Indoor and Built Environment

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Thermal Performance Analysis for Ventilated and Unventilated Glazed Rooms in Malaysia (Comparing
Simulated and Field Data)
Nedhal Ahmed M. Al-Tamimi and Sharifah Fairuz Syed Fadzil
Indoor and Built Environment 2011 20: 534 originally published online 29 July 2011
DOI: 10.1177/1420326X11411235

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Indoor and Built
Environment
Thermal Performance
Analysis for Ventilated and
Unventilated Glazed Rooms
in Malaysia (Comparing
Simulated and Field Data)
Nedhal Ahmed M. Al-Tamimi Sharifah Fairuz Syed Fadzil
School of Housing, Building and Planning, University Science Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
Key Words
Thermal comfort E Glazed windows E Natural
ventilation E Ecotect E Tropical region
Abstract
Glazed windows can cause intensive overheating due
to solar radiation within buildings in hot climates.
These glazed windows, according to their apertures,
can also provide cross-ventilation which is necessary
for cooling and improving thermal comfort of occu-
pants. Many computerized environmental simulation
tools are available to help designers to predict the
environmental performance of their design at the early
stage. The thermal comfort study presented in this
paper involved the use of field measurement and
computer simulation tool, i.e. Ecotect. Validation of
Ecotect was carried out by comparing the computer
simulation results with the field measurements of the
east-facing room at Fajar Harapan Hostel, University
Science Malaysia, which has a 50% glazed area-to-wall
ratio. Output data from Ecotect were compared to the
fieldwork data in terms of indoor/outdoor air tempera-
tures and indoor air velocity. The impact of reducing the
ß The Author(s), 2011. Reprints and permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/1420326X11411235
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Original Paper
Accepted: April 18, 2011
Indoor Built Environ 2011;20;5:534–542
glazed area from window wall ratio ¼ 50% in the base
case to 25% and 00% (i.e. window less) was investi-
gated. The results showed that the simulation com-
pared well with the field data with a difference of less
than 0.9 C, indicating that rooms with a large glazed
window area would be relatively cool during night-time
only, and a smaller glazed window area would perform
well during daytime as well as night-time.
Introduction
Worldwide, the Worldwatch Institute estimated that
buildings consume at least 40% of the world energy [1].
In Malaysia, there is a growing concern about energy
consumption, and its climate does not offer sufficient
conditions to ensure thermal comfort all year round.
Commercial and residential buildings alone account for
about 13% of the total energy consumption of which 48%
is from electricity [2]. According to Abdul Rahman and
Ismail [3], Malaysian buildings consume about 70% of
energy just for cooling the indoor environment. However,
Zain-Ahmed [4] reported that more than 40% of the
Nedhal Ahmed M. Al-Tamimi,
School of Housing, Building and Planning, University Science Malaysia, 11800
Penang, Malaysia, Tel. þ60 124499760, Fax þ60 4657 6523,
E-Mail nedhalali.rd08@student.usm.my
Fig. 1. Sketch of typical tropical houses: (a) traditional and (b) modern [6].
energy consumed by Malaysian buildings can be reduced if
energy efficiency is practised and sustainable technologies
are applied to the building envelope. Architects and
designers should seriously consider their envelope designs
for evaluating energy efficiency at the outset of their
design processes.
Ecotect is one of the most important building analysis
tools, which can help to evaluate thermal and energy
performances of buildings that the users will eventually be
working or living in. As Malaysia is located in the tropical
region, the thermal performance of building envelopes
would be greatly affected by the amount of solar radiation
that is absorbed and penetrated through the fenestration
system. The generated heat within the indoor environ-
ment, especially in a glazed building, would therefore
increase due to the admitted solar radiation. The
percentage of glazing area in the exterior building envelope
or its window wall ratio (WWR) could impact the thermal
performance of the building.
Literature Review
Thermal Comfort Requirements in Hot Climates
Thermal comfort is defined by ASHRAE as ‘‘that
condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the
thermal environment’’ [5]. Local climate can greatly affect
the indoor thermal environment of buildings. Traditional
houses in tropical region, as shown in Figure 1(a), were
designed to take advantage of the prevailing winds.
However, passive cooling design elements are mostly
ignored in modern house designs (Figure 1(b)) [6].
Ventilation and Thermal Performance of Glazed Rooms
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In tropical climates, buildings are overheated during the
day due to solar heat gain through the building envelope
and solar penetration through windows [7]. A study has
shown that in Malaysia, a comfortable indoor ambient
temperature should be in the range 25.5–28 C. Humidity
of the air should be in the range 40% to 60% and the
optimum air movement 0.3–0.5 m/s (for a naturally
ventilated environment). It should also be noted that
there are variations in perceived comfort among different
age groups, races, cultures and countries.
Global Climatic Conditions in Malaysia
Most towns in Peninsular Malaysia experience high
temperature and humidity throughout the year without
remarkable variations. The diurnal temperature ranges
from 23–27 C (minimum) to 30–34 C (maximum). The
average difference is 7 C with an annual relative humidity
value ranging from 74% to 86%. However, there is a
seasonal climatic change, which is dominated by the
monsoons. The monsoons represent significant changes in
the wind condition and rainfall. It is important to
understand the Malaysian thermal comfort expectations
in order to design a proper building envelope that
contributes to environmental and energy efficiency.
According to ASHRAE [8] standard on ‘‘Thermal
environmental conditions for human occupancy’’, 26 C
is given as an upper limit of comfortable temperature.
However, many studies have concluded that the
comfort temperature is higher in tropical regions, since
