Susanne Bodach

Technische Universität München
Lehrstuhl für energieeffizientes und nachhaltiges Planen und Bauen

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Werner Lang
Dissertation
Climate responsive building design

for low-carbon development in Nepal
Susanne Bodach
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN
Fakultät Architektur
Lehrstuhl für energieeffizientes und nachhaltiges Planen und Bauen
Climate responsive building design

for low-carbon development in Nepal
Susanne Bodach
Vollständiger Abdruck der von der Fakultät Architektur der Technischen Universität
München zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines
Doktor-Ingenieurs
genehmigten Dissertation.
Vorsitzender: Univ.-Prof. Hermann Kaufmann
Prüfer der Dissertation: 1. Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Werner Lang

2. Univ.-Prof. Thomas Auer
Die Dissertation wurde am 18.10.2016 bei der Technischen Universität München

eingereicht und durch die Fakultät Architektur am 15.11.2016 angenommen.
Acknowledgements
I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who supported me
throughout the course of this dissertation. My sincerest gratitude goes to my doctoral
supervisor Prof. Dr.-Ing. Werner Lang for his guidance and encouragement throughout the
whole research and thesis writing. He always supported me unreservedly and reviewed all
my manuscripts tirelessly. I would like to thank Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Auer for his expert
advice, valuable comments, and for acting as as second referee of this thesis. My special
thanks go to Prof. Dr. Johannes Hamhaber who supported me through useful discussions
and his critical review during the first stage of the research.
Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to all my research fellows at the Institute
of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building for the stimulating discussions. In
particular, I would like to thank Manuel Lindauer and John Anderson for their technical
assistance and moral support.
I would like to extend my sincerest appreciation to all hotel entrepreneurs and managers in
Nepal who supported me in collecting data at their facilities. I would like to thank, in particular,
Keshav Pandey, Tseten Norkyal, Daman Pradhan and Phintso Ongdi Lama. I feel greatly
in debt to Samir Bajrachaya, Alex Shrestha, Padma Joshi, Prabal Thapa, Surya Lal and all
other architects, engineers and research fellows from Nepal who gave me the opportunity to
interview them and supported my research with local insights and useful discussions.
I am grateful to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the financial support
during my field research in 2014/15. My special thanks go to UN-HABITAT Nepal, the
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the Hotel Association
Nepal (HAN) and the Society of Nepalese Architect (SONA) for their organisational support.
Finally, I would like to say “thank you” to all my friends for their moral support. My heartfelt
gratitude is given to my husband for his love and understanding, especially during the critical
stages of my research; my parents and my sisters who helped me with everything they could.
This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you.
Abstract
With the uprising awareness for climate change and environmental protection, climate
responsive building design is recognised to be a key factor for a sustainable and secure
global energy future. Although the developed world has done some progress to implement
innovative strategies to reduce the energy demand of buildings, developing countries are only
starting to tap into saving potentials. In the future, energy demand will increase in developing
countries because of population growth, fast urbanisation and increasing welfare. Energy will
be consumed more and more by buildings in the fast growing urban centres. Like other
developing countries, Nepal’s weak energy supply system cannot fulfil the growing demand,
which, consequently, leads to regular power cuts and supply shortages. This has an adverse
impact on daily life and economic growth. The lack of awareness and regulations on energy
efficiency is worsening the energy demand-supply gap. On the other hand, the knowledge
about effective measures to reduce building energy consumption through climate-responsive
design and efficient technologies is low. The aim of this PhD research is to fill this knowledge
gap by providing recommendations for transforming the buildings sector of Nepal towards
more energy efficiency. This study lays important groundwork for developing standards and
regulations on energy efficiency in buildings for Nepal by focusing on three essential areas:
1. Vernacular knowledge, 2. Climate and design, 3. Energy-efficient design.
The results of this research show that vernacular architecture of Nepal is very well
adapted to the local climate. Traditional houses within the same climate zone have similar
passive design features that should be also applied to modern buildings in order to reduce
the energy demand for heating and cooling. The climatic diversity within the Nepalese
territory led to the development of a bioclimatic zoning which is an essential prerequisite for
the introduction of a building energy conservation code. Using the bioclimatic approach, five
elevation-based bioclimatic zones were identified. A simulation-based study on energy saving
potentials through passive design in hotel buildings quantified energy and cost savings.
Average energy savings of 37% can be reached by optimising design features like
window-to-wall ratio, orientation, shading and thermal mass. Increasing insulation of the
exterior building envelope up to a cost-effective level can result into energy savings between
26% and 50% depending on the climate zone. The results of the simulation study also led to
the development of a catalogue of important passive design strategies and optimum
insulation levels for each bioclimatic zone. Finally, the energy efficiency scenario for the
residential sector in Nepal estimates a reduction in energy demand growth for space
conditioning by 23% until 2040. This has shown that the consideration of climate-responsive
design and energy efficiency can slow down the energy demand growth of the fast growing
building sector. Concluding, a wide catalogues of suitable policy strategies is proposed to
foster energy efficiency in buildings in Nepal that will ensure a resource-efficient and
sustainable development path for the country.
Zusammenfassung
Die Folgen des Klimawandels und steigendes Umweltbewusstsein haben dazu geführt, dass
Energieeffizienz und klimagerechtes Bauen als Schlüsselfaktor für eine nachhaltige globale
Energiezukunft gesehen werden. Obwohl die Industrieländer schon einige Fortschritte in der
Umsetzung innovativer Strategien zur Reduzierung des Gebäudeenergiebedarfs gemacht
haben, beginnen die Entwicklungsländer erst langsam solche Einsparpotenziale zu
erschließen. Der globale Energiebedarf wird aufgrund des Bevölkerungswachstums, der
stetigen Urbanisierung und des zunehmenden Wohlstandes vor allen in Entwicklungsländern
steigen. Energie wird dabei mehr und mehr von Gebäuden in den schnell wachsenden
urbanen Zentren verbraucht. Wie andere Entwicklungsländer, kann Nepals schwache
Energieversorgung die wachsende Nachfrage nicht erfüllen, was zu regelmäßigen
Stromausfällen und Energielieferengpässen führt. Dies hat einen negativen Einfluss auf das
tägliche Leben und das Wirtschaftswachstum. Das Fehlen von Bestimmungen und
Standards für Energieeffizienz und das mangelnde Bewusstsein für diese Fragen werden
langfristig die Versorgungslücke verschlechtern. Auf der anderen Seite, ist die Wissensbasis
über wirksame Maßnahmen zu Reduzierung des Gebäudeenergieverbrauchs durch
klimagerechtes Bauen und effiziente Technologien sehr gering. Das Ziel dieser Doktorarbeit
ist es, mit der Entwicklung von technischen und regulativen Empfehlungen diese
Wissenslücke zu füllen. Mit dem Fokus auf traditionellem Wissen, Klimazonierung und
energieeffizientem Gebäudedesign legt diese Forschungsarbeit wichtige Grundlagen für die
Entwicklung von Standards und Vorschriften zur Energieeffizienz in Gebäuden im Kontext
des Entwicklungslandes Nepal.
Die Ergebnisse dieser Forschung zeigen, dass die traditionellen Bauweisen in Nepal sehr
gut an das lokale Klima angepasst sind. Traditionelle Häuser in der gleichen Klimazone
verwenden ähnliche passive Designkonzepte, die auf moderne Gebäude übertragen werden
könnten, um deren Energiebedarf für Raumklimatisierung zu senken. Die klimatische Vielfalt
innerhalb des Landes erforderte die Entwicklung einer bioklimatischen Zonierung für das
Bauen, die zur Einführung einer Energieeinsparbauverordnung unbedingt notwendig ist. Mit
Hilfe des bioklimatischen Ansatzes und der anschließenden Validierung durch thermische
Gebäudesimulation, wurden fünf Klimazonen nach topografischer Höhe vorgeschlagen. Eine
simulationsbasierte Studie zur Energieeffizienz in Hotelgebäuden ergab erhebliche Energie-
und Kosteneinsparpotenziale. Durch die Optimierung des Fensterflächenanteils, der
Ausrichtung, Verschattung und thermischen Masse können durchschnittlich 37% der Heiz-
und Kühlenergie gespart werden. Kosteneffektive Dämmmaßnahmen führen abhängig von
der Klimazone zu Energieeinsparungen zwischen 26% und 50%. Die Ergebnisse der
Simulationsstudie geben auch Aufschluss über die wichtigsten passiven Maßnahmen und die
optimalen Dämmwerte für jede Klimazone. Des Weiteren wurden Energieeffizienz-Szenarien
für den Wohngebäudesektor entwickelt. Die Umsetzung von Energieeffizienzmaßnahmen
könnten den steigenden Energieverbrauch für die Raumklimatisierung in 2040 um 23%
senken. Somit wurde aufgezeigt, dass die Verbesserung der Gebäudeeffizienz das
Wachstum des Energiebedarfs in Nepal verlangsamen kann. Zum Abschluss wurde ein
breiter Katalog von geeigneten Politikstrategien diskutiert und es wurden regulative
Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Energieeffizienz in Gebäuden erarbeitet. Deren Umsetzung
kann einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur ressourceneffizienten und nachhaltigen Entwicklung des
Landes leisten.
Table of contents
Acknowledgements I
Abstract III
Table of contents VII
List of figures IX
List of tables XI
Acronyms XIII
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background and problem statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Research objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 Structure of the thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Results 7
2.1 Learning from the past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Climate and design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3 Energy-efficient design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3 Design and policy recommendations 25

3.1 Adaption of bioclimatic zoning for Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.2 Design guidelines for warm climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.2.1 Climate and design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.2.2 Building form and pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.2.3 Building envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.3 Design guidelines for moderate warm climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.4 Design guidelines for moderate climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.5 Design guidelines for moderate cold climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
VII
Table of contents

3.6 Design guidelines for cold climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.7 Heating and cooling systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.7.1 Current status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.7.2 Natural versus mechanical ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.7.3 Split system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.7.4 Hot-water convector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.7.5 Radiant floor heating and cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.7.6 Thermally active building systems (TABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.7.7 Chilled beam system for heating and cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.7.8 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.8 Policy implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4 Building energy conservation for low-carbon development 63

4.1 Energy saving scenarios for the building sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.2 Critical transition to modern buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4.3 Limitations of the study and future research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
References 71
Glossary 77
Appendices 81
A Publication I 83
B Publication II 101
C Publication III 111
D Approach for energy saving scenarios 137
E Comparison of climate data sets 143
VIII Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal
List of figures
1.1 Sustainable development model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.2 Research design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Research framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1 Nepal map with the location of analysed vernacular houses . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2 Bioclimatic chart for the four predominant climate zones of Nepal . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Comparison of daily climate data from Pokhara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.4 Comparison of hourly climate data from Pokhara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.5 First proposal of bioclimatic zoning for Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.6 Predominant passive design strategies for proposed bioclimatic zones . . . . . 16
2.7 Bioclimatic chart for warm temperate climate zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.8 Bioclimatic chart for temperate climate zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.9 Bioclimatic chart for cool temperate climate zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.10 Bioclimatic chart for cold climate zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.11 Reference models for simulation study on hotel design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.12 Comparison of life cycle costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.13 Comparison of annual electricity costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.1 Relationship between elevation and CDD18/HDD18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

3.2 Bioclimatic zoning for Nepal with five zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3 Importance of building design strategies by bioclimatic zone . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.4 Presentation of bioclimatic zones of Nepal in the psychrometric chart . . . . . . 32
3.5 Climate conditions of Biratnagar representing warm climate zone . . . . . . . . 34
3.6 Passive design strategies for warm climate of Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.7 Climate conditions of Pokhara representing moderate warm climate zone . . . 38
3.8 Passive design strategies for moderate warm climate of Nepal . . . . . . . . . 40
3.9 Climate conditions of Kathmandu representing moderate climate zone . . . . . 42
3.10 Passive design strategies for moderate climate of Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.11 Climate conditions of Dhunche representing moderate cold climate zone . . . . 46
3.12 Passive design strategies for moderate cold climate of Nepal . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.13 Climate conditions of Thakmarpha representing cold climate zone . . . . . . . 50
3.14 Passive design strategies for cold climate of Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
IX
List of figures
3.15 Suitability of active heating and cooling systems by climate zone . . . . . . . . 56
4.1 Energy use and HDI from 1990 and 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

4.2 Energy demand projection of hotel buildings under different scenarios . . . . . 64
4.3 Energy demand projection of residential buildings under different scenarios . . 66
4.4 Technology transition and building energy use for heating and cooling . . . . . 67
E.1 Comparison of hourly dry bulb temperature from different climate data sets . . 144
E.2 Comparison of daily climate data from Biratnagar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
E.3 Comparison of hourly climate data from Biratnagar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
E.4 Comparison of daily climate data from Kathmandu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
E.5 Comparison of hourly climate data from Kathmandu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
E.6 Comparison of two climate data sets for Kathmandu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
X Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

List of tables
2.1 Characteristics of vernacular houses by climatie zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.2 Passive design strategies of vernacular houses in subtropical climate zone . . 10
2.3 Passive design strategies of vernacular houses in warm temperate climate zone 10
2.4 Passive design strategies of vernacular houses in cool temperate climate zone 11
2.5 Passive design strategies of vernacular houses in alpine climate zone . . . . . 11
2.6 Passive design recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.7 Recommendations for window performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.8 Energy saving potentials in hotel buildings through energy-efficient design . . . 22
2.9 Recommendations for opaque envelope insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.1 Specification of reclassified bioclimatic zoning for Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

3.2 Recommended heating and cooling systems by building type . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.3 Renewable energy integration for heating and cooling systems . . . . . . . . . 57
3.4 Summary of policy recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
D.1 Assumptions for energy scenarios for space conditioning in hotels . . . . . . . 138
D.2 Energy demand projection of hotel buildings under different scenarios . . . . . 139
D.3 Assumptions for energy scenarios for space conditioning in residential buildings 140
D.4 Energy demand projection of residential buildings under different scenarios . . 141
XI
Acronyms
a Anually
ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
CDD Cooling degree days
GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH
GWh Gigawatthour
HDD Heating degree days
HDI Human development index
HVAC Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
IEA International Energy Agency
IFC International Finance Corporation
kg Kilogram
km Kilometer
kWh Kilowatthours
LCC Life-cycle cost
LCCA Life-cycle cost analysis
LPG Liquefied petroleum gas
m Metre
m2 Square metre
masl Metres above sea level
Mio Million
mm Millimetre
NGO Non-governmental organisation
PF Projection factor
SHGC Solar heat gain coefficient
toe Tons of oil equivalent
TWh Terrawatthour
TMY Typical meteorological year
yr Year
UN-Habitat United Nations Human Settlements Programme
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP United Nations Environmental Programme
USD US-Dollar
W/m2 K Watt per square metre per degree Kelvin
WWR Window-to-wall ratio
XIII
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Background and problem statement
Buildings are responsible for over one third of final energy consumption worldwide and are an
equally important source of carbon emissions [1]. New inefficient buildings being built today
will be in operation and will continue to consume energy for the next decades. In the business-
as-usual scenario, energy consumption in buildings will increase by 50% in 2050 compared
to 2010 [2]. Consequently, total carbon emissions will more than double and the average
global temperature is projected to rise by at least 6◦ C worsening the adverse effects of climate
change [2]. Most of the added demand is coming from developing countries due to the growth
of population, rapid urbanisation and rising living standards.
There is a widespread agreement that access to reliable and affordable energy sources
is fundamental for economic development [2–4]. However, the development model of the
industrialised countries, which is based on cheap fossil fuels and environmental degradation,
High
Industrialised countries
Energy consumption
Sustainable level
Developing countries
Low
Today Future
Time
Figure 1.1: Sustainable development model of contraction and convergence (adapted from
[3])
1
Introduction
cannot ensure a sustainable future for further generations. The most important strategy for
sustainable development is to decouple quality of life from consumption of natural resources
and carbon emissions [3]. Developing countries should switch to the low-carbon development
path while the industrialised countries have to reduce their resource and energy consumption
(Figure 1.1).
The energy consumption of buildings can be significantly reduced through
climate-responsive building design and energy efficiency. Building energy regulations and
standards can play a vital role to reduce the energy use in buildings [5]. By setting minimum
requirements, they enhance energy efficiency and contribute to a more sustainable
construction sector. However, it is essential to understand the local context in order to find the
most effective measures to transform the sector towards higher energy efficiency and, thus,
sustainability.
Almost all developed countries’ governments have introduced standards and regulations
to enhance energy efficiency in buildings. More and more developing countries are currently
introducing such legislation [6]. Unlike other Asian countries, Nepal has not developed
standards or regulations regarding energy efficiency in buildings. Beside few small NGO
initiated activities, the awareness about energy efficiency in general and particularly for
buildings among policy makers and all stakeholders of the construction sector is low.
Academic institutions have so far conducted little research on this topic. Consequently, there
is a lack of well-documented information about effective measures to drive the sector towards
higher energy efficiency.
Beside few studies on climate-responsive design for individual buildings in specific
locations, no data about passive and active strategies to reduce energy consumption in
buildings in Nepal is available. Due to the geographic and climatic diversity of the country,
there is the need to conduct a comprehensive study to identify regions with similar climate
design strategies. Furthermore, those strategies have to be evaluated in regards to its
importance and cost-effectiveness in order to develop effective building energy regulations
and policy measures.
1.2 Research objectives
Due to the fact that the state of research about climate-responsive building design and
energy efficiency in Nepal is at the starting point, this doctoral thesis is going to lay some
groundwork in this field. Therefore, a rather horizontal approach was used investigating few
selected important aspects. The overall objective of this study was to develop
recommendations for transforming the building sector towards higher energy efficiency.
Thus, this PhD research is focusing on three main areas:
1. Following the principles Learning from past experiences, the study aims to investigate
the passive design concepts used by vernacular architecture in Nepal.
2 Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

