IMPROVEMENT OF THERMAL COMFORT INSIDE A MOSQUE BUILDING
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v78.9579Keywords:
Mosque building, mechanical fan, space cooling, thermal comfort, hot and humid environmentAbstract
A combined natural ventilation and mechanical fans are commonly used to cool the interior space inside the mosques in Malaysia. This article presents a study on thermal comfort in the Al-Jawahir Mosque, located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The objective is to assess the thermal comfort inside the mosque under the present ventilation system by determining the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD). These values were then compared to the limits stated in the ASHRAE Standard-55. It was found that the PMV varies from 1.68 to 2.26 while the PPD varies from 61% to 87%. These show that the condition inside the mosque is quite warm. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to carry out flow simulations, to identify a suitable strategy to improve the thermal comfort inside the mosque. Results of CFD simulations show that installing four exhaust fans above the windows on the west-side wall of the mosque is the most effective strategy to improve the thermal comfort inside the mosque. Both the PMV and PPD values can potentially be reduced by more than 60%.References
Heiselberg, P.,S. Murakami, and Roulet, C. A. 1998. Ventilation of Large Spaces in Buildings. Final Report IEA Annex, 26.
Al-Homoud, M. S., Abdou, A. A., and Budaiwi, I.M. 2009. Assessment of Monitored Energy Use and Thermal Comfort Conditions in Mosques in Hot-Humid Climates. Energy and Buildings. 41(6): 607-614.
Rajagopalan, P. and Luther, M. B. 2013. Thermal and Ventilation Performance of a Naturally Ventilated Sports Hall within an Aquatic Centre. Energy and Buildings. 58: 111-122.
Xu, T. T., Carrié, F. R., Dickerhoff, D. J., Fisk, W. J., McWilliams, J., Wang, D., & Modera, M. P. 2002. Performance of Thermal Distribution Systems in Large Commercial Buildings. Energy and Buildings. 34(3): 215-226.
Chen, Q. 2009. Ventilation Performance Prediction for Buildings: A Method Overview and Recent Applications. Building and Environment. 44(4): 848-858.
Bakhlah, M.S. and Hassan, A.S. 2012. The Study of Air Temperature when the Sun Path Direction to Ka’abah: With a Case Study of Al-Malik Khalid Mosque, Malaysia. International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management & Applied Sciences & Technologies. 3(2): 185-202.
Saeed, S. 1996. Thermal Comfort Requirements in Hot Dry Regions with Special Reference to Riyadh Part 2: For Friday Prayer. International Journal of Ambient Energy. 17(1): 17-21.
Ibrahim, S. H., Baharun, A., Nawi, M. N. M., & Junaidi, E. 2014. Assessment of Thermal Comfort in the Mosque in Sarawak, Malaysia. International Journal of Energy and Environment. 5(3): 327-334.
ASHRAE Standard 55. 2004. Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. American Society of Heat, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Inc., Atlanta, GA.
Fanger, P. 1973. Assessment of Man's Thermal Comfort in Practice. British Journal of Industrial Medicine. 30(4): 313-324.
Ibrahim, S. H., Baharun, A., Nawi, M. M., & Junaidi, E. 2014. Analytical Studies on Levels of Thermal Comfort in Typical Low-Income Houses Design. UNIMAS e-Journal of Civil Engineering. 5(1): 28-33
Hussin, A., Salleh, E., Chan, H. Y., & Mat, S. 2014. Thermal Comfort During Daily Prayer Times in an Air-Conditioned Mosque in Malaysia retrieved February, 01, 2014 from http://nceub.org.uk/W2014/webpage/pdfs/session3/W14151_Hussin.pdf.
Hajdukiewicz, M., Geron, M. and Keane, M.M. 2013. Calibrated CFD Simulation to Evaluate Thermal Comfort in a Highly-glazed Naturally Ventilated Room. Building and Environment. 70: 73-89.
ASHRAE Standard 55. 1992. Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy American Society of Heating. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers. Atlanta, USA.
ISO, E. 7730. 2005. Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment–Analytical Determination and Interpretation of Thermal Comfort Using Calculation of the PMV and PPD Indices and Local Thermal Comfort Criteria. International Organization for Standardisation, Geneva.
Al-ajmi, F.F. and Loveday, D.L. 2010. Indoor Thermal Conditions and Thermal Comfort in Air-Conditioned Domestic Buildings in the Dry-Desert Climate of Kuwait. Building and Environment. 45(3): 704-710.
Djongyang, N., Tchinda, R. and Njomo, D. 2010. Thermal Comfort: A Review Paper. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 14(9): 2626-2640.
Nugroho, A. M., Ahmad, M. H. and Ossen, D. R. 2007. A Preliminary Study of Thermal Comfort in Malaysia's Single Storey Terraced Houses. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering. 6(1): 175-182.
Azizpour, F., Moghimi, S., Lim, C., Mat, S., Zaharim, A., & Sopian, K. 2011. Thermal Comfort Assessment in Large Scale Hospital: Case Study in Malaysia. Proceedings of the 4th WSEAS International Conference on Energy and Development-Environment-Biomedicine. World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society (WSEAS), 2011, July.
Rahman, A.M.A. 1995. Housing Design in Relation to Environmental Comfort: A Comparison of the Traditional Malay House and Modern Housing Including Work in the Tripartite Programme between Universiti Sains Malaysia, The Welsh School of Architecture and the UK Building Research Establishment. Building Research and Information. 23(1): 49-54.
ASHRAE Standard, 55. 2013. Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. ASHRAE. Atlanta, USA.
Szokolay, S. 1990. Design and Research Issues: Passive Control in The Tropic. Proceedings First World Renewable Energy Congress.
Handbook, A. F. 2009. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers. Inc.: Atlanta, GA, USA.
Zomorodian, Z. S., Tahsildoost, M., and Hafezi, M. 2016. Thermal Comfort in Educational Buildings: A Review Article. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 59: 895-906.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright of articles that appear in Jurnal Teknologi belongs exclusively to Penerbit Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Penerbit UTM Press). This copyright covers the rights to reproduce the article, including reprints, electronic reproductions, or any other reproductions of similar nature.