humans have the ability to acclimatize [9]. Sabarinah and
Steven [10] reported that the comfort band for Malaysia
for all building types is between 23.6 C and 28.6 C.
Zainazlan et al. [11] suggested that the occurrence of
Indoor Built Environ 2011;20:534–542 535
thermal comfort in Malaysia could be achieved below
28.69 C. Busch’s [12] study shows that, based on the fact
that 80% of Thailand workers are satisfied, the upper limit
of the comfortable temperature can be as high as 28 C for
people in air-conditioned buildings and 31 C in naturally
ventilated buildings. In this paper, the upper and lower air
temperatures for thermal comfort was chosen to be 23.6 C
and 28.6 C, respectively, as according to Sabarinah and
Steven [10]. The thermal comfort quantifications accord-
ing to the predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted
percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) scale were not adopted by
this study, because this kind of quantification is not suited
for tropical or sub-tropical situations, but more suited to
temperate climates [13–16]. Rather, the study focused on
quantifying the duration of time in percentage that Ti
(comfortable indoor temperature) conditions would fall
within the tropical comfort zone.
Window Wall Ratio
The WWR is the percentage resulting from dividing the
total glazed area of the building by the total wall area.
A study reported by Yu et al. [17] shows that the heat gain
through the exterior window could account for 25% to
28% of the total heat gain. On the other hand, the natural
ventilation requires the building to be open during the day
to allow air flow through internal spaces. Shebl [18]
evaluated the effect of WWR for all different buildings in
Egypt for energy savings and the WWR values of 17% and
20% were preferred for residential and commercial
buildings, respectively, to be energy efficient there. Chan
and Mak [15] used the Gennusa box simulation model for
predicting the mean radiant temperature due to solar heat
gain through windows inside a rectangular room with
glazed windows on one side to determine the PMV and
PPD for different window sizes and orientations at
different points in the space so that the location of
working area can be better determined. The evaluation
would contribute towards the optimization of thermal
comfort based on window areas.
The study of Dahlan et. al, 2008 [19] reported the
possibility of achieving thermal comfort in shaded
naturally ventilated hostels in Malaysia with a WWR of
35% where the internal–external relative humidity was
above 70%, especially in south-facing rooms. Al-Saadi [20]
studied the effect of WWR for thermal comfort and energy
consumption in Saudi residential buildings in 2006. The
results showed that for a WWR of 10%, the thermal
comfort improvements for the standard and super-
insulated designs would be from 28% to 38% compared
to the base case which has a WWR of 20%. The amount of
536 Indoor Built Environ 2011;20:534–542
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NORTH
East
Fig. 2. Plan of a full unit at third floor.
ventilation would depend on the size and placement of
openings in a building. The natural ventilation system
should be seen as a circuit with equal consideration given
to the supply and exhaust system. The design of the
natural cross-ventilation systems has a close relation with
the climate condition and building envelope requirements
in terms of the WWR.
Methodology and the Case Study
Methodology
In this research, a typical hostel room at Desasiswa
Fajar Harapan was chosen for the study and field data
collection. The room was located at University Science
Malaysia (USM), Penang, east facing and had a WWR of
50%. Figures 2 and 3 show the plan and the external
perspective of the building. Table 1 presents the envelope
materials and their properties that have been input into
Ecotect in simulation terms for evaluation. The results of
the fieldwork data of Fajar Harapan Hostel, Penang,
showed that east-oriented rooms would be more susceptive
to solar radiation and hotter than those in the west-facing
direction. And even by applying natural ventilation,
varying its WWR, the average differences in indoor (Ti)/
outdoor (To) air temperature in east-facing rooms would
be higher when compared to the west-facing ones [21].
Therefore, field measurements in an east-facing room were
used for simulation for comparison, for further studies on
a similar topic.
Al-Tamimi and Fadzil
 Quantitative research methodology was the approach Ecotect Software V. 5.6
used for this study as it is an experimental and technical Ecotect program is a building design and environmental
research. Figure 4 shows the methodology chart. The analysis tool that covers a broad range of simulation and
environmental parameters of the weather data were analysis functions required to understand how a building
measured in the fieldwork. Ecotect simulation tool was design would operate and perform [23]. Ecotect allows
chosen to simulate the same room under Georgetown designers to work in three dimensions (3D) and apply the
weather data. The fieldwork included monitoring air necessary tools to determine the energy efficiency of the
temperatures at 10-min intervals and measuring the intended building. The environmental design tool includes
indoor air velocities using the data logger, i.e. BABUC/ 3D modelling interface with extensive performance analy-
M. Continuous measurement was undertaken in the sis functions covering shading, thermal, lighting, acoustic,
eastern room of the hostel during March 2009, the hottest energy, resource use and cost aspects [24,25]. Fieldwork
month of the year, with the highest average temperatures data on selected days were taken for comparison with
and solar radiation in Penang. outputs from the simulations.
The thermal comfort requirements based on Malaysian
Standard [22] for a naturally ventilated and unventilated
room were used for the assessment of thermal conditions
during the day and night separately. Intensive simulations Tested room at
Fajar Harapan
were carried out. According to the room modifications in Hostel, USM
the fieldwork, the window area ratio was varied including
50% as a base case to 25% and 00%, as shown in Figure 5.
The natural ventilation condition was applied to the room Fieldwork Simulation
Using BABUC/A Using ECOTECT
with 50% and 25% WWR. in four conditions program