Introduction
2. The development of a bioclimatic zoning presents a required basis for building energy
conservation policies because of the climatic diversity within Nepal.
3. Finally, it is envisaged to analyse the effectiveness of passive design measures for each
climate zone and estimate energy saving potentials.
The main hypothesis of the research states:
The consideration of climate-responsive design and energy efficiency strategies can slow
down the energy demand growth of Nepal’s fast growing building sector.
The hypothesis asserts that energy efficiency measures can achieve considerable energy
savings in buildings. Consequently, building energy regulation and energy conservation
measures can contribute to a resource-efficient and low-carbon development path for the
country to embark on.
1.3 Methodology
In order to achieve the objectives, this research was designed as illustrated in Figure 1.2.
Analysing the Nepalese building sector concerning energy efficiency was required to identify
the gaps and develop adequate strategies. Three focus areas were identified as crucial to
develop recommendations for driving the building sector towards more energy conservation:
1. Learning from the past,
2. Climate and design, and
3. Energy-efficient design.
Identifying gaps
Building sector Energy efficiency
Focus areas
Learning from the past Climate and design Energy-efficient design
Design and policy recommendations
Figure 1.2: Research design
Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal 3

Introduction
Figure 1.3 illustrates problem statement, methods, scope and contribution of each focus
area. Although each focus area stands independently, a systematic learning effect was
induced. Investigating on vernacular architecture led to a large catalogue of passive design
measures for each climate. The geographic diversity of the country required a
comprehensive study of the climate conditions and its implications for passive design
resulting in the development of bioclimatic zoning for Nepal. The hotel sector was selected to
investigate the effectiveness of the design measures and quantify energy saving potentials
for heating and cooling. As a result, a catalogue of priority design strategies and
cost-effective insulation measures were developed for each bioclimatic zone.
Finally, the synthesis of the outcomes from the three focus areas led to the
comprehensive understanding of building design and energy efficiency in the context of
Nepal. As a result, design recommendations and policy actions are suggested to ensure the
low-carbon development for the building sector.
1.4 Structure of the thesis
The thesis is organised into four chapters as follows. This chapter, Chapter 1 - Introduction
provides the background of the research, the problem statement, objectives, research design
and framework, and the structure of the thesis report.
I. Learning from the past II. Climate and design III. Energy-efficient design
Research problem
Nepal has a large diversity Quantitative evaluation of

Climate-responsive of climate conditions. The passive design strategies
design strategies of effective passive design and insulation measures to
traditional buildings are strategies for the different reduce building energy
unknown. climates are not identified. demand.
Field research, building

Methods
Climate data analysis, energy simulation,

Field research, climate maps, bioclimatic
literature review regression analysis, life
approach cycle cost analysis
Scope
Vernacular buildings Whole building sector Hotel building sector
Priority passive design

Contribution
Identification of passive Development of strategies and

design strategies of bioclimatic zoning for cost-effective insulation
vernacular architecture Nepal and corresponding measures for hotel design
in Nepal passive solar strategies in all bioclimatic zones
Figure 1.3: Research framework

Introduction
Chapter 2 - Results presents the findings of the three focus areas of this cumulative
dissertation. The first sub-chapter titled Learning from the past contains the study on
vernacular architecture of Nepal and how it follows climate-responsive design strategies
(published in [7]). The second sub-chapter Climate and design reveals the first proposal for a
bioclimatic zoning (published in [8]). The results of a quantitative analysis for energy saving
potentials in one building sub-sector lead to passive design strategies for each climate zone
that are summarised in the third sub-chapter Energy-efficient design (published in [9]).
In Chapter 3 - Design and policy recommendations the findings of chapter 2 are brought
together leading to a comprehensive catalogue of climate-responsive design strategies for the
different bioclimatic zones of Nepal. The bioclimatic zoning for Nepal is further developed
considering the results of the building simulation study. Furthermore, policy implications are
discussed in detail and required interventions are suggested.
Chapter 4 - Building energy conservation for low-carbon development highlights the
importance of the key findings of this PhD research to ensure a sustainable development
path for Nepal. Scenarios for the whole building sector estimate considerable energy saving
potentials during the next decades if proper policy strategies are implemented.

Chapter 2
Results
2.1 Learning from the past
Traditional building design is the result of hundreds of years of building optimisation through
trial and errors. Due to the absence of mechanical means, natural sources like the sun and
the wind and locally available materials are used for the buildings to create the most
comfortable indoor climate [10–13]. Passive techniques applied in vernacular houses are
often very effective in the local climatic context and do not rely on energy-intensive and
expensive active systems.
Through the modernisation of the construction sector, traditional knowledge of
climate-responsive building construction is disappearing slowly. In many regions of the world,
vernacular houses have been analysed thoroughly to understand the passive design
techniques [13–16]. In Nepal, there is a lack of proper documentation and analysis of this
In alpine climate
In cool temperate climate
Humla house In warm temperate climate
In subtropical climate
Tamang
house Name of vernacular house
Dolpo house House in

Upper Mustang
Rana Tharu
house Thakali
house Manang
house
Gurung
house
Tamang
house
Dangaru Tharu House
house in Salle
Hill house
Adobe house Dolakha Sherpa
Tharu house house
Newar
N Chitwan house
Limbu house
Kochila Tharu
0 50 100 200 house
Kilometers
Figure 2.1: Nepal map with the location of analysed vernacular houses
7
Results
traditional knowledge of climate-smart building design which can be helpful in developing

cost-effective low-energy design strategies for the fast growing construction sector.
Following the principle of “Learning from the past”, a crucial and comprehensive study
analysing the design of vernacular buildings in different climate zones of Nepal was first
conducted for this PhD research (published in [7], see also appendix Publication I on page
83).
Using the bioclimatic approach of [10] and the Mahoney table of [11] climate design
strategies for the four predominant climates were identified (Figure 2.2). In the following,
nineteen different traditional houses from all over Nepal were analysed regarding the
identified design strategies (Figure 2.1).
The comparison of all traditional houses in the same climate zone shows clearly that they
have similar design features. Table 2.1 summarises the characteristics of all vernacular houses
by zone and shows that the climatic context is generally considered.
It can be seen that settlement density increases in colder climate zones. In Nepal’s
subtropical climate, traditional houses are arranged in a rather loose and scattered pattern to
enhance natural ventilation. However, in the cooler climates, villages and towns have a
moderate building density. Houses in the cool temperate and alpine climate are attached to
each other creating a system of small alleys and courtyards to protect from the harsh climate
condition.
The building form of vernacular houses in the warmer climates of Nepal is rather elongated,
while in colder climate, houses are more compact. Elongated floor plans with the long axis
from east to west reduce the solar gains into the building and enhance the possibility of natural
Subtropical climate (Dhanghadi 187 masl) Relative Humidity (%)

30
Temperate climate (Kathmandu 1,336 masl)
%
%
%
%
%
%
50
90
80
70
60
0
10
Cool temperate climate (Dhunche 1,982 masl)

Alpine climate (Thakmarpha 2,566m)
25
%
40
Comfort zone (CZ)

Potential for specific passive design strategy V
20
PSH Passive solar heating DH
AH Active heating
Absolute humidity (g/Kg)
AC %
V Natural ventilation 30
TM Thermal mass
15
TMV Thermal mass with night ventilation
EC Evaporative cooling TMV
AC Active cooling %
20
H Humidification
DH Dehumidifaction 10
CZ 10%
5
PSH TM
AH
H EC
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Dry bulb temperature (°C)
Figure 2.2: Bioclimatic chart for the four predominant climate zones of Nepal: the perimeter
was plotted based on monthly minimum and maximum mean outdoor air temperature and
relative humidity (adapted from [7])

Results
Table 2.1: Characteristics of vernacular houses by climatie zone (adopted from [7])
Subtropical climate Warm temperate climate Cool temperate Alpine climate

climate
Settlement loose, scattered moderate dense rather compact, compact
pattern attached houses
Building form elongated rectangular elongated, courtyard, compact to rectangular rectangular to square floor
round shape layout plan, attached houses
Building long axis east-west longer façade south, south-east of longer/main façade facing south
orientation south-west south-wards facing
Stories 1-2 1.5-3.5 2 2-3
Internal horizontally with no or few divisions vertically or horizontally vertically, elevated vertically and horizontally,
space ground floor for thermal creating buffer zones to the
arrangement buffer exterior
Semi-open veranda, open courtyard closed and shaded veranda or balcony veranda and balcony courtyard, roof terrace
spaces
Wall material wattle-and-daub, straw and bamboo plastered stonework, mud-brick, unplastered or plastered stone, mud, sun-dried bricks
plastered with mud burned clay brick and/or mud-covered stonework
timber
Wall thin 28-70 cm 40-100 cm 40-50 cm
thickness
Roof material thatch, bamboo stone slates, thatch, burned clay bricks stone or wood slates mud layers over wood
Roof type pitched or hipped roof gable, pitched or saddleback roof pitched roof flat
Roof wide wide maximum 50cm
overhang
Foundation slightly raised stone plinth stone plinth built into the slope stone
Floor compacted earth with mud layer compacted earth with mud layer wooden lathwork, mud covered, timber
eventually covered by
carpet
Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

Ceiling high low, wooden structure with lathwork low, double wooden low, timber beam and pillar
and mud layer ceiling structure
Openings few and small openings but thin walls are medium sized openings small openings with very small to small
made of loose material to enhance air flow shutters
9
Results
Table 2.2: Passive design strategies of vernacular houses in subtropical climate zone
(adapted from [7])
Recommended passive design strategy for subtropical climate zone

Natural ventilation essential X
Elongated layout with long axis east-west (X)
High thermal mass for hot and dry season –
Low thermal mass for hot and humid season X
Light well insulated roof X
Medium sized openings (X)
Shading of openings X
Passive solar heating –
Rain protection X
Legend: Xapplied, (X) partially applied, – not applied
ventilation. These both passive design strategies are needed in this climate to keep the indoor
at a comfortable level. In the colder climate zones of the country, the building form is more
compact often with an almost square floor layout to reduce the surface of the exterior envelope
and, thus, the heat loss.
In subtropical climate, internal spaces are arranged horizontally. The floor plan has no or
very few internal division walls to enhance air flow within the buildings. In contrast, in Nepal’s
colder climate zones internal space arrangement is vertical to create buffer zones towards
the exterior and protect from the cold weather conditions. The main living area in traditional
houses in the coldest climate is located in the centre of the second floor enclosed by rooms of
secondary use. Animals are housed in the ground floor and storage rooms are located in the
third floor, creating an effective buffer zone.
Thermal mass of traditional houses increases the colder the climate conditions are. In
subtropical climate, buildings have walls and roofs made of lightweight material leading to
Table 2.3: Passive design strategies of vernacular houses in warm temperate climate zone
(adapted from [7])
Recommended passive design strategy for warm temperate climate

Natural ventilation diserable X
Elongated layout with long axis east-west (X)
High thermal mass for passive heating and cooling X
Light well insulated roof (X)
Medium sized openings X
Shading of openings X
Passive solar heating X
Protection from the cold (X)
Rain protection X

Results
Table 2.4: Passive design strategies of vernacular houses in cool temperate climate zone
(adapted from [7])
Recommended passive design strategy in cool temperate climate

Passive solar heating (X)
Protection from the cold X
Compact settlement and building layout X
Natural ventilation diserable (X)
High thermal mass for passive heating and cooling X
Light well insulated roof (X)
Medium sized openings X
Rain protection X
low thermal building mass as recommended for hot and humid climates. In the other climate
zones, buildings have a medium to high thermal mass using materials like natural stone, mud
and clay bricks.
Although window and door openings in vernacular houses in subtropical climates are
rather small, the permeable wall material allows the air to flow through the building envelope.
Window openings in warm temperate climate are of medium size as compared to small
openings in the colder climate zones. While medium sized windows can be effectively used
for natural ventilation in the hot season, small openings are better as they reduce heat loss
under cold conditions. Additional shutters applied in vernacular houses in the colder climate
zones, increase the tightness and insulation level of the envelope.
Shading is very important in hot climates. Therefore, openings in the envelope are shaded
by a large roof overhang of a balcony or veranda in subtropical and warm temperate climate.
Often, shaded semi-open spaces are provided by the building layout. In contrast, windows in
colder climate regions of Nepal have shutters and sunny semi-open spaces are provided in
form of a roof top terrace or a wind-protected small courtyards.
Concluding the analysis of vernacular architecture in different climate regions of Nepal,
it can be said that most of the passive design strategies are applied (Table 2.2, Table 2.3,
Table 2.5: Passive design strategies of vernacular houses in alpine climate zone (adapted
from [7])
Recommended passive design strategy in alpine climate

Passive solar heating –
Protection from the cold X
Compact settlement and building layout X
High thermal mass for passive heating X
Small openings X

Results
Table 2.4, Table 2.5). The identified strategies for each climate zone can be used to design
modern climate-responsive buildings with low energy demand for active cooling and heating.
However, it is clear that even if a new building is designed accordingly, new lifestyles and
increased thermal comfort requirements might lead to the need of mechanical systems or
the need of modern low-energy building technologies like the application of better insulation
materials or double glazing windows.

