Michael Adaji

The indoor thermal conditions in residential buildings in two locations in Abuja, Nigeria were investigated to understand the ideal conditions of occupants in this hot-humid climate. Understanding these conditions helps give an insight into what people are experiencing in their houses and how they adapt to the high temperatures. The study seeks to fill the gap in research of occupants’ thermal comfort in this area by providing empirical thermal comfort data from a city in the tropical region. During the study, 86 households responded to a post occupancy questionnaire to evaluate their building and how they adapt to high temperatures. A comfort survey questionnaire was administered to occupants of four low-income residential households to assess their perception of their thermal environment. These included two air-conditioned and two naturally ventilated buildings with the questionnaires having over 80% return rate. Simultaneously, physical measurements were taken in the living room,...

The paper presents the results of a recent study on the thermal comfort of occupants in four low-income residential buildings, at two different locations, within the hot-humid climate of Abuja. A comfort survey questionnaire was administered to occupants of four casestudies to assess their perception of their thermal environment. Simultaneously, the indoor temperatures and relative humidity of the living room and bedroom spaces were monitored as well as outdoor parameters to evaluate the actual building performance. To support the comfort survey, a post-occupancy survey was carried out to evaluate an additional 86 buildings nearby in the case studies areas. The paper focuses on analysing the thermal conditions of respondents of the post-occupancy survey, the comfort survey and indoor monitoring findings from the case studies. The maximum daytime average temperature of the naturally ventilated buildings was only 2.0°C more than in the air-conditioned buildings. The maximum indoor air...

The research investigates the thermal performance of residential buildings in Abuja, Nigeria during the dry and rainy seasons. A field study was conducted to understand the real and preferred conditions of thermal comfort in low-income residential buildings, which represent the largest single housing sector. Knowing the temperatures people are experiencing in their houses and the limits that residents can tolerate is a first step to proffer passive solutions to reduce discomfort and energy demand and then satisfy the energy demand passively. During the survey, 222 people responded to a post occupancy questionnaire and for the ten selected case study dwellings, a comfort survey questionnaire was used. Physical measurements were taken simultaneously during the comfort survey in both air-conditioned and naturally ventilated residential buildings. The ASHRAE and air flow sensation scales were chosen as voting scales. This survey further looked at possible barriers to the implementation ...

A field study was conducted to understand the real and preferred conditions of thermal comfort in low-income residential buildings in Abuja, Nigeria. Knowing the temperatures people are experiencing in their houses and the limits which residents can tolerate is a first step to proffer passive solutions to reduce discomfort. During the study, 40 people responded to a post occupancy questionnaire and two households were issued a comfort survey questionnaire. Physical measurements were taken simultaneously during the comfort survey in both an air-conditioned and naturally ventilated residential building. The ASHRAE and air flow sensation scale were chosen as voting scales. The results from this study show that during the monitoring period the average and maximum temperatures in an air conditioned residential building were 31°C and 34°C; and 33°C and 36°C for natural ventilated buildings in Abuja. This compares with the external average and maximum air temperatures of 31°C and 39°C.