Ventilated room
Simulation the same
• WWR=50%
conditions in field
• WWR=25%
under Georgetown
Unventilated room
weather data
• WWR=50%
• WWR=00%

Variables through fieldwork and simulation:

• Indoor air temperature
• Outdoor air temperature
• Indoor air velocity

Data

Data analysis

Conclusion
Fig. 3. Picture of Fajar Building (facing east).
Fig. 4. Methodology flow chart.

Table 1. Input data for building envelop in Ecotect simulation

Envelope components Material Properties U-value Solar
(Wm2K1) absorption

Wall Brick plaster 110 mm brick with 10 mm plaster on either side 2.62 0.418
Window glass Single glazed timber frame Single pane of glass with timber frame 5.1 0.94
Roof Clay tiled roof 1.82 0.6

Ventilation and Thermal Performance of Glazed Rooms Indoor Built Environ 2011;20:534–542 537

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 Results and Discussion
In Table 2 are the figures showing the comparison of
the field data with the simulated results of the various
conditions.
Field and Simulated Results for a WWR of 50%
We take 23.6 C and 28.6 C as the lower and upper
limits of thermal comfort environment for the tropics,
respectively; the room with 50% glass fenestration in the
eastern façade was not in thermal comfort condition
especially during daytime and early hours of the night.
The results shown in A1 and B1 (Table 2) illustrated the
differences in indoor (Ti)/outdoor (To) air temperatures of
both field and simulated results are acceptable and almost
similar in pattern. The difference in the average indoor/
outdoor air temperatures between the fieldwork and
simulated data varied between 0.1 C and 0.3 C for a
ventilated room and between 0.33 C and 0.65 C for an
unventilated one. However, the percentage of indoor air
temperature Ti that fell within the thermal comfort zone
was 4.2%, as monitored by the fieldwork, and 25%, by
simulation. This difference was because the selected level
of comfortable temperature, i.e. at 28.6 C and Ecotect’s
weather data for Georgetown, Penang, was found to be
slightly lower than the microclimate data taken in the field.
Using the natural ventilation for the same room, as
shown in A2 and B2 (Table 2), the improvement in the
average thermal comfort increased to 45.8%, as monitored
by the field study, and 54.2%, by simulation. These
percentages indicate that 45.8% and 54.2% of the 24 h
duration, Ti or the indoor air temperatures were found to
be within the tropical comfort zone, respectively. A2 and
B2 (Table 2) also show that the improvement in the
thermal comfort conditions could happen especially
during the night-time to reach 75%, by the field study,
and 91.7%, by simulation. This indicates that during the
12-h night-time duration, 75% and 91.7% of that duration
fall within the comfort zone, respectively. However, this
percentage would be 16.7% during daytime, as evaluated
by both the methods. Therefore, in the 12 h daytime
Fig. 5. Perspectives by ECOTECT simulation: (a) WWR ¼ 50% (base case); (b) WWR ¼ 25%; and (c) WWR ¼ 00%.
538 Indoor Built Environ 2011;20:534–542
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duration, only 16.7% of that the time indoor air
temperatures was found to be within the comfort zone.
This is true for both fieldwork and simulated model.
Field and Simulated Results for WWR of 25%
A3 and B3 (Table 2) showed that a naturally ventilated
room with a WWR of 25% recorded a lower average in air