Results
2.2 Climate and design
Bioclimatic or climate-responsive building design is one of the major drivers to reduce energy
consumption and, thus, carbon emissions from the building sector [17]. Although buildings
in developing countries like Nepal are not yet as energy-intensive as in the developed world,
increasing thermal comfort requirements and changing lifestyles combined with population
growth and rapid urbanisation will lead to an increased energy demand in the building sector.
Low energy consumption in buildings can only be achieved if the local climate conditions
are considered during the early stage of the design. Therefore, many countries with large
climatic diversity have developed a bioclimatic zoning for building construction which is
necessary to introduce energy conservation standards and building energy codes [18–25].
Nepal has not yet developed any bioclimatic zoning nor has it established any standard with
regards to building energy conservation. The National Building Code is mainly concerned
about structural and earthquake safe design [26].
The lack of a climate classification for the building construction sector was identified as a
major gap towards more energy efficiency in buildings in Nepal. Therefore, a study analysing
the climate of Nepal was conducted with the objective to develop a bioclimatic zoning for Nepal.
Using the bioclimatic approach, this study is an important part of the PhD research (published
in [8], see also appendix Publication II on page 101).
Climate data being the most important input of this study has to be carefully chosen. A
typical meteorological year (TMY) is often used in climate-responsive building design for
analysing design strategies and conducting building energy simulation. The TMY is
generated based on weather observations over a longer period (at least 20 years) by the
national meteorological institutions of a country. The lack of TMY data sets for Nepal made it
necessary to generate such data sets by using the software tool Meteonorm [27]. Monthly
climate normals (temperature, precipitation) from 26 weather stations, either directly collected
from Department of Hydrology and Meteorology Nepal [28] or derived from United Nation’s
Food and Agriculture Organisation climate database [29], were imported into the software to
achieve more accurate results.
The comparison of the generated data sets with measured climate observations is needed
to check the plausibility of data. Therefore, weather observations (temperature and relative
humidity) from recently installed automated weather stations were analysed and compared
with the TMY data set. Figure 2.3 and Figure 2.4 illustrate the exemplary comparison for the
location Pokhara. The density of the data points for 2013, 2014 and 2015 is lower than for the
generated TMY data set because the weather station only records observations five times a
day. Nevertheless, it can be seen that both daily averages and hourly values are in a similar
range (see also appendix Comparison of climate data sets on page 143). Consequently, the
generated TMY data sets are used for the following analysis.
The climate data was plotted on the bioclimatic chart of [10] with the objective to identify
locations with similar passive design strategies. In this chart the comfort zone is defined

Results
Daily mean dry bulb temperature (°C) Pokhara 827masl

30
20
10
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Daily average relative humidity (%) Pokhara 827masl

100
80
60
40
20
0
TMY: Typical meteorological year generated by Meteonorm software with monthly station data from 1981-2010
2013 2014 2015 : Oberserved data of 1 year from automated weather stations
SWERA: Climate data generated by SWERA project
Figure 2.3: Comparison of daily climate data from Pokhara (Data sources: [27–30])
Pokhara Relative humidity (%)

Elevation: 827masl 30
%
0%
%
%
50
70
90
80
60
10
Typical meteorological year (TMY)

generated by Meteonorm with monthly
%
40
station data from 1981-2010: 25

TMY
Observed data of 1 year from
automated weather stations: 20

%
2013 2014 2015

30
15
20%
10
10%
5
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Dry Bulb Temperature (°C)
Figure 2.4: Comparison of hourly climate data from Pokhara (Data sources: [27–30])

Results
Warm temperate climate (below 500 m)

Temperate climate (500 - 1,500 m)
Cool temperate climate (1501 - 2,500 m)
Rara Cold climate (above 2,500 m)
Dadeldhura Jumla Weather data stations
Dipayal
Jomsom
Thakparpha
Surkhet
Lumia
Nepalganj Pokhara Dhunche

Tansen
Kathmandu Namche
Bhaktapur Bazar
Bhairahawa Rampur Dhulikhel
Hetauda Taplejung
Okhaldhunga
Simara
Bhojpur
Dhankuta
Janakpur Dharan
Biratnagar
0 50 100 200
Kilometers
Figure 2.5: First proposal of bioclimatic zoning for Nepal (adopted from [8]
at temperatures between 18◦ C and 29◦ C and at an absolute humidity between 4 g/kg and
17 g/kg according to the recommendation for developing countries [31]. The zones for passive
design strategies are defined by [32] for warm and humid climate (see also [8]). The analysis
of the climate data identified elevation as the main factor for climate design. Therefore, a
classification by elevation with a total of four bioclimatic zones was suggested (Figure 2.5).
Figure 2.7, Figure 2.8, Figure 2.9 and Figure 2.10 show the bioclimatic charts for the four
proposed climate zones. Each line on these charts was derived from the monthly minimum
and maximum mean outdoor temperature and relative humidity of all the weather stations in
one zone. Hourly temperature and humidity levels in one month move around this line. While
the blue lines represent the climate conditions during the winter months, the red lines stand
for the summer (monsoon period). The green lines show the conditions in pre- and post-
monsoon. Additionally, a blue, red and green perimeter line (cloud) was added representing
the area of hourly temperature and humidity values for each season.
According to the analysis of the bioclimatic charts, the temperate zone has the most
comfortable climate as the majority of line segments fall within the comfort zone. While heat
stress is the most important concern in warm temperate climate, cold stress is dominant in
the cold climate zone of the country. Natural ventilation, high thermal mass for cooling and
passive solar heating are the three predominant passive design strategies. Depending on the
season and the climate zone, it is recommended to apply one or more of these strategies
(Figure 2.6).
In warm temperate climate zone (above 500 masl) passive solar heating strategy can avoid
the use of active heating completely. However, some active cooling might be necessary in the
hot and humid monsoon season. Thermal mass for cooling is useful for the hot and dry
weather in spring and autumn.

Results
Spring/autumn
Spring/autumn
Monsoon
Monsoon
Warm temperate Temperate
Winter
Winter
climate zone climate zone
(blow 501 masl) (501 - 1,500 masl)
Natural ventilation Natural ventilation

Thermal mass for cooling Thermal mass for cooling
Passive solar heating Passive solar heating
Spring/autumn
Spring/autumn
Monsoon
Monsoon
Cool temperate Cold
Winter
Winter
climate zone climate zone
(1,501 - 2,500 masl) (above 2,500 masl)
Natural ventilation Natural ventilation

Thermal mass for cooling Thermal mass for cooling
Passive solar heating Passive solar heating
Figure 2.6: Predominant passive design strategies for proposed bioclimatic zones by season
(adapted from [8]
In temperate climate zone (501 - 1,500 masl) cooling is not required if the building has a
high thermal mass and is optimised for natural ventilation cooling. Passive solar heating can
keep indoor temperature at a comfortable level in spring and autumn and has the potential to
reduce active heating in winter to almost zero.
Buildings in cool temperate zone (1,501 - 2,500 masl) should be designed to enhance
natural ventilation during the monsoon season. Passive solar heating is essential for spring
and autumn and can considerably reduce the need of active heating in winter. However, some
mechanical heating might always be required in winter.
Due to the low summer temperature, natural ventilation for cooling is not necessary in
Nepal’s cold climate (above 2,500 masl). However, passive solar heating is recommended
and useful throughout the year. It can replace the need of active heating in summer and
reduce it during the other seasons of the year.
The development of a bioclimatic zoning based on climate data has its limitations especially
in composite climates like Nepal. Therefore, the effectiveness of conflicting design strategies
can be only evaluated using thermal building simulation. Thus, the bioclimatic zoning was
further adjusted (see section Adaption of bioclimatic zoning for Nepal on page 25).

Results
Warm temperate climate Relative humidity (%)

Elevation: below 500 masl 25
0%
%
%
%
90
80
70
60
50
10
Summer (monsoon)
Winter
Pre-/post-monsoon 20
V AC
%
CZ Comfort Zone
40
Potentials for specific passive design strategy:

TMV
PSH Passive solar heating 15
%
AH Active heating 30
V Natural ventilation
TM Thermal mass
TMV Thermal mass with night ventilation EC
EC Evaporative cooling % 10
20
AC Active cooling
H Humidification TM
CZ
10% 5
AH PSH H
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 2.7: Bioclimatic chart for warm temperate climate zone (adopted from [8]
Temperate climate Relative humidity (%)

Elevation: 501 - 1,500 masl 25
0%
%
%
%
90
80
70
60
50
10
Summer (monsoon)
Winter
Pre-/post-monsoon
20
V AC
%
CZ Comfort Zone
40

TMV
PSH Passive solar heating
15
AH Active heating %
TM Thermal mass
EC Evaporative cooling EC
AC Active cooling % 10
20
H Humidification
TM
CZ
10% 5
AH PSH H
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 2.8: Bioclimatic chart for temperate climate zone (adopted from [8]

Results
Cool temperate climate Relative humidity (%)

25
Elevation: 1,501 - 2,500 masl
0%
%
%
%
90
80
70
60
50
10
Summer (monsoon)
Winter
Pre-/post-monsoon 20
V AC
%
CZ Comfort Zone
40

TMV
PSH Passive solar heating 15
%
AH Active heating 30
V Natural ventilation
TM Thermal mass
TMV Thermal mass with night ventilation EC
EC Evaporative cooling % 10
20
AC Active cooling
H Humidification TM
AH CZ
10% 5
PSH H
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 2.9: Bioclimatic chart for cool temperate climate zone (adopted from [8]
Cold climate Relative humidity (%)

Elevation: above 2,500 masl 25
0%
%
%
%
90
80
70
60
50
10
Summer (monsoon)
Winter
Pre-/post-monsoon
20
V AC
%
CZ Comfort Zone
40

TMV
PSH Passive solar heating
15
AH Active heating %
TM Thermal mass
EC Evaporative cooling EC
AC Active cooling % 10
20
H Humidification
TM
AH CZ
10% 5
PSH H
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 2.10: Bioclimatic chart for cold climate zone (adopted from [8]

Results
2.3 Energy-efficient design
By analysing nineteen vernacular houses in different climate regions of Nepal, various suitable
passive design strategies could be identified for each climate zone [7]. The study of the climate
data from 26 Nepalese weather stations resulted into the development of a bioclimatic zoning
with its main climate-responsive design strategies [8]. However, there is the need to evaluate
the importance of each strategy in order to develop effective passive design guidelines and
building energy regulations for the country.
Moreover, some identified design strategies are conflicting each other due to the composite
character of Nepal’s climate. For example, traditional buildings in subtropical climate of Nepal
have low thermal mass [7]. In contrast, high thermal for passive cooling was identified using
the bioclimatic chart [7]. Solely, hourly building energy simulation can help to evaluate the
effectiveness of the thermal mass strategy.
Therefore, a building energy simulation study for Nepal was conducted with the objective
to evaluate the effectiveness of different design strategies and to estimate energy saving
potentials (published in [9], see also appendix Publication III on page 111). It is the first
comprehensive study that assesses energy-efficient building design in Nepal.
The building sector is complex and there exist a large variety of building types. Thermal
comfort requirements of local people in Nepal are still very low and, thus energy-intensive
active heating and cooling systems are commonly not yet installed in residential buildings.
However, there is an increasing trend to install these systems in commercial buildings.
Therefore, hotels were selected for the simulation study as they are an important sub-sector
of commercial buildings.
The hospitality industry is one of the most important sectors for economic development
in Nepal. The number of tourists has almost grown by 400 percent in the last decade and
the travel and tourism industry corresponds to 8.2 percent of Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product
Single cottage Single-banked* Double-banked* Courtyard
Double Cottage Bungalow Atrium
*A vertical section of the hotel building was modelled and side walls were assumed to be adiabatic.
Figure 2.11: Reference models for simulation study on hotel design

Results
(GDP) in 2013 [33]. From 2009 to 2013, the hotel and restaurant business experienced an
annual growth rate of over 6 percent per year [34]. The growing numbers of tourists and the
boom in the tourism sector have led to more hotels being built by investors. Furthermore,
there is an increasing trend to install mechanical heating and cooling systems to achieve the
thermal comfort requirements of international tourists.
Based on an extensive field study, reference models for typical hotel buildings ranging
from small-scale resort hotels to large-scale multi-storey hotels were developed (see
Figure 2.11). Using building energy simulation with parametric analysis, these reference
designs were optimised by varying different design parameters. For each climate zone and
hotel type, all design parameters were ranked in order to find the most important factor to
reduce energy demand for heating and cooling. Two sets of simulation runs were conducted
due to the huge number of design parameter combinations. The first set of runs (passive
design optimisation) focused on the optimisation of parameters like window-to-wall ratio,
thermal mass, orientation and shading devices. The objective of the second set of run
(insulation level optimisation) was to find the cost-effective insulation level for each
component of the building envelope.
The results of the passive design optimisation indicate that minimising solar gains by
keeping the window-wall-ratio small and using shading devices is the most important design
strategy in Nepal’s warm climate zone. In all other climate zones, high thermal mass has
priority because on the one side the passive cooling effect can reduce energy demand for
mechanical cooling. On the other side, thermal mass is necessary to store solar heat gains
Table 2.6: Passive design recommendations for hotel buildings in Nepal ([9])
Bioclimatic zone Warm Moderate Moderate Moderate Cold

warm cold
Elevation (masl) <500 501 – 1000 1001 – 1500 1501 – 2500 >2500
Thermal mass low to high high high high high
WWR South 20%a / 30%b 20%a / 30%b 20 – 60% 20 – 60% 20 – 40%
WWR North 20%a / 30%b 20%a / 30%b 10 – 20% 10 – 20% 0 – 20%
WWR East 0 – 20% 0 – 20% 10 – 20% 20 – 30% 0 – 20%
WWR West 0 – 20% 0 – 20% 10 – 20% 20 – 30% 0 – 20%
Orientation South South South South –
Overhang 0.2 – 0.4 0.2 – 0.4 0.2c flexible –
South PFd shading –
Fins East 0.4 – 0.6 flexible flexible flexible –
& West PF shading shading shading –
a For small-scale hotels with low case depth
b For large-scale hotels with large case depth
c For window-to-wall-ratio greater than 40% otherwise flexible shading device
d Projection factor

Results
Table 2.7: Recommendations for window performance of hotel buildings in Nepal (adapted
from [9])
Bioclimatic zone U-Value SHGC

Minimum Comforta Maximum Comfortb
W/m2 K W/m2 K
Warm (<500m) <3.0 <3.0 ≤0.25
Moderate warm (501–1000m) 5.40 <3.0 ≤0.3
Moderate (1001–1500m) 5.40 <3.0 ≥0.6
Moderate cold (1501–2500m) 5.40 2.50 ≥0.6
Cold (>2500m) 3.20 2.50 ≥0.6
a Minimum comfort as defined in [9] for small-scale hotels
b Maximum comfort as defined in [9] for all other hotels
and, thus, can reduce energy demand for mechanical heating (passive solar heating effect).
Large windows facing south are recommended for the moderate and moderate cold climate
to enhance passive solar heating. In the cold climate zone passive solar heating can be only
effective when the window area is moderate to balance heat losses in the cold season.
Table 2.6 summarises the recommendations for energy-efficient hotel design in Nepal.
The insulation level optimisation concluded that insulation measures can be cost-effective
in almost all climate zones over the building life time and are highly recommended
(Table 2.9). Depending on the climate zone U-Values between 0.25 and 1.6 W/m2 K are
recommended for exterior walls. The roof should have a thermal transmittance between 0.25
and 0.7 W/m2 K while the optimal ground floor insulation level is between 0.9 and
0.25 W/m2 K. The best insulation level of 0.25 W/m2 K is recommended for the whole exterior
envelope of hotel buildings in the cold climate. Minimum ground floor insulation is necessary
in warm, moderate warm and moderate climate.
Improving the performance of windows is not cost-effective in all climate zones when
considering current investment prices. However, switching from single to double glazing to
improve the building performance is recommended under most conditions (Table 2.7). It is
important to consider that double glazing is a new building technology in Nepal and,
therefore, very expensive. There are few suppliers with a limited range of double glazing
windows available in the market. Furthermore, the double glazing available in the Nepalese
market has a higher U-Value compared to European standards. According to the simulation
results, double glazing windows is not recommended in the moderate warm, moderate and
moderate cold climate zone from the cost-perspective when comfort requirements and
energy consumption are low. For all others zones and for higher comfort requirements (e.g.
hotels with international tourist) doubled-glazed windows with an U-Value of 3.2 W/m2 K are
cost-effective. Assuming that with the dissemination of double glazing in the country,
international production standards will be introduced, a window performance of less that
3.0 W/m2 K can be easily reached. In moderate cold and cold climate windows U-Values

Results
Table 2.8: Energy saving potentials in hotel buildings through energy-efficient design by
climate zone (adapted from [9])
Bioclimatic zone Eneryg saving potentials through

Passive designa Insulation levelb
Warm climate (<500 masl) 22 – 38% 35 – 47%
Moderate warm (501–1000 masl) 39 – 50% 37 – 40%
Moderate (1001–1500 masl) 48 – 64% 26 – 50%
Moderate cold (1501–2500 masl) 14 – 73% 41 – 50%
Cold (>2500 masl) 9 – 23% 38 – 48%
a Considering following design parameter: window-to wall ratio, orientation, thermal mass, overhang and fins; relative savings
of best performers (1st quartile) compared to worst performing case
b Considering cost-effective insulation level; relative savings of best performers (1st quartile) compared to uninsulated
reference case
lower than 2.5 W/m2 K are recommended.

