and the importance of trusting your judgement, irrespective of what others say i.e., viewing, asking questions, asking for technical data, trusting in your agent and the developer. A CV that is checkable, either from LOS, or through stuff done in the UK or elsewhere is probably too much to expect!!!
Check out thermal blocks, "Qcon" and Cpac "supablock" both available 20cm thick, both with excellent thermal and mechanical properties, much better than concrete blocks or little red bricks.
Also do not think Thailand is behind the rest of the world when it comes to energy conservation and efficiency, The Thai government have the largest Solar energy scheme in the world, bringing solar power to hundreds of thousands of Thai rural homes. Also there are 2 major solar power stations and another approved and soon to be built in Prachuabkirikhan province. Check out the Thai Bio-climactic house which is patented in Thailand (I think by Cpac roofing) the design allows free airflow through the roof and thus cools the house.
The fact of the matter is that everything you need to make an energy efficient cool building is available in Thailand, you just have to do some research consult with and architect, specify what you want and be prepared to pay for it!
Check out the Thai Bio-climactic house which is patented in Thailand (I think by Cpac roofing) the design allows free airflow through the roof and thus cools the house.
Does anyone know anything about the Bio Climatic House?
Seems like an experimental project by an outfit called BSRC (Building Scientific Research Center). http://www.bsrc.net/accomplish.asp?cid=18
They seem to have a prototype but other than that they look like they are publishing papers, holding conferences and doing research.
There are no links on their site to any other energy efficient builders or projects in Thailand (just to Verizon...for some strange reason)
I tried using their email form but got nowhere.
I've searched around for energy efficient housing in Thailand but other than a couple of experimental projects , I haven't come up with anything.
(of note, see this interesting experimental house by A research team from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok in 2003) http://www.architectureweek.com/2003/05 ... t_1-1.html
As hot as it gets in Thailand and as expensive the cost of energy...There must be at least one builder or developer in Thailand who has an energy efficient and environmentally friendly project up and running
All this repudiation of a high thermal mass solution in the tropics because of the low diurnal temperature range has had me filled with self doubt and loathing. I have been wracked with the embarrassment of being exposed before my peers and wondering whether my apparently inaccurate recollection of such things meant that I am in the early stages of some degenerative mental condition. I could take it no more and so I went back to my old journals and notes to check whether I had been posting total bollocks or not.
Ego salvation is at hand!
The use of high thermal mass is applicable in the tropics after all, albeit in a completely different way to temperate zones. The temperate solution discussed in the thread above relies on the high mass to store the heat of the day, whereas in tropical zones (warm humid and hot humid) it is used to 'store' ....... the cool of the night! However the high mass elements must , as in Ellisg and Egeefay's posts be shaded but more than that, this isolation from solar exposure must be total, rather than partial, which means the use of deep verandas on elevations in the path of the sun.
The strategy (known as a 'Cool Core Building') also incorporates the kind of free ventilation discussed above and, simply put, works like this:
The high mass internal core walls and/or floors are completely shaded by verandas all year, so are never exposed to solar radiation. They are also further cooled, by either cross ventilation or, where cooling breezes are negligible, by induced 'stack' ventilation to a roof terminal in the insulated or low mass & permeable roof. This ventilation is admitted via either open verandas or openings in a low mass wall at the perimeter of the verandas. The high-mass cool core itself needs many openings to allow air to pass across it so an open plan form is the thing.
There are a couple of obvious advantages to this sytem:
1. Doors and windows can on occasion be kept shut if needs be (for example to keep out insects at certain times of year), with the cool core keeping people inside cooler - this would be more effective with a higher, open roof space and more effective still with a higher building
2. It is a very low tech solution and therefore easy to construct with readily available materials
I found a couple of built examples incorporating elements of this strategy in south east Asia: Jimmy Lim's house in Malaysia and a house in Surabaya, Indonesia. Both are featured in the Ecohouse 2 publication I mentioned further up the thread.
None of the links above to the Australian houses illustrate this type of solution and I wonder if it has anything to do with the 'touch the ground lightly' philosophy espoused by the hugely influential and Pritzker Prize winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt, in which the footprint of a building should have as little impact on its locality as possible and which I understand was inspired by an aboriginal concept about making shelters. Of course, by necessity a high mass solution does anything but tough the ground lightly.
Lastly, it has been documented by a number of authors on the subject that mimicry of certain vernacular styles is unlikely by itself to achieve the type of passive solutions being strived for but that the solutions arrived at through our increased understanding of such things will result in new vernacular building typologies.
Great post Jaime I thought all my birthdays had come at once..well actually they had as it was also my birthday on the 24th
A really good bit of research and very interesting. I shall follow up on those references you made to such buildings in Malaysia and Surubaya. I believe a similar construction method has been used in Sri Lanka (which I presume has a similar climate near the coast).
Ok, assuming that real solar benefits can be achieved using this method the next logical question would be cost comparisons. In Perth material costs would be lower for brick construction but there would be savings in labour costs in lightweight construction due to shorter build time but overall costs would be fairly similar per sqm (it seems that it doesn't really matter if it's steel, glass, wood or brick it all works out about the same...weird!). With the lower labour costs in Thailand what do you consider would be the comparison.
By the way I'm ellis now not ellisg..stupid nick that one;)
The point I was making is that Thai builders will always use those little red clay bricks if you allow them, because they are so cheap!
If you care about the quality of the construction of your home. Then you should take an interest into the quality of the materials and engage someone to inspect the works.
Check with an architect to specify which materials you want and have the materials included into the Bill of Quantities also make sure that the builder knows that those are the materials he is being paid to install.
The point is that you can get anything you want in Thailand, but be prepared to do a little work and be prepared to pay for what you want or you will end up with those little red clay bricks!
I am currently having my home constructed from my own design. I have decided to use those little clay bricks. The house has concrete columns that are 20 cm square, so I have decided to make two layers of red bricks with an air gap or cavity in the middle. The red bricks are approx 7cm wide so that will leave an air gap of approx 6cm.
Im not sure if this arrangement will keep the house cooler or not, but it does hide those horrible looking columns in every corner of the house.
I have not seen this method of construction in use in Thailand, but thought I would give it a go !!!!!!! I will be installing air con and fans as well.
lockwood74 wrote:Im not sure if this arrangement will keep the house cooler or not, but it does hide those horrible looking columns in every corner of the house.
Any comments please
Regards john
Hi John,
If you are using a relatively lightweight construction and creating a cavity, why not fill it with a suitable insulation material to reduce the load on the air con and therefore make it cheaper to run? Running costs in Thailand might not be an issue now but they could be if the price of oil continues to rise.
An alternative would be to forego the internal skin of clay bricks and just line the internal walls with insulated plasterboard - if you can get it over there. You will get a much neater wall finish and you could hide all your first fix services (cables, pipes etc) in a cavity behind it, without needing to chase out any walls.
Personally, the columns in the corners don't really bother me but then our house is just a holiday getaway. From a purely commercial point of view, you will be losing valuable floorspace by adding the cavity and internal skin of blocks but I guess you will have already considered that.
I thought all my birthdays had come at once..well actually they had as it was also my birthday on the 24th 