temperature during daytime when compared with previous
conditions. That was because of the reduction in solar
radiation due to the decrease in the window area. Due to
the reduction in the glazed area, the only changes in the
indoor temperature occurred during the daytime.
However, there was no change in the indoor temperature
during the night when compared with the base case, i.e.
when WWR was 50%. The results also showed that the
peak thermal comfort occurred in this case at 79.2%, by
the field study, and 58.33%, by simulation (percentage of
time the indoor air temperatures fall within comfort zone
in the 24-h period, respectively), while the difference in the
average air temperatures was still less than 1 C. Besides
that, the average air velocity decreased from 1.6 to 0.93 m/s
due to the reduction in the inlet by reducing the WWR from
50% to 25%.
From the previous results, it could be concluded that in
the tropics, especially in Penang climate, the higher the
fenestrated area, the higher would be the heat gain in the
internal space due to the intensive solar radiation,
especially during the day-time hours. Therefore, lowering
WWR would, therefore, help the room to perform well
thermally during the daytime. Increasing WWR could
maximize the positive effect of natural ventilation to
remove the generated heat. However, in tropical climate,
the average of wind speed would be low and this could
reduce the effectiveness of cooling by natural ventilation,
especially during night-time hours.
Field and Simulated Results for WWR of 00%
In this case, the window was fully covered. A4 and B4
(Table 2) showed steady indoor air temperatures mon-
itored throughout the 24 h period. The differences in the
daytime and at night values of indoor air temperature were
Al-Tamimi and Fadzil
Table 2. Summary of field and simulated results (graphs and data)
(A) Field results (B) Simulation results

A1 Date: March 8, 2009 B1 Date: March 8, 2009

Condition and observance results (WWR ¼ 50% unventilated room)

Min. To Max. To Ave. To % Ti within Min. To Max. To Ave. To %Ti within
comfort zone comfort zone
23.68 32.3 28.12 24 31.1 27.47
Min. Ti Max. Ti Ave. Ti 4.2% Min. Ti Max. Ti Ave. Ti 25%
28.45 32.42 30.38 27.9 33.1 30.05

A2 Date: March 10, 2009 B2 Date: March 10, 2009

Condition and observances results (WWR ¼ 50% ventilated room)

Min. To Max. To Ave. To % Ti within Min. To Max. To Ave. To % Ti within
comfort zone comfort zone
23.34 32.08 27.7 24 31.4 28
Min. Ti Max. Ti Ave. Ti 45.8% Min. Ti Max. Ti Ave. Ti 54.2%
25.63 30.82 28.3 24.8 32.4 28.2

(continued)

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Table 2. Continued
(A) Field results (B) Simulation results

A3 Date: March 16, 2009 B3 Date: March 16, 2009

Condition and observance results (WWR ¼ 25% ventilated room)

Min. To Max. To Ave. To % Ti within Min. To Max. To Ave. To % Ti within
comfort zone comfort zone
23.87 31.12 26.42 24.5 31.5 27.33
Min. Ti Max. Ti Ave. Ti 79.2% Min. Ti Max. Ti Ave. Ti 58.33%
26.12 29.82 27.49 26 31.85 28.36

A4 Date: March 18, 2009 B4 Date: March 18, 2009

Condition and observance results (WWR ¼ 00% unventilated room)

Min. To Max. To Ave. To % Ti within Min. To Max. To Ave. To % Ti within
comfort zone comfort zone
24.11 33.07 27.7 25.4 31.6 27.94
Min. Ti Max. Ti Ave. Ti 33.3% Min. Ti Max. Ti Ave. Ti 00.0%
27.94 30.15 29 29.4 30.4 29.98

Ti, indoor air temperature; To, outdoor air temperature; max., maximum; min., minimum; ave., average.