The optimisation of passive design and insulation level in hotels can lead to substantial
energy and cost savings. Table 2.8 lists the energy saving potentials for heating and cooling
by bioclimatic zone. In the moderate warm, moderate and moderate cold climate zone, highest
relative savings can be achieved. However, it has to be considered that absolute savings might
be lower compared to the warm and cold climate zone because the total energy demand for
heating and cooling is lower due to the moderate temperatures.
Cost savings through passive design optimisation (except insulation) depend upon
building typology and climate zone (Figure 2.12, Figure 2.13). For example in warm climate
(Biratnagar) and moderate warm climate (Pokhara), annual electricity cost for air conditioning
can be reduced to almost 50% by considering all important passive design strategies starting
from optimal orientation, reducing WWR, and adding an overhang to the south oriented
window. In the colder climate zone annual energy cost savings are considerable smaller.
Similarly, life cycle cost savings amounts to almost one third in Nepal’s warm and moderate
warm climate zone. In the moderate cold climate life cycle costs of the base case design and
the optimised design are at a very similar level. In the cold climate no life cycle cost savings
can be achieved because the initial investment costs are not payed back through reduced
energy cost. There only adding a good insulation layer to the whole building envelope will
reduce energy and life cycle cost [9].
Although the simulation study was conducted for hotel buildings, similar energy savings
are expected to be achievable in the residential sector. The reason for this is that dwellings
have a similar use pattern like hotels. Although today energy-intensive active heating and
cooling systems are not common in residential buildings of Nepal, it can be anticipated that
thermal comfort standards will rise and, thus, mechanical space conditioning systems will be
installed. Therefore, the findings of this study are used to develop general building design
recommendations for the different climate regions of Nepal (see following chapter).

Results
Table 2.9: Recommendations for opaque envelope insulation of hotel buildings in Nepal ([9])
Bioclimatic zone U-Value for Wall U-Value for Roof U-Value for Floor
Minimum Maximum Thickness Minimum Maximum Thickness Minimum Maximum Thickness
Comforta Comforta Insulation Comfort Comfort Insulation Comfort Comfort Insulation
W/m2 K W/m2 K mm W/m2 K W/m2 K mm W/m2 K W/m2 K mm
Warm 0.35 0.35 100 0.70 0.40 50-100 - 0.90 0-25
(<500m)
Moderate warm 1.60 0.60 50 0.70 0.40 50-100 - 0.90 0-25
(501-1000m)
Moderate 1.60 0.60 50 0.70 0.40 50-100 - 0.90 0-25
(1001-1500m)
Moderate cold 0.60 0.35 50-100 0.70 0.40 50-100 0.90 0.50 25-50
(1501-2500m)
Cold 0.25 0.25 150 0.25 0.25 150 0.50 0.25 50-100
(>2500m)

a Minimum and maximum comfort as defined in [9]
23
Results
Base case design Optimised design
4470
4264
4000 4024
USD/room
2935
2636
2036 1996
Double-banked Single-banked Double-banked Double-banked

typology typology typology typology
in Biratnagar in Pokhara in Dhunche in Thakmarpha
Figure 2.12: Comparison of life cycle costs for base case design and optimised passive design
for different typologies and locations (adopted from [9])
Base case design Optimised design
253
203
USD/room
179
133
122
76
58 56
Double-banked Single-banked Double-banked Double-banked

typology typology typology typology
in Biratnagar in Pokhara in Dhunche in Thakmarpha
Figure 2.13: Comparison of annual electricity costs for base case design and optimised
passive design for different typologies and locations (adopted from [9])

Chapter 3
3.1 Adaption of bioclimatic zoning for Nepal

Nepal is a small country with high climatic variation mainly due to the large differences in
elevation. The climate is of composite character which means neither dry nor humid conditions
are dominating. In contrast, the humidity level varies significantly from season to season
mainly influenced by the South Asian monsoon. Due to the proximity to the tropics of Cancer,
temperature differences between winter and summer period are perceptible but moderate.
The variation in temperature and humidity levels leads to four different seasons which can be
described as followed: 1. Winter season (December to February), 2. Pre-monsoon (March to
May), 3. Summer or monsoon season (June to September), and 4. Post-monsoon (October
to November).
In the most populated regions of the country which are located between 60 masl to 1,500
masl, the winter is mild and dry with daily maximum temperatures close to the comfort zone.
The hottest and driest period is the pre-monsoon from March to May when maximum
temperatures rises above the comfortable level. With the beginning of the monsoon season,
temperatures drop few degrees but humidity rises, similar to sticky conditions in hot and
humid climates. In the post-monsoon, temperature and humidity fall down to a comfortable
level and it rains only occasionally. While the sky is mainly cloudy during the monsoon
season, clear sky conditions are dominant in all other season.
In the context of this thesis the first proposal of a bioclimatic zoning for Nepal was
developed leading to an elevation based climate classification of four zones (published in [8],
see also Appendix Publication II on page 101:
• Warm climate (below 500 masl)
• Temperate climate (from 501 masl to 1,500 masl)
• Cool temperate climate (from 1,501 masl to 2,500 masl)
• Cold climate (above 2,500 masl)
25
Passive solar design strategies for each bioclimatic zone were identified by using the
bioclimatic approach. The further energy simulation based analysis found an inconsistency of
priority passive design strategies within the temperate climate. Therefore, a further
differentiation of the temperate climate zone is necessary. As a result it is suggested to
improve the bioclimatic zoning leading to five elevation-based climate zones (see Figure 3.2):
• Warm climate (below 500 masl)
• Moderate warm climate (from 501 masl to 1,000 masl)
• Moderate climate (from 1,001 masl to 1,500 masl)
• Moderate cold climate (from 1,501 masl to 2,500 masl)
• Cold climate (above 2,500 masl)
Table 3.1 gives an overview about the climatic conditions in each bioclimatic zone by
indicating dry bulb temperatures in the different seasons, annual rainfall, cooling and heating
degree days as well as humidity conditions. It can be seen that the warm and moderate warm
climate zone have a considerable long period of hot and humid conditions.
The analysis of heating and cooling degree days for all assessed locations confirm a clear
relationship with regard to elevation (Figure 3.1). That means, the lower the elevation, the
higher the cooling degree days. In contrast, the higher the elevation, the higher the heating
degree days. Locations below 1,000 masl are dominated by cooling with more than 1100
cooling degree days (CDD18) while they have less than 400 heating degree days (HDD18).
Locations between 1,000 and 1,500 masl have a moderate amount of cooling degree days
CDD at 18.3°C HDD at 18°C

3,000 6,000
2,500 5,000
2,000 4,000
1,500 3,000
1,000 2,000
500 1,000
0 0
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
Elevation (masl) Elevation (masl)
(a) CDD18 (b) HDD18
Figure 3.1: Relationship between elevation and cooling degree day (CDD18)a /heating degree
day (HDD18)b
a
Calculated at 18.3°C acording to ASHRAE-method[35]
b
Calculated at 18°C acording to EUROSTAT-method[36]

Cold climate (above 2,500 masl)
Simikot
Moderate cold climate (1,501 - 2,500 masl)
Darchula
Moderate climate (1,001-1,500 masl)
Baitadi Gamgadhi
Martadi Moderate warm climate (501-1,000 masl)
Dadeldhura Jumla Warm climate (below 500 masl)
Mahendranagar Dunai
Thakparpha
Dhangadhi
Birendranagar
Beni
Gulariya Pokhara Besishahar
Dhunche
Nepalganj
Damauli Gorkha
Tansen
Kathmandu
Bharatpur Charikot
Kapilavastu Lalitpur Bhaktapur
Shidharthanagar Dhulikhel Salleri
Hetauda Taplejung
Okhaldhunga
Sindhulimadi Bhojpur
Birganj Dhankuta
Ilam
Gaur Janakpur
Siraha Bhadrapur

0 50 100 200 Kilometres Biratnagar
Figure 3.2: Bioclimatic zoning for Nepal with five zones
27

Table 3.1: Specification of reclassified bioclimatic zoning for Nepal
Bioclimatic zone Warm Moderate warm Moderate Moderate cold Cold
climate climate climate climate climate
Elevation (masl) < 500 501 – 1,000 1,001 – 1,500 1,501 – 2,500 > 2,500
Temperature (◦ C)
Summer 23 – 36 21 – 35 18 – 29 14 – 27 6 – 21
Pre/post-monsoon 11 – 37 9 – 36 8 – 30 2 – 27 – 4 – 19
Winter 9 – 25 6 – 23 5 – 22 -2 – 20 -9 – 12
Annual rainfall (mm) 1,400 – 2,200 1,000 – 4,000 900 – 2,000 800 – 2,000 300 – 1,300
CDD18a > 1,800 1,100 – 1,800 500 – 1,100 100 – 500 < 100
HDD18b < 200 200 – 400 400 – 700 700 – 2400 > 2,400
Absolute humidity (g/kg)c
Average 14.7 11.8 10.7 6.5 4.5
Minimum 5.4 3.7 3.0 1.3 0.5
Maximum 27.0 23.1 21.3 15.7 12.4
Hot and humid conditionscd
Total hours (h) 3252 1283 645 10 0
Percentage (%) 37.1% 14.6% 7.4% 0.1% 0%
a Calculated acording to ASHRAE-method[35].
b Calculated acording to EUROSTAT-method[36].
c Humidity conditions for one selected location per climate zone, namely: Biratnagar, Pokhara, Kathmandu, Dhunche and Thakmarpha.
d Accumulated time when dry bulb temperature >26.7◦ C and humidity ratio >12 g/kg.
28
and heating degree days. All locations above 1,500 masl are dominated by heating with more
than 700 heating degree days; they have less than 500 cooling degree days.
Aiming to compare all bioclimatic zones, Figure 3.3 indicates the relative importance of
passive and active design strategies for each climate zone. It can be seen that natural
ventilation for cooling and solar control are the most important climate responsive design
strategies in Nepal’s warm and moderate warm climate. Passive solar heating has priority in
the moderate, moderate cold and cold climate to reduce the energy demand for heating. High
thermal mass is important in all climate zone except the warm climate. It can be noticed that
insulation of the building envelope is only slightly important in moderate warm and moderate
climate due to the moderate temperatures. Regarding the active design, fan-forced ventilation
plays an important role in warm, moderate warm and moderate climate. Dehumidification is
fairly important in the warm and moderate warm climate zone. While active cooling is very
important in the warm climate zone, active heating is very important in Nepal’s moderate cold
and cold climate. The predominant design strategies for each climate will be described in
detail below:
The warm climate zone (below 500 masl) has the hottest temperatures of the country
resulting into the highest energy demand for active cooling systems. Additionally,
dehumidification is very much required during the monsoon season due to the high humidity
levels. In the post-monsoon season more than 20% of the time thermal comfort can be
reached by dehumidification only. However, passive design can contribute to considerable
cooling energy savings. Natural ventilation strategy can be used as cooling strategy almost
one third of the year. Solar control is needed about 30% of the year. The demand for heating
is very low and can be reduced to zero if the building is optimised for passive solar heating for
the coldest period of the year. Thereby, thermal mass plays a secondary role and should not
Warm Moderate Moderate Moderate Cold

Design strategy climate warm climate cold climate
climate climate
Natural ventilation
Passive design
Solar control
Solar heating
High thermal mass
Insulation
Fan-forced ventilation
Active design
Dehumidification
Cooling
Heating
Legend: slightly important important fairly important very important
Figure 3.3: Importance of building design strategies by bioclimatic zone

be too high to reduce the risk of overheating in the hot season. An appropriate solution for
the contradictory impact of thermal mass could be the application of massive floors, while
walls are light weighted and well insulated. Insulation of the building envelope will contribute
to reduce the need for cooling.
In the moderate warm climate zone (from 501 masl to 1,000 masl) both summer and
winter are mild and the need for heating and cooling is limited. According to the simulation
results of this research energy consumption for space conditioning is lowest compared to
other climate zones in Nepal. Natural ventilation cooling and solar control in the warm season
can reduce the need for active cooling considerably. Dehumidification is the most important
active measure for reaching thermal comfort in the warmer period. However, some cooling
will be needed during the hottest days of the year. For the cold season, the optimisation of
the design for passive solar heating combined with medium to high thermal mass can reduce
the need for heating to a minimum. Thermal mass is highly recommended for this climate
because it is effective as a heat sink for hot days and a heat storage for cold days. Using
thermal mass the high daily temperature can be balanced. According to the simulation
results of the hotel typologies, passive design (excluding insulation) can achieve energy
savings between 22% and 38%. Cost-optimum insulation levels at 0.35 W/m2 K lead to an
energy reduction between 35% to 47% [9]. Similar savings might be achieved in the
residential sector due to the fact that dwellings and hotels have a similar use pattern.
Nepal’s moderate climate (from 1,001 masl to 1,500 masl) has mild temperatures in
summer and winter resulting in the combined need for heating and cooling. However, the
need for cooling is much lower and the need for heating is higher than in the moderate warm
climate. The heating demand in this climate will be always higher than the cooling demand. If
natural ventilation cooling, solar control strategies and high thermal mass are applied in the
building design, the cooling demand can be reduced to a minimum. Similarly, insulation of the
envelope combined with high thermal mass and the design optimisation for passive solar
heating will reduce the demand for heating. Considering passive design features like thermal
mass, solar control and building orientation, energy savings of 39% to 50% can be reached.
The insulation of the building envelope to a cost-effective level of about 0.40 W/m2 K will lead
to energy savings of 37% to 40% [9].
The moderate cold climate zone (from 1,501 masl to 2,500 masl) is dominated by the
need for active heating during at least six month of the year (from October to March). In
contrast the cooling demand will be almost zero if the building openings are designed to have
moderate solar gains in the warmer summer period. Natural ventilation cooling will assure
thermal comfort during hot summer days. Passive solar heating and high thermal mass are
the most important strategies for the colder period. The simulation-based study of this thesis
indicates that passive design (excluding insulation) can lead to energy savings of between 28%
and 73% depending on the typology. Envelope insulation reaching a thermal transmittance of
0.35 W/m2 K is cost effective and results into savings of between 41% and 50% [9].
The cold climate zone of Nepal (above 2,500 masl) is a region where winters are harsh

and summer temperatures hardly reach the comfort zone level. In this climate there is no
need for cooling. In contrast, heating is necessary almost all year. Over 60% of the time
active heating is needed. In winter solar gains can cover some heating demand during the
day. According to the building energy simulation study conducted in the context of this thesis,
energy saving potentials through passive design (excluding insulation) are only between 9%
to 23%. Envelope insulation with an U-Value of 0.25 W/m2 K can bring savings between 38%
and 53% compared to an uninsulated building [9].
Figure 3.4 shows a representation of all bioclimatic zones using the psychrometric chart.
The perimeter line for each zone was created as the contour of monthly lines for mean
minimum and maximum temperatures and relative humidity of all weather stations which fall
into the zone. Consequently, it represents the monthly temperature and humidity levels of the
zone. The figure illustrates the climatic diversity within the Nepalese territory which implies
the need for specific passive design in each climate zone.
The following sections illustrates the characteristics of the five bioclimatic zones and the
recommended design strategies in detail aiming to be a practical guideline for architects,
engineers and home-builders in Nepal. According to the existing construction practises it is
assumed that the building can be naturally ventilated during the time when outdoor
temperatures are comfortable.

Cold climate (above 2,500 masl)
10 )
0%
%
%
y(
90
80
Moderate cold climate (1,501 - 2,500 masl)
dit
mi
Moderate climate (1,001-1,500 masl)
%
hu
30
70
ive
Moderate warm climate (501-1,000 masl)
lat
Re
Warm climate (below 500 masl)
%
60
ASHRAE-55 comfort zone for winter and summer 25
%
50
20
Absolute humidity (g/kg)

%
40
15
%
30
10
20%
5
10%
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 3.4: Presentation of bioclimatic zones in the psychrometric chart: Perimeter line
based on monthly values for mean minimum/maximum temperature and relative humidity of
all weather stations in the zone

3.2 Design guidelines for warm climate
3.2.1 Climate and design

With annual mean temperature between 23◦ C and 25◦ C, the warm climate of Nepal (below
500 masl) is the hottest climate of the country. However, seasonal changes are still noticeable.
The cold and dry season (December to February) is short with mean temperatures slightly
below the comfort limits. The sky is mostly clear with occasionally foggy days depending on
the micro-climate. The hottest period is from April to June when day temperatures can rise
above 35◦ C. This is also the driest season with an absolute humidity ranging between 5 g/kg
and 15 g/kg. With the beginning of the monsoon rain in June, temperature decreases slightly
but humidity can rise up to 25 g/kg. Diurnal temperatures ranges between 22◦ C and 36◦ C. In
the post-monsoon (from October) humidity drops again and diurnal temperatures might drop
down 15◦ C (Figure 3.5).
The physical discomfort in this climate is dominated by heat stress. In the warm-humid
monsoon season high humidity reduces the possible heat dissipation from the human body
through evaporation. Therefore, this climate will always need an active cooling or
dehumidification system. However, about one third of the year natural ventilation cooling can
bring thermal comfort without the need for active systems. Additionally, discomfort might
occur during the night time in the cold season, if the building is not properly insulated.
Depending on the insulation level and orientation some active heating will be required.
The main passive design strategies for this climate are solar control and natural ventilation
(Figure 3.6). The building design should prioritise the minimisation of direct and indirect solar
gains by reducing the window areas, effective shading and the use of light coloured materials.
Cross or stack ventilation strategies as well as the consideration of the local winds for the
building layout are an important contribution to reduce the need for active cooling.

