Hot and Dry Climate

Regions :

West Rajasthan,
parts of Gujarat,
S. Maharashtra,
A.P. and
Karnataka
•Being situated in the centre of the country, away from any major water body,
climate is dry, with a low level of humidity.
• Dried up river beds during summer is a common sight.
• Nagpur is very hot in summers and has mild winters.
• The highest recorded temperature was 48.6 °C (119.5 °F) on 1954-05-26.
• Lowest 4 °C.
• Humidity ranges from 20% to 70%
• It receives an annual rainfall of 1,242 mm (48.9 in).
•Except for the summer months from March to June, which are
extremely hot, the weather all round is moderate.
•There is very scant rainfall, which results in frequent water shortage,
mostly in the poorer parts of the city. Winter lasts from November to
January.
VERANDAH
• (COVERED COURTYARD)
SEMI SHADED AREA

COURTYARD
• SEMI-SHADED
• SIZE KEPT SMALL SO
THAT IT IS ALWAYS IN
SHADE
PANKHASA
• LOCATED AROUND COURTYARD
• MOSTLY ALONG ENTRANCE
• FULLY SHADED

MEDI
• LOCATED AT UPPER FLOOR TO
GET THE VIEW OF COURTYARD
• RECEIVE COOL AIR FROM
COURTYARD
• SEMI-SHADED AREA
 MODA
• SHADED AREA AT THE
ENTRANCE

OSRI
SEMI SHADED
AREA
 court
toilet

A A
lobby

bedroom kitchen
 COURT

FRESH AIR

FRESH AIR

BASEMENT
 DAY AREAS
SUBSIDERY SPACES

NIGHT AREAS
Climatic data :
 Temperature: mean temp. > 30degrees
daily temp. variation but little seasonal changes
diurnal temp. variations.. High temp. during daytime and
at night it drops down sharply
 Sunshine hours : varies from 9-12 hrs throughout the yr
harsh sun from March – Aug
 Wind : wind speed varies from 3-6 m/s.. It is at its peak during May-Jun
wind flow creates dust storms in afternoon and isolated
whirlwinds in evenings.
 Rainfall : less than 200 mm per yr.
max. rainfall being during June – Aug
25-50% humidity, less humidity hence dry
 Sky conditions : cloudless sky with high solar radiation
direct sun, hence glare
occasional darkening of sky due to sandstorm
 Topography : relatively flat land, sandy or rocky ground
scarce vegetation
low water table
 Dry air permits high degree of night radiation to atmosphere resulting in
increased rate of cooling.
 Daily temp. variation, but little seasonal changes
 High gain comes from direct radiation.
 Entry of heat can never be prevented , it can only be delayed.
 Internal heat being long waved , prove unbearable. Heat that has gradually
accumulated inside cannot easily get out. Because of heat resistance nature
of material and smallness of opening. Interior thus continuous to remain
uncomfortable during evening and major part of night, regains its initial
coolness towards early hours of morning.
To conserve night temp. and prevent the entry of day temp.

 Use heat resistant materials, sufficient in thickness so as to create max.

time lag.
 Create highly reflective surfaces externally.
 Provide small openings for ventilation that can be closed air- tight if
required.
 Construct roof in such a way that it can be thrown open to sky temporarily,
say between 6-8 pm thus permitting heated up interiors to cool rapidly by
radiation to sky. ( mostly effective in single storey buildings )
 Use of shading devices like horizontal , vertical louvers to combat dry heat.
They must be placed between the sun rays and surface of the building.
 Some of the heat resisting method can be adopted like surface projections,
zigzag surfaces, wall slanting to sunrays .
 Scattered layouts : shadows casted on neighbouring plot helps combating
the heat.
 Use of vegetation and water bodies around the structure, to create
microclimatic variations.
Passive features :
 Reduction of solar heat gain.
by orientation of smaller walls towards east- west.
by shading with overhanging roof and large tree in courtyard.
by avoiding larger openings other than doors.
 Reduction of internal heat gain in living spaces …
by placing kitchen outdoors, that acts as buffer space to cut heat gain.
 Reduction of heat transmission.
by thermal insulation of roofs and walls.
 Balance of temporary fluctuation by massive wall construction.
 Roofs can be insulated using wood and straw.
 Small surface to volume ratio achieved by circular plan of house.
 Partial shading of walls, by overhanging eaves & fence on east side
 Reduction of heat transmission by insulating thatch roof.
by providing wind- breakers to protect against hot winds.
Deep planning
 Dwelling units should have differentiated living spaces – day areas & night
areas.
 Design could be further refined by placing night areas towards the south and
day areas towards north
 Subsidiary spaces like kitchen, stores, toilets could be distributed to the west
and east of the day areas so as to act as heat barriers. It is called as deep
planning.
 Deep planning saves space as rooms are near to each other and corridors
are not required.
Box in system traps air and hinder air movement from one space to other.
Due to compactness area of external wall is relatively small compared to
the enclosed space and major heat source being roof.
 Example: area of flat roof = x
quantum of solar radiation falling on that area = y
amount of radiation per unit area = y/x
roof (domical or pitched) radiation = y
roof area = x+
hence, radiation per unit area is decreased to y/x+
hence, roof remains cooler
 Jaisalmer
 Temperature : summer … max. 52 winter … max. 28
min. 26 min. -1
 Winds : summer … south- west loo winds
winter … dry & cold winds
 Response to climate :
thermal balance
Funnel effect courtyard effect

 Courtyard arches are lined with wet mats to cool the interiors
 Narrow lanes that helps in gaining wind velocity and inturn cools the internal
surrounding and protects from duststorms.
 Sandstone , lime mortar, stone slabs
 Offset at different levels in plan or elevation, helps in mutual shading to cool
the structure.