540 Indoor Built Environ 2011;20:534–542 Al-Tamimi and Fadzil

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Table 3. Summary of indoor thermal conditions during full day, only daytime and only night-time
Condition Date
Fieldwork results
24 h
1. 50% Unventilated March 8 4.2%
2. 50% Ventilated March 10 45.8%
3. 25% Ventilated March 16 79.2%
4. 00% Unventilated March 28 33.3%
about 0.47 C and 0.26 C when comparing the field
and simulated results, respectively. This was due to the
inability of the solar gain to penetrate through the glazed
windows. However, this big difference in the indoor/
outside temperature occurred because of the unglazed
building envelope, indicating that the building was able to
protect itself from the intense heat from outside. However,
without ventilation, the thermal comfort conditions were
still found to be unacceptable.
Table 3 showed the percentage time that indoor air
temperature Ti fell within the tropical comfort zone in
three different conditions (i.e. 24 h, only daytime and only
night-time). Considering the effect of natural ventilation
when WWR was limited to 50% (i.e. comparing con-
ditions 1 and 2), the results showed that the indoor air
temperature during daytime was within the comfort zone
and had been improved from 0% and 8.3% as, respect-
ively monitored by the field and simulated studies in the
absence of natural ventilation, to reach 16.7% of the day-
time hours, as investigated by both the methods. However,
for WWR of 25% (i.e. condition 3), indoor thermal
comfortable period were increased to 58.3% and 33.3%,
as shown by the field and simulated results, respectively. In
this case, however, indoor air temperature during night-
time was found to be fully within the comfortable zone,
100% by field study and 91.3% by simulation.
Conclusion
An optimal design of glass fenestration area (%WWR)
and natural ventilation in a building could reduce the
indoor heat gain due to solar radiation. The main findings
of this paper are as follows:
1. Simulations of the indoor temperature development
in an east-facing room of Fajar Harapan Hostel,
USM, showed good agreement with field measure-
ment results.
Ventilation and Thermal Performance of Glazed Rooms
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Percentage time of Ti to be found within comfort zone
Simulation results
Daytime Night-time 24 h Daytime Night-time
0% 8.3% 25% 8.3% 41.7%
16.7% 75% 54.2% 16.7% 91.7%
58.3% 100% 58.3% 33.3% 91.7%
16.7% 50% 0% 0% 0%
2. Based on the measurement and simulation results,
significant improvements on the percentage of hours
per day that indoor temperatures Ti falls within the
tropical comfort zone (i.e. between 23.6 C and
28.6 C) can be achieved by applying natural ventila-
tion and reducing WWR from 50% to 25%. This
improvement on the comfort period was increased
from 4.2% of day-time hours by field study and 25%
of day-time hours by simulation in condition 1 to
reach 79.2% by field study and 58.33% by simulation
in condition 3.
3. With respect to natural ventilation and with WWR
limited to 50%, indoor air temperature would be
within the comfort zone during 16.7% of the day-time
hours. However, if WWR was limited to 25%, the
comfortable indoor thermal conditions would be
prolonged to 58.3% and 33.3% of day-time hours
as, respectively, demonstrated by the field and
simulation studies. In this case, however, indoor air
temperature during night-time would be 100% within
the comfortable zone, shown by the field study and
91.3% by simulation.
4. A room with WWR of 0% or a room without any
glass fenestration will be cooler during daytime, but at
night, the heat would build up in the interior space
and will take a longer time to dissipate, thus making
the room uncomfortably hotter at night as compared
to the room with fenestration.
5. More simulations should be performed using other
alternative parameters, such as mechanical ventila-
tion, shading devices, different types of glass and
thermal insulation of exterior walls which may not be
possible for envelope modifications in the real
building.
Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge the assistance and financial support
provided by the University Science Malaysia for this research.
Indoor Built Environ 2011;20:534–542 541
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