Daily mean dry bulb temperature (°C)

40
30
20
10
0
Daily mean absolute humidity (g/kg)

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Daily mean global solar radiation (kWh/m²d)

10
8
6
4
2
0
%)
Hourly climate data
0%
%
y(
90
80
10
dit
ASHRAE-55 comfort zone for winter and summer

mi
hu
%
30
70
ive
lat
Re
%
60
25
%
50
20
%
40
15
%
30
10
20%
5
10%
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 3.5: Climate conditions of Biratnagar representing warm climate zone

3.2.2 Building form and pattern

The building layout in this climate should reduce solar penetration and enhance natural
ventilation. Therefore, rather elongated volumes are recommended with the longer facade
facing South and North. The building depth should be low to allow for cross ventilation.
Settlement patterns in this climate shall be rather sparse to allow air movement and natural
ventilation for cooling. The orientation of the buildings towards the breeze is desired because
one third of the year natural ventilation can increase the thermal comfort within the building.
The traditional Tharu settlements in the southern part of Nepal are good examples for such a
pattern. Tharu houses were either loosely situated along the road or arranged in clusters of
semi-closed compounds. In some settlements houses were placed around a courtyard which
has one side opened towards the breezy winds. [7]
Thermal mass does not play such an important role like in the other climate regions of
Nepal. In the warm humid season low mass buildings perform slightly better than high mass
buildings. However, the performance of low mass buildings is worse in the cold season
because the solar heat gains cannot be stored for the colder night times. A solution set to this
problem is the application of thermal mass inside the building, for example through massive
floors and partition walls. Accordingly, night ventilation can effectively cool down the thermal
mass during night time.
3.2.3 Building envelope

The insulation of roof and wall with U-Values between 0.35 to 0.4 W/m2 K is cost-effective in
this climate. Floor insulation is only recommended at minimum level of 0.90 W/m2 K due to the
short heating period. In the warmer season the cooler ground might work as a natural heat
sink. Building insulation can lead to energy savings of up to 47% [9].
The fenestration area is mainly responsible for the solar heat gains of a building.
Minimising solar gains has priority in warm climate. Therefore, windows should be kept small
to moderate in size with preferred orientation towards South and North. South facing
windows need horizontal shading devices with a projection factor between 0.2 and 0.4. West
and east facing windows are not recommended. If necessary, they should be small and
effective shading devices like vertical fins are required.
Aiming to reduce solar gains through windows, glazing with a low solar heat gain coefficient
(below 0.25) is recommended in the warm climate of Nepal. Although double glazing windows
are more than double as expensive as the standard single glazing windows, their installation
is cost-effective in this climate and, thus, highly recommended to reach the best performance
[9]. Being a new construction technology, double glazing manufactured currently in Nepal
reaches a thermal transmittance between 2.5 W/m2 K and 3.2 W/m2 K. Compared to European
standards this U-Value is high due to commonly used aluminium frames and the lack of thermal
breaks. It is anticipated that with further dissemination of double glazing, the manufacturing
process will be improved and reach international standards.

Natural ventilation cooling
Loose settlement pattern Cross ventilation Stack ventilation Solar chimeney
Control solar gains
No or very small windows Small window area Elongated floor layout Glazing with low SHGC
East/West WWR 0-20% South/North WWR 20-30% with long east-west axis
Sun shading
Overhang South Fins East/West Vegetation Shading through roof

PF 0.2-0.4 PF 0.4-0.6 for shading ovehang, veranda or balcony
Passive cooling
High internal thermal mass for

passive cooling in summer
Passive solar heating
High internal mass for passive

solar heating in winter
Insulation
Good envelope Double glazing for

insulation best performance
Figure 3.6: Passive design strategies for warm climate of Nepal

3.3 Design guidelines for moderate warm climate

All locations between 501 masl and 1,000 masl are located in the moderate warm climate
zone of Nepal. Although the annual mean temperature is with 21◦ C to 22◦ C only few degrees
Celsius lower than in the warm climate, it is a much more comfortable climate. The cold and
dry winter season has mean temperatures clearly below the comfort limit resulting into the
need of active heating. May is the hottest month with average maximum day temperatures up
to 35◦ C. In the dry season absolute humidity ranges between 5 g/kg and 15 g/kg. During the
wet monsoon season from June to September, temperature decreases slightly but absolute
humidity can increase to daily average values above 20 g/kg. Diurnal temperatures ranges
between 18◦ C and 34◦ C. In the post-monsoon (from October) humidity drops again while
diurnal temperatures range between 8◦ C and 30◦ C (Figure 3.7).
Although this climate is much more comfortable than the warm climate of Nepal, physical
discomfort is dominated by heat stress. From May to August day time temperature rises
above the required thermal comfort. Additional high humidity from June to August reduces
the possible heat dissipation from the human body through evaporation. In the winter season,
particularly during night time, the physical comfort depends upon the prevention of heat loss.
Similar to the warm climate the control of solar gains, sun shading and natural ventilation
cooling are the main passive design strategies in this climate. Due to the fact that winter
temperatures are a few degrees lower than in the warm climate zone, passive solar heating is
also very important. Therefore, medium to high thermal mass is recommended in addition to
sufficient window openings facing south (see Figure 3.8).

30
20
10
0

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

10
8
6
4
2
0
%)
Hourly climate data
0%
%
y(
90
80
10
dit

mi
hu
%
30
70
ive
lat
Re
%
60
25
%
50
20
%
40
15
%
30
10
20%
5
10%
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 3.7: Climate conditions of Pokhara representing moderate warm climate zone


Loose settlement patterns and elongated floor plans can foster the effect of natural ventilation
cooling. Concepts like cross and stack ventilation can bring thermal comfort for about 30% of
the time of the year. The longer axis of the building should be aligned from east to west to
control solar gains.
Medium to high thermal mass brings clear advantages and energy savings in the moderate
warm climate zone. The reason for that is the higher contribution of solar gains for heating the
building in winter and, thus, reducing the energy needs for mechanical heating. High thermal
mass serves also as thermal sink during the hot and dry pre-monsoon season.

The main fenestration area is recommended to be rather small (20–30%) facing south and
north. East and west facing windows are not recommended or should be as small as possible.
For southern windows an overhang with a projection factor of 0.2–0.4 is necessary. Flexible
shading devices are recommended for all other orientations. Shading is very important to
reduce direct solar gains from May to September.
For the purpose of passive heating, solar gains are required in the cooler winter season. A
moderate insulation level with U-Values between 0.4–0.6 W/m2 K for roofs and walls is required
to assure the effectiveness of passive solar heating and to reduce the heat loss in winter. For
hotel building it is estimated that increasing the insulation level can result in energy savings up
to 40% compared to an uninsulated building [9].

Loose settlement pattern Cross ventilation Stack ventilation Night ventilation
Control solar gains
No or very small window area Small window area Elongated floor layout Glazing with low SHGC
Eas/West WWR 0-20% South/North WWR 20-30% with long east-west axis
Sun shading
Overhang South Vegetation Shading through roof

PF 0.2-0.4 for shading ovehang, veranda or balcony
Passive cooling
Medium to high thermal mass

for passive cooling in summer
Medium to high thermal mass for

passive solar heating in winter
Insulation
Moderate envelope Double glazing for

Figure 3.8: Passive design strategies for moderate warm climate of Nepal

3.4 Design guidelines for moderate climate

The moderate climate zone of Nepal includes all locations above 1,000 masl elevation and
below 1,500 masl which have an annual mean temperature of about 19◦ C. In the cold and
dry winter season night temperatures can decrease to just above the freezing point resulting
into the need of an active heating system. The hottest months are May and June with diurnal
temperature rising up to 35◦ C. While the daily absolute humidity is often still below 10 g/kg in
April and May, it can rise up to 15 g/kg after the start of the monsoon rain in June. In monsoon
season from June to September diurnal temperatures range between 18◦ C and 30◦ C. In the
post-monsoon (from October) humidity level drops again down below 10 g/kg and diurnal
temperatures range between 5◦ C and 27◦ C (Figure 3.9).
The moderate climate zone has one of the most comfortable conditions. However, some
physical discomfort may be caused by cold stress in winter and heat stress with high humidity
in summer. Depending on the building typology and the use of passive design energy
consumption can be reduced by up to 70% [9]. The optimisation of design for natural
ventilation cooling can avoid the need for active cooling. Nonetheless, an active heating
system might be required.
The challenge in this climate is to control solar gains in the warm season and to foster
passive solar heating in the cold season. Sun shading of windows can contribute to reduce
overheating. Natural ventilation cooling can minimise the need for active heating systems (see
Figure 3.10).

30
20
10
0

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

10
8
6
4
2
0
%)
Hourly climate data
0%
%
y(
90
80
10
dit

mi
hu
%
30
70
ive
lat
Re
%
60
25
%
50
20
%
40
15
%
30
10
20%
5
10%
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 3.9: Climate conditions of Kathmandu representing moderate climate zone


A rather elongated building layout is recommended with the longer facade facing South and
North. The building depth should be moderate to allow cross ventilation during the hot and
humid season. Other strategies like stack ventilation are also suitable to reduce the need for
mechanical cooling.
The settlement pattern of moderate density that does allow solar penetration during
winter season is favourable. The typical Newari courtyard typology is a good example for
such a spatial structure because it optimises solar gains and shading [7]. Furthermore, the
courtyard system allows natural ventilation that is necessary during the warm and humid
monsoon season.
High thermal building mass is a priority strategy in this climate and performs better than
low mass due to the fact that the thermal mass can be used as a thermal sink during the
hot season and as thermal storage in the cold season. High mass is essentially required to
optimise the design for passive solar heating.

Large window areas facing south with a WWR between 40% and 60% are most suitable to
balance solar control and solar gain. However, an overhang or flexible shading system should
be provided to reduce the risk of overheating. Any fenestration areas facing north, east and
west should be kept small (WWR 10–20%). [9]
Shading strategies have a moderate impact on energy consumption reduction. An
overhang with a projection factor (PF) of 0.2 is recommended to shade south facing windows
when the WWR is greater than 40%. Alternatively, a more flexible shading device like
external blinds or shutters can be used whenever overheating occurs.
Shading the buildings can also be achieved through vegetation, a wide roof overhang or
by integrating a veranda into the design. Typical vernacular houses in the hilly region of Nepal
always have a roofed balcony along the longer building facade creating a semi-open space
[7].
Moderate insulation of the building envelope has a major influence on energy consumption
reduction and is highly recommended. It is estimated that energy savings up to 50% of energy
for heating and cooling can be achieved by reducing the thermal transmittance of the building
envelope to 0.4 W/m2 K [9].
Although double glazing might not bring life cycle cost savings, it can bring other
advantages like increased thermal and acoustic comfort. Windows with a high solar heat gain
coefficient (above 0.6) are recommended, particularly, for south facing windows that are
optimised for passive solar heating. If site constraints lead to a design with windows mainly
facing east and west, it has to be evaluated if a lower solar heat gain coefficient is more
appropriate to avoid unnecessary overheating.

Large window area High thermal mass for passive Glazing with high SHGC
South WWR 40-60% solar heating in winter
Control solar gains
Moderate dense Small window area Elongated floor layout

settlement pattern East/West WWR 20-30% with long east-west axis
Sun shading
Overhang South Flexible shading Vegetation Shading through roof

PF 0.2 for windows for shading ovehang, veranda or balcony
Cross ventilation Stack ventilation Night ventilation
Passive cooling
High thermal mass for

passive cooling in summer
Insulation
Moderate envelope Double glazing for

Figure 3.10: Passive design strategies for moderate climate of Nepal

3.5 Design guidelines for moderate cold climate

The moderate cold climate zone is comprised of all locations above 1,500 masl and below
2,500 masl. The annual mean temperature lies between 15◦ C to 17◦ C. This climate has a
longer cold period from November to March where low outside temperatures create the need
for active heating. In winter (from December to February) day temperatures are between 12◦ C
and 22◦ C while night temperatures can be as low as –4◦ C. The hottest month is May with
diurnal temperature rising up to 30◦ C. In summer (June to September) diurnal temperatures
range between 10◦ C and 30◦ C. With the end of the summer diurnal temperatures go down
to average values between 12◦ C and 18◦ C. The absolute humidity ranges between 3 g/kg
and 7 g/kg in the dry season while it increase to daily averages between 7 g/kg and 15 g/kg
(Figure 3.11).
The physical discomfort in this climate is dominated by cold stress due to the longer
winter period and the low night time temperatures in the pre- and post-monsoon season.
However, active heating might be required not more than one third of the year depending on
the insulation level and other design factors.
There are three important passive design strategies suggested for the moderate cold
climate: 1. Reducing heat losses, 2. Passive solar heating, and 3. Natural ventilation cooling
for day time in summer (see Figure 3.12). Reducing heat losses are essential to minimise the
need for active heating during the winter season. Passive solar heating can assist the active
heating system in winter and keep the indoor temperature at a comfortable level during colder
nights in the warmer season of the year. Natural ventilation cooling is needed in summer
during daytime when outdoor temperatures and humidity levels are above the comfort zone.


30
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Figure 3.11: Climate conditions of Dhunche representing moderate cold climate zone


Moderate compact settlement patterns are recommended for this climate region. Attached
houses like in the traditional Tamang villages have less outer envelope surface area than
individual houses which lead to the reduction of heat losses [7].
The orientation of the most important building functions towards south will assure
effective use of passive heating and, thus, reduce the energy consumption of the buildings.
For example, the guest rooms of the hotel design with an elongated building layout should be
allocated on the southern side along the corridor.
The application of materials of high thermal mass is highly recommended to reduce heating
energy consumption in moderate cold climate. Particularly, in the pre- and post-monsoon
where only night temperatures are below the comfort limit, thermal mass can store the solar
heat during the day and release it during the night. Thereby, the need for active heating can
be reduced to a minimum.

Appropriate envelope insulation can reduce the heat losses of the buildings in winter.
Additional provision of large window areas (WWR 40–60%) facing southward can optimise
the passive solar heating effect and, thus, reduce energy consumption for heating. Small to
moderate windows (WWR 20–30%) are recommended for the east and west facing facade
while the northern facade should have no or very small windows (WWR max. 20%).
A good insulation is recommended to reduce heat losses through the building envelope.
Reducing thermal transmittance of walls, roof and ground floor to 0.35, 0.4 and 0.5 W/m2 K,
respectively, might lead to energy savings up to 50% [9].
According to the simulation results for hotel buildings in Nepal double glazing is
cost-effective over the life time of the building (20 years) and is highly recommended for this
climate [9]. A good envelope sealing can bring further energy savings due to fact that
unintended cold air infiltration is avoided.

Reduce heat loss
Compact dense No or very small window area Reduce air leakages

settlement pattern North WWR 0-20%
Insulation
Good envelope Double glazing for

Large window area Optimize building Glazing with high SHGC

South WWR 40-60% orientation for solar gains
High thermal mass for

passive solar heating
Control solar gains
Small window area Flexible shading

East/West WWR 20-30% for windows
Natural ventilation
Cross ventilation
for hot summer days
Figure 3.12: Passive design strategies for moderate cold climate of Nepal

3.6 Design guidelines for cold climate

All locations at elevations above 2,500 masl are part of Nepal’s cold climate zone with annual
mean temperatures below 11◦ C. In this climate active heating is needed at least six months of
the year to assure thermal comfort within the building. The coldest months are January and
February with day temperatures slightly above 10◦ C and night temperatures of at least 5◦ C
below the freezing point. All locations that are in the rain shadow of the Annapurna mountain
range North-East of Pokhara (e.g. Thakmarpha) are not so much influenced by the monsoon
rain and have very low humidity levels and almost no precipitation all over the year. In summer
(June to September) depending on the elevation, day temperatures can reach up to 25◦ C.
However, night temperatures fall always below the comfort level and might result into the need
of active heating. The diurnal temperature range in post-monsoon season is between 0◦ C and
15◦ C (Figure 3.13).
The physical discomfort lies in cold stress. Depending upon the elevation an active heating
system is always required to assure thermal comfort inside the building and will at least be
used about 50% of the year. Although the main heating season is during the long winter
period, at locations above 3,500 masl heating might be required all over the year.
The main design strategy in this climate is to reduce the heat loss of the building (see
Figure 3.14). High solar radiation all over the year makes the use of passive solar heating very
effective but not sufficient. An active heating system might be always required.

20
10
-10

30
20
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10
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Hourly climate data
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y(
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%
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5
10%
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 3.13: Climate conditions of Thakmarpha representing cold climate zone


A compact settlement pattern and building layout are important strategies to reduce heat
losses of the building in the cold climate zone. The traditional settlement structure of Nepal’s
mountain tribes are a good example for such a compactness. The vernacular buildings in
Mustang, for instance, are often attached to each other, sharing the same wall to reduce the
exterior building surface and, thus, the heat losses. Furthermore, vernacular houses in the
mountain region have almost square ground floor plan resulting into a low surface-to-volume
ratio [7].
The orientation of the mainly occupied building functions towards the sun (South) and the
creation of buffer zones between them and the exterior can reduce the need for heating.
Traditional houses of Thakali people in Nepal’s mountainous regions have two and a half
stories where the main living area is located on the second floor [7]. The ground and upper
floor contains secondary functions like livestock stables and storage rooms and create a
thermal buffer zone to protect the main living spaces from the outside cold.
The simulation results have shown that high thermal mass is a very important strategy to
reduce energy consumption in this climate. The thermal mass can store the solar heat gains
and support the active heating system to maintain thermal indoor comfort.

The combination of high thermal mass, very good envelope insulation and, a moderate
fenestration area towards south and east (WWR 20–40%) are the right strategies to optimize
passive solar heating in this cold climate. However, an active heating system will be always
required, particularly, during the long and cold winter season. Windows towards north and
west should be avoided and fenestration facing east and west is recommended to be as small
as possible (WWR max. 20%).
Windows with double glazing and high solar heat gain coefficient (>0.6) are suggested
to reduce heat losses and ensure effective passive heating, respectively. According to the
simulation results for hotel buildings in Nepal double glazing in this climate is cost-effective
over the life time of the building (20 years) [9].
A further issue for heat losses is the leaky envelope due to poor quality of construction.
Cracks and gaps in the building envelope should be sealed using caulk, spray foam, weather
strips or similar products. The weather stripping around window and door framing is
particularly important to reduce heat losses through unintended air infiltration.

Reduce heat loss
Compact dense No or very small window area Reduce air leakages

settlement pattern North/East/West WWR 0-20%
Insulation
Very good Double glazing for

envelope insulation best performance
Moderate window area Optimize building High thermal mass for

South WWR 20-40% orientation for solar gains passive solar heating
Attached greenhouse Thermal storage wall Glazing with high SHGC

as solar heat storage
Figure 3.14: Passive design strategies for cold climate of Nepal

3.7 Heating and cooling systems
3.7.1 Current status
The majority of the buildings in Nepal has neither a modern cooling nor heating system. On
the one hand thermal comfort requirements are still very low and people are very well adapted
to the local climate [37, 38]. On the other hand the country often suffers from supply shortage
of electricity and fuel which makes the running of space conditioning system extremely costly
and unreliable.
However, in urban centres new commercial buildings and residences of the upper middle
class are increasingly equipped with space conditioning systems. Most common are decentral
split systems and window air-conditioners for cooling as well as portable electric or gas heaters
for heating purposes. Often this space conditioning equipment is added later by the user
of the building because the building owner has no interest to invest in costly central space
conditioning systems.
Is the building owner and user the same person or organisation, which is often the case
for banks, hotels, or office buildings of big companies, the provision of a central HVAC system
might be considered. In this case, a conventional air-driven HVAC system is installed leading
often to oversizing of equipment due to the lack of know-how. Although the climate in the
hilly region of the country, where also the capital Kathmandu is located, require more space
heating than cooling, building owners and builders are more concerned about space cooling.
A reason for this might be the fact that new buildings are often designed with large unshaded
window areas resulting into overheating in the warm season.
The high solar radiation makes the application of solar energy technologies suitable for
Nepal. Solar thermal collectors are already a standard technology for water heating in
residential buildings in the urban centres. Photovoltaic systems were introduced and are still
subsidised for rural electrification in the remote areas of Nepal. Recently, photovoltaic
systems have reached commercial viability as electricity backup in the urban centres of the
country. Compared to photovoltaic systems, conventional diesel backup generators have
higher running costs and supply shortage of petroleum products leads often to unreliability of
these systems.
The increasing trend to install active heating and cooling systems in new buildings
demands for a catalogue of suitable solutions to assure energy-efficient provision of thermal
indoor comfort. In the following section, possible technology solutions are discussed aiming
to make suggestions for heating and cooling systems that are energy-efficient on one side
and can be easily combined with renewable energy supply systems on the other side.
3.7.2 Natural versus mechanical ventilation
Experiences from the developed countries have shown the negative impact of mechanical
ventilation systems such as the Sick Building Syndrome [39]. Naturally ventilated building are

often more accepted by the user. Consequently, there is a trend towards more user control.
Mechanical ventilation systems are also very energy-intensive and imply higher construction
costs. This has led to the development of more energy-efficient hybrid ventilation concepts
and the mixed mode operation of mechanical heating and cooling systems [40].
The building stock in Nepal is still very traditional and most buildings are naturally
ventilated. It is common practice to open all windows of the house during a cool summer
night and close them in the morning when temperature rises. In contrast, international
investors like big hotel chains are guided by the idea to built sealed envelopes which are fully
air-conditioned hoping to provide the best comfort to their clients.
Looking at the climate conditions in the country, temperature and humidity levels are
moderate for more than six months of the year except for the extreme mountain climate in the
upper Himalaya. Rather than switching towards energy-intensive sealed buildings with
mechanical ventilation systems, natural ventilation can be used to provide thermal comfort at
no cost.
However, when comfort requirements rise mechanical ventilation systems might become
necessary. Particularly, in the warm climate zone of Nepal mechanical ventilation will be
required when using radiant cooling systems due to the need of dehumidification. At noise
polluted sites mechanical ventilation is often the only solution to ensure thermal comfort
without neglecting the acoustic comfort.
3.7.3 Split system

Efficient split systems are a suitable solution for residential and small to medium scale
commercial applications as well as for spaces that are not continuously occupied. They can
provide sufficient thermal comfort where cooling and heating loads are moderate. Due to the
small size of the system, their efficiency is limited and cannot reach the level of centralised
systems. Modern heat pumps can combine space conditioning and hot water provision at a
higher efficiency than two separate systems. This is highly recommended for buildings with
moderate hot-water demand like residences and small to medium scale hotels.
The installation of split systems is relatively simple and very much suitable for retrofitting.
However, exterior space for the compressor unit (on the facade or roof) is required and can
affect the facade design as well as leading to noise pollution. The investment cost for split
systems is low compared to central heating and cooling systems but running costs are high.
An integration of renewable energy systems is not possible. Split systems are suitable for all
climate regions except the cold climate zone.
3.7.4 Hot-water convector

Hot-water convectors are used in a conventional hydronic heating systems for cold climates.
In contrast to traditional hot-water radiators, convectors are more efficient and operated with
lower flow temperatures. It is recommended for heating purpose in Nepal’s moderate cold and
cold climate. Solar thermal collectors can provide heat at very low cost. If the solar collector

area is not sufficient an air-source heat pump or a biomass boiler might be installed, becoming
a very suitable space conditioning system for Nepal’s heating dominated climate regions. For
a solely solar thermal driven system, a large hot water tank might become necessary for
buildings that are occupied for 24 hours.
3.7.5 Radiant floor heating and cooling
Radiant floor heating and cooling provides space conditioning through the integration of water-
bearing pipe system into the floor. The floor materials must be heat conducting and preferably
of high to medium thermal mass. The system can be used for heating and cooling. However,
cooling capacity is low because the flow temperature during cooling mode should not be lower
than 18◦ C [41]. Therefore, the radiant floor heating and cooling systems are recommended
for climate conditions with moderate heating and low cooling needs. It is recommended for all
climate zones except warm climate.
The system can be easily powered by renewable energies like ground-source or water-
source heat pump as well as solar thermal collectors. Due to the fact that solar collectors are
often already foreseen for hot-water provision, the collector area could be expanded to power
the radiant floor heating system at very low cost. If the heating demand is higher an air-source
heat pump or biomass boiler can be installed.
3.7.6 Thermally active building systems (TABS)
The thermal activation of massive building components like concrete slabs or walls is one of
the most cost-effective solutions for moderate cooling and heating loads [42]. The thermal
mass of the building is used as radiant cooling and heating system by integrating a water-
flown pipe system into the concrete ceilings. Therefore, concrete slabs must be exposed.
Using the thermal lag of the building mass, night cooling can decrease the temperature inside
the building and reduce the need for cooling during day. TABS are very much suitable for office
buildings but can also reduce cooling energy in buildings that are occupied 24 hours.
In Nepal’s moderate warm and moderate climate TABS alone might provide sufficient
heating and cooling. However, in warm climate where more cooling is required, the
installation of a mechanical ventilation might be necessary to pre-cool and dehumidify the air.
The main advantage of TABS is the simple integration of renewable energy systems for heat
generation and refrigeration due to the low flow temperature. Ground-source or water-source
heat pumps might be used for heating and cooling: Solar thermal collectors can be used for
heating only.
3.7.7 Chilled beam system for heating and cooling
The chilled beam technology is a central space conditioning system designed to heat and
cool large buildings. The primary advantage compared to conventional central air
conditioning systems is the lower energy consumption and, thus, operating costs. A chilled

beam is a convection system where the air is cooled or heated by passing through a water
driven heat exchanger (chilled beam) which is integrated into the suspended ceiling or
suspended in short distance from the ceiling. If the system needs to provide cooling and
heating a fan coil convector should be installed to ensure sufficient air circulation during the
heating period.
Chilled beam technology might become a technology option for large commercials building
with high thermal comfort needs. For buildings with low ventilation requirements and moderate
cooling load, the use of chilled beams with natural ventilation is possible [42]. However, the
installation of a mechanical ventilation system might be necessary to dehumidify the air during
the monsoon season, particularly in Nepal’s warm climate zone. In this case, heat recovery
is possible and pre-cooling by an earth tunnel or pre-heating by solar air collector could be
provided.
3.7.8 Summary
The previous section summarised some energy-efficient technology options for active heating
and cooling systems in Nepal. Depending on the heating and cooling demand, not all systems
might be suitable for all climate zones. Figure 3.15 and Table 3.2 concludes the applicability
of the space conditioning system by bioclimatic zone and building type, respectively. Table 3.3
summarises which renewable energy sources can be used to power the different systems.
The proposed list of technology options does not claim to be exhaustive. Depending on
the thermal comfort requirements, site conditions and building configuration other heating and
cooling concepts might be applied.
Warm Moderate warm Moderate Moderate cold Cold

climate climate climate climate climate
Split system
Hot-water convector
Radiant floor heating and cooling
Thermally active building systems
Chilled beam system
Figure 3.15: Suitability of active heating and cooling systems by climate zone

Table 3.2: Recommended heating and cooling systems by building type (based on [41, 42])
Split Hot-water Radiant floor TABS Chilled

system convector heating/cooling beams
Residential buildings X X X
Offices Xa X X X X
Hotels Xa X X X X
Department stores Xa X X
Government buildings X X X
Schools X X X
Conference halls X X
Hospitals X X
Industrial buildings X X X
a small-to-medium scale.
Table 3.3: Renewable energy integration for heating and cooling systems
Solar Geothermal Biomass Solar air Earth

thermal heat pump collector tunnel
collectors
Split system
Hot-water convector X X X
Radiant floor heating/cooling X X X
TABS X X X
Chilled beams X X X X

3.8 Policy implications
Nepal’s energy consumption per capita is still very low in comparison to industrialised
countries. Access to reliable and affordable energy sources is fundamental for economic
development [3]. However, any new policy with regard to energy utilisation has to consider
the environmental impact on the one side and the sustainable economic growth on the other.
Policies that foster energy consumption are less likely to speed up economic development in
Nepal than to degrade the environment [43]. In contrast, policies strategies for energy
conservation and carbon emission reduction would not hamper the long-term economic
growth and are, therefore, the most appropriate policy option. Nepal’s policy makers should
focus on the enhancement of efficient energy use, particularly, under the scenario of the
unreliable power supply and the increasing dependency on fossil fuel imports [43].
The issue of energy efficiency has been incorporated into policy strategies like the draft of
the National Energy Strategy, the National Climate Change Policy and the National Urban
Development Strategy [44–46]. However, energy efficiency in buildings is not yet
incorporated into the regulatory framework for building construction. There is no building
energy conservation code in place and the national building code is mainly concerned about
the structural resistance, particularly, in regard to earthquake safety [26]. The building bye
laws set minimum requirements for access, open space, building area and height,
daylighting, and ventilation [47].
For this reason, it is highly recommended to develop and introduce a building energy
conservation code. International experience has shown that mandatory building energy
codes are a highly efficient policy measure to foster energy efficiency in buildings [6].
However, one of the main challenges regarding the implementation of energy-efficient
buildings in least developed countries is to cover the incremental cost [48]. Although the life
cycle cost study for hotel buildings in Nepal has shown that most energy efficiency measures
pay back the initial investment [7], building owners might not be able to afford the additional
investment costs. Therefore, it is important to focus on policy measures for the market
segment where the economic benefits are greatest, resulting into high probability of
enforcement, for example commercial buildings.
Electricity prices in Nepal are still very low. However, the scheduled electricity outages
caused by the power crisis has lead to the need of expensive diesel-driven backup systems.
Particularly in the commercial building sector and the larger scale residential building
developments electricity backup systems are essential to provide proper services. In this
market segment, the incremental cost of energy-efficient design can easily be recovered by
reduced investment and running costs for expensive backup systems. Properly designed,
these buildings might need a less powerful backup system or can provide the same services
without any which would, finally, reduce the incremental cost.
In the residential sector policies should concentrate on measures which do not increase
the investment costs of the building such as design strategies and optimal orientation,

shading, natural ventilation, locally available low-cost construction techniques and insulation
materials. This can be done by the adoption of design guidelines for energy efficient homes
according to the bioclimatic zones based on this research (see previous sections). The
Green Homes Project initiated by UN-Habitat has shown that municipalities are willing to
incorporate energy-efficient and sustainable building components in their regulations [49]. In
the long run such guidelines should lead to a national mandatory Green Building Code which
considers energy efficiency on the one hand but also other sustainability issues like water
efficiency, environmental impact of building materials and so on.
The Nepal Energy Efficiency Programme (NEEP), a Nepali-German cooperation
programme to promote energy efficiency, started to support the Nepali government in 2010 to
promote energy efficiency in various sectors with the technical support of the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The building sector, except energy
audits in few hotels, was not in the focus of the programme in the beginning. Since 2014,
NEEP is promoting the introduction of market based energy efficiency services for the private
and public sector. Furthermore, it supports the Nepali government to institutionalise an
energy efficiency entity which is envisaged to mainstream energy efficiency in the country
and to establish a regulatory framework. [50]
Many studies have identified that the lack of awareness and know-how is one of the major
barriers for the implementation of energy efficiency measures [51, 52]. Therefore, the
government has to take the lead and initiate pilot projects of energy-efficient public buildings
such as government offices, schools or low-cost housing to showcase the feasibility of
energy-efficient buildings. In the long term, energy efficiency has to be a key consideration in
government buildings. Consequently, the right signal will be given to push the construction
sector towards more energy efficiency.
Besides the building design, new regulations need to target energy consuming appliances
in buildings which are mostly imported from neighbouring countries. There is an urgent need to
adopt an energy labelling for such appliances to reduce the waste of energy through inefficient
household applicances. Due to the fact that the neighbouring countries India and China have
already such appliance standards in place, the official recognition of these standards might be
a fast way to introduce an appliance standard for such a small market place like Nepal.
The introduction of mandatory energy performance audits is recommended to foster
energy efficiency in large commercial and public buildings. Therefore, a mechanism for
certified energy auditors like in India could assure quality audits not only in industrial but also
in the building sector [53].
The state-owned utility Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) can also play an active role in
promoting energy efficiency. Similar to the campaign for energy-efficient light bulbs (CFL),
NEA should conduct subsidy programmes for energy-efficient building technologies. In
countries like Brazil, utilities have conducted refurbishment programmes in informal
settlements resulting into the reduction of electricity theft [54].
To overcome financial barriers the development of specific grant and incentive schemes is

necessary. This could be done by the establishment of partnerships with international bodies,
for example through climate change adaptation programmes or similar. Furthermore, fiscal
instruments like import tax exemption on energy-efficient building technologies and the
reduction of building permit fees for energy-efficient designs can contribute to reduce the
incremental cost. Fiscal incentives for national industries to develop low-energy building
technologies (e.g. lightweight concrete blocks or insulation materials based on rice husk) can
strengthen the local economy and reduce the need to import.
Finally, extensive awareness raising and training programs are required to ensure the
implementation of energy efficiency policy measures. Thereby, all stakeholder of the building
value chain have to be targeted to assure regulation enforcement. In the long term energy
efficiency has to be incorporated into all educational institutes that train building
professionals. (see Table 3.4)

Table 3.4: Summary of policy recommendations
Short term Long term

Regulatory instruments
Introduce mandatory building Introduce mandatory green building code for
energy code for large commercial residential buildings
buildings
Introduce climate-responsive design
guidelines and bioclimatic zoning
Initiate pilot projects of Ensure that energy efficiency is a key consideration
energy-efficient public buildings in government buildings by establishing
such as government offices, energy-efficient operation procedures and regular
schools, low-cost housing. energy audits
Adopt energy efficiency label for Develop own energy efficiency labels for electric
electric appliances from India and/or appliances including air conditioners
China
Introduce mechanism for Introduce mandatory energy performance audits for
certification of energy auditors large commercial and public buildings
Economic instruments
Conduct utility-led subsidy
programmes for energy efficiency
technologies
Establish financial partnership with Develop own grant and incentive schemes
international bodies to develop grant
and incentive schemes
Fiscal instruments
Grant import tax exemption on EE
building technologies similiar to
renewables for rural electrification
Fiscal incentive for local industries
to develop low-energy building
technologies
Information dissemination
Launch extensive training Incorporate energy-efficient design in the
programmes for building curriculum of educational institutes for building
professionals professionals
Public awareness raising campaigns Include energy efficiency into environmental
for energy efficiency in buildings education programmes at schools

Chapter 4
Building energy conservation for

low-carbon development
4.1 Energy saving scenarios for the building sector
Energy consumption in developing countries like Nepal will increase with economic
development and rising living standards. The pace of growth depends strongly on how fast
modern consumption patterns are adopted. The comparison of energy use per capita and
human development index from 1990 and 2012 in Figure 4.1 illustrates the different
development paths in developing countries. Brazil could reach the same level of development
as China with only two third of per capita energy consumption. A major share of consumption
growth will be used in buildings for heating and cooling purpose.
In order to give an outlook on the impact of energy conservation in the future, energy
savings scenarios for the Nepalese building sector were developed. On the one hand, the
hotel building sector is selected for the scenario development representing an important growth
sector for economic development. On the other hand, future saving potentials are estimated
Human Development Index (HDI)

1.00
0.80 Sri Lanka Brazil Thailand

Egypt
Vietnam China
0.60 Bangladesh
India
0.40
Nepal
0.20
0.00
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Energy consumption (toe/capita)
Figure 4.1: Energy use and human development index (HDI) from 1990 to 2012 for selected
countries (Data from [55, 56])
63
Building energy conservation for low-carbon development
for the residential sector being the major contributor to energy consumption growth.
Projections for Nepal’s hotel buildings estimate that the annual energy demand for space
conditioning will grow from 10.2 GWh in 2016 to 189.5 GWh in 2040 (Figure 4.2a). Assuming
a moderate energy efficiency scenario (EE–2), energy savings of 39.2 GWh or 21% could
be achieved in 2040. In the high energy efficiency scenario (EE–5) energy savings of about
81.5 GWh or 43% are obtained. Assuming that the consumption share of electricity is going
to increase from 5% in 2016 to 29% in 2040, about 54.9 GWh of electricity will be used for
heating and cooling in hotels in 2040 under the Business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. In the
moderate (EE–2) and high (EE–5) energy efficiency scenario this amount will be reduced to
43.6 GWh and 31.3 GWh, respectively.
From country perspective the commercial sector including hotels has a share of only 3.4%
of total primary energy consumption. The largest amount of energy (80.4%) is consumed in
the residential sector corresponding to 84.0 TWh. About 12.1 TWh (14%) of this amount is
Energy demand (GWh) BAU EE-2 EE-5

200
150
100
50
0
2020 2025 2030 2035 2040
(a) Energy demand
Electricity demand (GWh) BAU EE-2 EE-5
60 54.9
43.6
40
31.3
20 13.5 11.9
9.5
1.8 1.8 1.7
0
2020 2030 2040
(b) Electricity demand
Figure 4.2: Energy demand projection of hotel buildings in Nepal under different scenariosa
(BAU: Business-as-usual scenario, EE-2: Moderate energy efficiency scenario, EE-5: High
energy efficiency scenario)
a
Assumptions described in appendix Approach for energy saving scenarios

used for heating and cooling whereby 98% comes from traditional biomass. Electricity use for
space conditioning in residential buildings amounts to 218 GWh which correspond to 1.8% of
primary energy. About 28% of this amount is used for heating and 78% for cooling. Concerning
the whole power sector of Nepal, about 7% of all electricity is used for space conditioning in
residential buildings. [57]
Today traditional biomass for heating purposes is mainly used in the rural areas whereby
electricity for heating and cooling is used in the urban centres of the country. In the future,
further urbanisation and increasing living standards will lead to a substantial growth of
electricity use for space conditioning in Nepalese dwellings.
In a Business-as-usual (BAU) scenario which assumes no further energy efficiency
improvements, it is estimated that the residential energy consumption for heating and cooling
will rise from 12.1 TWh in 2011 to 90 TWh in 2040. Considering a slow dissemination of
energy efficient building design and technologies (Scenario EE–1) consumption would
increase to only 83.1 TWh. In the moderate energy efficiency scenario (EE–3) energy
consumption is estimated to rise only to 69.2 TWh in 2040. That means energy savings of
23% could be achieved under a moderate energy efficiency scenario (EE–3) in 2040.
The residential energy scenario assumes that the share of electricity use for heating and
cooling rises from 1.8% in 2011 to 30.8% in 2040. Consequently, in the BAU scenario
residential buildings will consume annually 27.7 TWh of electricity in 2040. In the slow (EE–1)
and moderate (EE–3) energy efficiency scenario electricity demand is predicted to rise to
only 25.6 TWh and 21.3 TWh, respectively.
According to the BAU scenario the amount of electricity consumed by building’s space
conditioning systems in 2040 will rise by a factor of more than hundred. This will increase the
need to expand the power supply side drastically. Having experienced the severe impact of
the current power crisis which is hampering the economic development in Nepal, demand side
management should be on the priority agenda of policy makers. Slowing down consumption
growth reduces the need for high investments in the construction of new hydro power plants.
The presented energy scenarios show that energy efficiency in buildings can considerably
slow down the growth of the energy consumption. Therefore, government regulations and
policy actions are indispensable to ensure a low carbon development path for the country.

Energy demand (TWh) BAU EE-1 EE-3

100
80
60
40
20
0
2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040
(a) Energy demand
Electricity demand (TWh) BAU EE-1 EE-3

40
30 27.7
25.6
21.3
20
10.2 9.7
8.8
10
3.1 3.1 2.6
0
2020 2030 2040
(b) Electricity demand
Figure 4.3: Energy demand projection of residential buildings in Nepal under different
scenariosa (BAU: Business-as-usual scenario, EE-1: Slow energy efficiency scenario, EE-3:
Moderate energy efficiency scenario)
a
Assumptions described in appendix Approach for energy saving scenarios

4.2 Critical transition to modern buildings
The modernisation of the Nepalese building sector is going through a critical transition.
Economic development, population growth and fast urbanisation will lead to a substantial
increase of energy consumption in buildings and the change of technology used for heating
and cooling purposes. Figure 4.4a and Figure 4.4b illustrates the implication of switching
heating and cooling technologies regarding energy consumption in buildings.
Traditional biomass which is still used for space heating in the rural areas will be soon
replaced by modern heating technologies like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) heaters and
electric heaters and later by split heat pumps and central heating systems (see Figure 4.4a).
The positive effect of switching to modern fuels is a reduction in energy intensity in the first
run. However, more LPG for space heating has to be imported which will widen the trade
deficit with India. Inefficient electric heaters will add substantial load to the power grid and
worsen the power deficit, if the further expansion of the electricity generation is not sufficient
to cover the additional demand. Modern split heat pumps can provide space heating at higher
High
Inefficient
Heating energy
building
Energy-efficient
building
Low
Traditional LPG Electric Split heat Central
biomass heater heater pump heating
(a) Heating energy
High
Inefficient
buildings
Cooling energy
Energy-efficient
buildings
Low
Natural ventilation Fan Split air Central cooling
(b) Cooling energy
Figure 4.4: Technology transition and building energy use for heating and cooling in Nepal

efficiency than electric heaters. Still they imply a growth of the electricity demand growth. At
a later stage central heating systems might be disseminated in the market due to higher
comfort needs. This transition can also be critical if such systems rely on imported fossils.
Currently, most buildings in Nepal are cooled by natural ventilation because thermal
comfort requirements are still very low compared to the developed world. However, there is a
trend to install modern cooling technologies like fans and window air conditioners in office
buildings. The dissemination of these technologies in the whole building sector will add
electricity load to the power grid and, consequently, will be critical for the reliability of the
power supply system. In the cooling dominated climate region central air conditioning system
might become a standard technology in the future to fulfil higher thermal comfort standards.
The transition to buildings with modern space conditioning technologies that are more
energy intensive will consequently lead to an substantial growth of energy consumption. In
particular, the use of so called modern fuels like electricity and fossil fuels will increase. The
consumption growth can only be slowed down by promoting energy-efficient building design
and the use of highly-efficient space conditioning systems. Building design should optimise the
use of natural resources for passive heating and cooling as well as natural ventilation. In the
heating dominated climate zone building envelope insulation is critical to reduce the energy
demand of mechanical heating systems. In the cooling dominated regions solar control is
required to avoid overheating and reduce the energy demand of active cooling systems.
Projections for Nepal’s energy sector indicate that the transition from traditional and fossil
fuels to electricity is imminent [58]. It is predicted that the electricity supply will continue to
be based on hydro power which is free of climate-damaging carbon emissions. Hence, the
switch to space conditioning systems that rely solely on electricity might become the most
environmentally friendly option. However, the current critical situation of the power supply is
casting doubts with regard to such a scenario being feasible. Therefore, the integration of
decentralised renewable energy systems into modern heating and cooling systems is highly
recommended.

4.3 Limitations of the study and future research
This PhD research is the first comprehensive study on climate-responsive design and energy
efficiency in buildings conducted in the context of the developing country of Nepal.
Recognising the importance of traditional knowledge, a large number of vernacular houses in
different climate regions of the country were analysed to identify passive design strategies for
each climate.
Furthermore, the first bioclimatic zoning for Nepal was developed analysing a climate data
from all of the country. Due to the climatic diversity within the Nepalese territory, the
bioclimatic zoning for building design is essential to develop and introduce energy-efficient
design guidelines or an energy conservation building code.
Finally, the effectiveness of passive design strategies for each climate zone was evaluated
in a quantitative manner for one sub-sector (hotel buildings) and cost-effective insulation
levels for the building envelope are proposed. The quantification of energy savings and
cost-effectiveness of passive design strategies resulted in design guidelines for
energy-efficient hotel buildings in Nepal which can be used to develop an energy
conservation building code.
It was not in the scope of this research to cover all aspects and areas of energy efficiency
in buildings in Nepal. Few important issues were selected that have been identified as crucial
to set the foundation. Thereby, the focus was on the architectural design to reduce the
operational energy demand for space heating and cooling. Energy consumption for lighting
and appliances was not considered. Similarly, the topic of embodied energy that can amount
to a substantial share of the building’s life cycle energy demand was not in the scope of this
study.
Conducting research in developing countries like Nepal is facing the challenge of the lack
of reliable data, especially with regard to the building stock. Monitoring studies on energy
performance of buildings were not yet conducted. Climate data in form of a typical
meteorological year, which is the main input to conduct thermal energy simulation, is only
available for two locations in the whole country. Therefore, this doctoral research had either to
collect and generate the needed data or to make reasonable assumptions.
Future research in the field of energy efficiency in buildings in Nepal is needed to
consolidate the findings of this research. Surveys and measurement-based studies on the
energy use in buildings should be conducted for different building types and in the different
climate zone to fully understand the dimension of the growing energy consumption.
Recently, few Nepalese architects and building owners have started to implement energy-
efficient design strategies in newly constructed buildings. These pioneer designs should be
analysed and monitored to find out which design strategies are effective to provide thermal
comfort with minimum energy input.
Further simulation-based studies are needed to investigate which passive design
measures are effective in building typologies other than hotels. Consequently, building

sub-sectors can be identified where policy intervention is most needed, leading to substantial
energy savings. The focus on electricity savings will determine which actions are required to
slow down the electricity consumption growth in buildings and, thus, to reduce the
demand-supply gap in the power sector.

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Glossary
Absolute humidity: Absolute humidity is the measure of moisture (water vapour) in the air,
regardless of temperature, and is expressed as grams of moisture per cubic meter or
kilogram of air.
Base case model: In thermal building simulation, the base case model refers to a reference
design of a building before starting to optimize the design to improve its thermal performance.
Bioclimatic design: Bioclimatic design considers the local climate conditions during the
process of designing a building aiming to provide the best thermal indoor comfort without the
need of mechanical means. Basic elements are passive systems which utilise natural
sources (for example, sun, air, wind, vegetation, water, soil, sky) for heating, cooling and
lighting.
Bioclimatic zoning: Bioclimatic zoning in the context of building design refers to a climate
classification which is developed for building design. Many countries whose territory extents
over several climate zones have developed such a zoning to establish standards and
regulations for energy efficient building design.
Cooling degree day: Cooling degree day (CDD) is a measure of how much (in degrees),
and for how long (in days), outside air temperature was higher than a specific base
temperature (comfortable indoor temperature). It reflects the amount of energy that is needed
to cool a building and is here calculated at a base temperature of 18.3°C according to
ASHRAE-method [35].
Cold stress: Cold stress refers to the condition that occurs when the human body do not feel
comfortable. A cold environment forces the body to work harder to maintain its core
temperature of 37°C. There are four factors which contribute to cold stress in buildings: low
indoor temperatures, increased and cold air movement and dampness. If a person
experiences cold stress depends also on personal factors such as clothing, metabolic heat,
state of health and acclimatisation.
Climate change: The term climate change is used to describe the phenomena of rising
global air temperatures and changing climate patterns which is mainly caused by human
activities. Since the start of the industrialisation, human activities have released large
amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The majority of
greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy, although deforestation,
77
References
industrial processes, and some agricultural practices also emit gases into the atmosphere.
Climate-responsive design: Climate-responsive design is used as synonym for bioclimatic

design (see above) and refers to the design practice that considers the local climate
conditions at site to provide a comfortable indoor environment to the user and to reduce the
energy demand of the building.
Cost effectiveness: Cost effectiveness is an economic measures to describe the

relationship between monetary input and desired output. In the context of energy-efficient
buildings a design measure is cost-effective when the additional investment cost is lower than
energy cost savings over the building’s life cycle (see also life cycle cost).
Energy saving scenario: Energy saving of energy efficiency scenarios provide a framework
for exploring future energy demand in buildings, under different conditions. The starting point
of the analysis is the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario which assumes that the level of
energy efficiency in buildings does not improve in the future. An energy savings scenario
explores how far the energy demand for buildings can be reduced if specific energy efficiency
measures are implemented.
Energy efficiency: Energy efficiency refers to the effort to reduce the energy demand of
buildings to provide thermal and visual comfort to its users. In short, energy efficiency means
using less energy to provide the same level of comfort. The energy use intensity in
kilowatt-hours per square meter is generally used to compare the levels of energy efficiency
between different buildings.
Heat stress: Heat stress is a form of overheating that the occupants of a building may
experience when the measures their body uses to regulate internal temperature begin to fail.
It is dependent on a range of environmental factors like air temperature, air velocity, radiant
temperature, relative humidity and the uniformity of conditions as well as personal factors
such as clothing, metabolic heat, state of health and acclimatisation.
Heating degree day: Heating degree day (HDD) is a measurement which was developed to
estimate the energy demand for heating a building. The heating requirements for a given
building in a specific climate are directly proportional to the number of HDD in this climate.
Heating degree days in this study are defined relative to the base temperature of 18°C
according to EUROSTAT-method [36].
Insulation: The term insulation refers to thermal building insulation which is one of the most
important measures to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. Insulation reduces heat
loss or heat gain through the building envelope and is a key factor to achieve thermal comfort
for its occupants.
Life cycle cost: The life cycle cost of a building includes all recurring and non-recurring costs
over the whole life span of the building. It includes acquisition and construction costs,
operating and maintenance costs as well as residual values. The life cycle cost analysis

References
(LCCA) is a method for assessing the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency measures. For
example, with the help of LCCA it can be determined whether the incorporation of a
high-performance HVAC or glazing system, which may increase initial cost but result in
reduced operating and maintenance costs, is cost-effective or not.
Natural ventilation cooling: Natural ventilation cooling describes all design strategies that
enhances the air movement into and within the building to cool down the indoor environment
and increase the thermal comfort of the building user.
Passive cooling: Passive cooling includes all passive design strategies that reduce the need
for mechanical cooling while maintaining thermal comfort. The most important measures are
natural ventilation, thermal mass and orientation for cooling.
Passive design: Passive design concept uses natural resources instead of electricity or fuel
to provide the best indoor comfort for building users. These strategies include daylighting,
natural ventilation, and solar energy.
Passive solar heating: Passive solar heating includes all passive design strategies that
reduce the need for mechanical heating while maintaining thermal comfort. The building’s
design is optimised to increase the solar heat gains during the cold period of the year.
Projection factor: The projection factor (PF) is the ratio of the horizontal depth of the
external shading device (often overhang or fins) divided by the height of the fenestration.
Relative humidity: Relative humidity measures the moisture (water vapour) in the air relative
to the temperature of the air. It is expressed as the amount of moisture in the air as a
percentage of the total amount that could be held at its current temperature.
Solar heat gain coefficient: The solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) refers to the solar
energy transmittance of a whole window system considering the glazing and frame material
as well as deviders and screens (if present).
Solar control: Solar control describes the process to design a building in such a way to
minimize solar heat gains and, thus, reduces the need for active cooling. This can be
achieved by measures like reducing the window area, optimising the building orientation or
through the shading of windows.
Solar gain: Solar gain, also called solar heat gain, refers to the heat energy from the sun
(solar radiation) which is collected by the building through windows, wall and roof raising the
building’s indoor temperature. The amount of solar gain increases with the ability of any
intervening material to transmit or resist the radiation.
Thermal building simulation: Thermal building simulation is a computational dynamic

method to analyse the thermal performance of a building design. The objective is to optimise
the design with regard to energy demand while providing the best thermal and visual comfort
for the users. Building simulation is also used for selecting and sizing of mechanical
equipment or to predict the annual energy consumption of the building.

References
Thermal comfort: Thermal comfort is defined as "that condition of mind which expresses
satisfaction with the thermal environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation." [59]. It
depends on the air temperature, humidity, radiant temperature, air velocity, metabolic rates,
clothing levels and acclimatisation. However, thermal comfort is highly subjective and difficult
to measure because it is highly subjective. Thermal mass is particularly beneficial in climates
with large diurnal temperature differences.
Thermal conductivity: Thermal conductivity describes the property of a material to conduct

heat. It is measured in watts per meter and kelvin (W/mK). It is an important input parameter
for thermal building simulation.
Thermal mass: Thermal mass is the ability of a material to absorb and store thermal energy.
Building materials like concrete, bricks require a lot of thermal energy to change the
temperature because of the high density. They are therefore said to have high thermal mass.
Lightweight materials such as timber have low thermal mass. Depending on the climate, the
appropriate application of thermal mass in buildings can be used to reduce the energy
demand for heating and cooling. For example, thermal mass can store solar energy during
the day and re-radiate it at night (see passive solar heating).
Thermal transmittance: Thermal transmittance, also known as U-value, describes the

quantity of heat that passes through of a building structure divided by the difference in
temperature across that structure. It takes heat loss due to conduction, convection and
radiation into account. The units of measurement are W/m²K. The better-insulated a structure
is, the lower the thermal transmittance will be.
Traditional biomass: Traditional biomass includes firewood, charcoal, manure and crop
residues which plays still a vital role in meeting the energy needs of mostly rural people in
developing countries. In buildings, it is used for cooking and heating. Apart from being
energetically inefficient and time consuming, the use of traditional biomass is connected to
several severe health and environmental problems.
U-Value: The term U-Value, or thermal transmittance (see above), is the rate of heat
transferred through a building structure, divided by the difference in temperature across that
structure. U-values are measured in Watts per square metre per degree Kelvin (W/m²K). The
lower the U-value of a building component, the better it insulates. While a solid brick wall has
an U-value of about 2.0 W/m2 K, a cavity wall without insulation of 1.5 W/m2 K and a very
good insulated wall of 0.18 W/m2 K.

Appendices
81
Appendix A
Publication I
The following publication is part of this PhD research:

S. Bodach, W. Lang, and J. Hamhaber. “Climate responsive building design strategies of
vernacular architecture in Nepal”. In: Energy and Buildings 81 (2014), pp. 227–242
Contribution:
I was a major contributor to this study. In close cooperation with the co-authors, I developed
the research design, collected the data and conducted several field visits. The analysis and
interpretation of the data was done mainly by me. All authors were involved into the critical
revision of the manuscript and the final approval of the version to be published.
83
Energy and Buildings 81 (2014) 227–242
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy and Buildings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild
Climate responsive building design strategies of vernacular

architecture in Nepal
Susanne Bodach a,∗ , Werner Lang a , Johannes Hamhaber c
a
Institute of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building, Technische Universität München (TUM), Germany
c
Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, Cologne University of Applied Sciences,
Betzdorfer Straße 2, 50679 Cologne, Germany
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Vernacular architecture is the result of hundreds of years of optimization to provide a comfortable shelter
Received 11 January 2014 in a local climate using available materials and known construction technologies. Due to the absence of
Received in revised form 15 April 2014 mechanical means, traditional buildings use solar passive measures to achieve thermal comfort condi-
Accepted 14 June 2014
tions. In most developing countries it can be observed that with the modernization of the building sector
Available online 23 June 2014
this traditional knowledge of smart and climate responsive design is being lost. Instead the modern build-
ing design is dominated by universal architecture that neglects local climate conditions and traditional
Keywords:
construction techniques and materials. This paper reviews examples of vernacular architecture and its
Vernacular architecture
Nepal
building elements in Nepal and analyses in a qualitative manner which bioclimatic design strategies were
Bioclimatic design applied.
Climate responsive building design © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Developing country
Traditional building techniques
1. Introduction sun and wind [3–7]. Several studies have proven that better thermal
performance can be achieved by passive measures in vernacular
Worldwide around 40% of energy is consumed in buildings [1]. architecture [6–9]. The developing world’s construction practices
Due to population growth, increased urbanization and improve- until recently were basically grounded onto this knowledge of
ments of living standards most of energy consuming buildings traditional building techniques. However, modernization together
will be located in the urban centers of the developing world. The with the need of effective and fast provision of shelters for the
depletion of energy resources and the risk of climate change are increasing population has flooded the market with new building
demanding for a sustainable development path based on renew- designs, technologies and materials. These are rapidly accepted by
able energies and energy efficiency [2]. Climate responsive or solar users who demand for such designs and express increased ther-
passive building design can play a significant role in reducing the mal comfort expectations. The group of new building professionals
energy demand of buildings without compromising modern living does often apply new designs without considering local climate
standards. conditions.
The most important function of buildings is to provide shelter Consequently, traditional houses are disappearing and the
with appropriate thermal and visual indoor comfort for its occu- knowledge about its construction practices is slowly forgotten.
pants. The comfort level in a building depends upon the designs Therefore, the need to document this knowledge of traditional
in combination with the outdoor climate. Design irrespective to constructions practices is evident. Few studies [10–12] have ana-
climatic conditions means either to create uncomfortable indoor lyzed vernacular architecture from specific locations of Nepal
environments or to increase the need for maintaining thermal in regard to climate responsiveness. This research is the first
comfort through artificial means. As our ancestors had fewer tech- comprehensive study on solar passive design features of a large
nologies available for heating and cooling, vernacular houses are number of vernacular houses from all over the country. Fol-
mainly designed to optimize the use of natural resources like the lowing the principle “Learning from the past” [13], it might be
the groundwork to develop new and more sustainable design
strategies for the fast growing building sector that consider
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 32221782489. the local climatic conditions while aiming at the reduction
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Bodach), [email protected] of energy-intensive and expensive artificial means to provide
(W. Lang), [email protected] (J. Hamhaber). comfort.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.06.022
0378-7788/© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.
228 S. Bodach et al. / Energy and Buildings 81 (2014) 227–242
2. Methodology and structure
Besides the climatic variations in Nepal, diversity of culture has

led to a large range of different architectural expressions that are
mostly documented by anthropologists, ethnologists and architects
[14–21]. This research is based on a literature review and field
research in Nepal.
In a first step, the paper gives an overview of the research
country Nepal focusing on aspects that are most relevant for the
development of vernacular architecture such as cultural and geo-
graphical diversity, local materials and climate.
Secondly, the climate conditions in Nepal are investigated, based
on climate data from four weather stations that are representing the
most important climatic zones of the country. The study identifies
the dominating bioclimatic design strategies for the four predom-
inating climates using three tools: Olgyay’s bioclimatic chart [3], Fig. 1. Physiographic regions of Nepal
Givoni’s psychrometric chart [4] and Mahoney Table [5]. Olgyay’s Adapted from [38].
bioclimatic chart is based on the outdoor climate factors consid-
ering humidity versus temperature [3]. Monthly data of minimum
and maximum relative humidity and temperature are plotted onto
the chart for each month. If the plotted line falls within the com- Altitude reaches from 65 m.a.s.l. (meters above sea level) to
fort zone, conditions are comfortable in the shade and in still air. If 8848 m.a.s.l. at the Mount Everest, the highest summit of the world.
the line falls partly or totally outside of the comfort zone, correc- This is leading to a variety of climatic and vegetation zones. Climate
tive measures are necessary such as the use of solar radiation, air has also strongly influenced the traditional architectures. Further-
movement or evaporative cooling [3]. Givoni uses the psychromet- more, Nepal’s population is composed of a large number of different
ric chart for the bioclimatic analysis [4]. A psychrometric chart is a ethnic groups as a result of successive migration of Tibeto-Burman
graph of the thermodynamic parameters of moist air at a constant people from the north-east and Indo-Aryans from the south-west
pressure. Givoni’s chart predicts the comfort conditions within the [24]. Each ethnic group has its own culture, religious beliefs as
building based on outside climate factor. As in Olgyay’s chart the well as traditions, and in most cases, also language. Geographi-
combination of monthly temperature and relative humidity indi- cal diversity has resulted in diverse socio-economic and cultural
cates the recommended passive design strategy for each month. patterns and, thus, in a variety of different architectural expres-
The chart contains the comfort zone, marked by a solid line and sions. Typical houses of a number of ethnic groups (Tharu, Limbu,
several zones for passive design strategies, namely passive solar Newar, Sherpa, Tamang, Thakali, etc.) are analyzed within this
heating, humidification, evaporative cooling, natural ventilation, study.
and high thermal mass [4]. The Mahoney Table methodology is a
set of reference tables that use monthly climate data of temper- 3.2. Traditional building materials
ature, relative humidity and precipitation to calculate indicators
for heat and cold stress as well as humid and arid conditions for The local availability of certain building materials, in particular
each month. The combination of these indicators results into sim- mineral based materials, depends on the geology of the location.
ple design recommendation, e.g. “reduce sun exposure”, “compact Due to the geodynamic process in the Himalayan region Nepal’s
building layout’ or “medium sized openings” [5]. geology has a high complexity of many thrusting, faulting, fold-
In the third step, this research analyses a variety of ver- ing and metamorphic effects. Nepal is divided into five distinct
nacular houses in Nepal, located in different climatic zones, in morpho-geotectonic zones from south to north: the Tarai Tectonic
respect to their design and construction in order to determine Zone, the Churia Zone (also called: Siwalik), the Lesser Himalayan
the applied climate-responsive design strategies. For the analysis Zone, the Higher Himalayan Zone and the Tibetan Tethyan Zone
of traditional housing the approach of [22,23] was adapted. Both [25]. These five zones compromise a total number of eight geomor-
studies use a set of building features to analyze the design and phic units which lead to different kind of available materials for
construction techniques of the vernacular buildings in regard to building construction (Table 1). On the other hand climatic condi-
climate-responsiveness. This research has selected the following tions determine the typical vegetation in a region and, thus, the
features to assess the vernacular houses of Nepal in a qualitative availability of organic building materials like wood.
manner: settlement pattern, building form and orientation, build- The Tarai Region’s geology is mainly characterized by coarse,
ing stories and internal space arrangement, design and construction gravel, and finer sediments. Rich fertile alluvial soil is the basis
materials of walls, roof, foundation, floors, ceilings and openings. for fertile agricultural land and dense Sal forest. Therefore, tradi-
Concluding, the study compares the design strategies identified tionally abundant reserves of wood, thatch, and further biogenic
in the second step based on bioclimatic approach with the actu- material as well as mud and sand are locally available for house
ally applied strategies in the vernacular houses aiming to prove the construction.
hypothesis that traditional houses are very much adapted to the In the Hilly Region of Nepal more stones (schist, phyllite, gneiss,
local climate conditions. granite, limestone and slate) are available and used as construction
material. In larger valleys like Kathmandu lacustrine soil deposits
are used for brick making. Sand and gravel is available from the
3. Research region riverbeds. Dense vegetation in the form of Sal or hill forests lead
to the wide availability of timber. Fertile land and favorable cli-
3.1. Geographical diversity mate conditions allow for the production of other vegetation based
building materials like thatch.
Nepal’s territory expands about 800 km east–west and 200 km The Himalayan Mountain Region provides abundant resources
north–south and displays a highly varying topography (Fig. 1). of stones, rocks and mud. Due to the small availability of fertile land
S. Bodach et al. / Energy and Buildings 81 (2014) 227–242 229
Abundant: wood, thatch, daub, and the harsh climatic condition timber and other organic materials
other biogenic materials, mud, for building purposes are rather scarce.
Abundant: stones, rocks, mud

Available traditional building
timber, thatch, clay for brick
Scarce: timber and other

Abundant: stones, slate,
3.3. Climate analysis
Scarce: stones, rocks
making, sand, gravel
biogenic materials
Nepal has large climatic variations from hot sub-tropical cli-
mate to cold tundra climate. Several geographical factors influence
sand, gravel
materials
the climate of the country, like latitude, altitude, slope orientation,

prevailing as well local winds, and vegetation [24]. Two climate
classifications are presented in the following. However, this study
uses the more detailed country specific classification from Shrestha
[24].
Along middle slope: hill forest,
Evergreen coniferous forest up

to 4000 m, alpine grassland up
Fertile agricultural land, dense
Mixed evergreen forest, open
According to the global Koeppen-Geiger Climate classification

[26] Nepal has four climate zones: warm climate with dry winters
grazing and woodlands
and hot summers (Cwa), warm climate with dry winters and warm
Typical vegetation
summers (Cwb), snow climate with dry and cold winter and cool
Scarce vegetation
summer (Dwc) and tundra climate (ET).

No vegetation
Shrestha [24] divides Nepal into five climatic regions, namely,

to 4500 m
Sal forest
Sal forest
Sal forest
sub-tropical, warm temperate, cool temperate, alpine and tundra

climate (Table 2). Nepal’s climate has two main seasons: winter
that lasts roughly from October to March and summer from April
to September. Due to the fact that Nepal’s climate is strongly influ-
Lacustrine soil (fertile and clay
Fertile residual soil, in valleys:
enced by the Monsoon the summer season can be subdivided into

a hot and dry period (from April till mid-June) and a warm and
Rich fertile alluvial soil,
Gravelly and sandy soil
Rich fertile alluvial soil

gravelly and sandy soil
rainy period (from mid-June till September) [24]. To evaluate the

Low fertile glacial soil

bioclimatic or climate-responsive building design strategies for

Fertile residual soil
for brick making)
Nepal, local climate data from four typical locations of Nepal were
collected and analyzed. Tundra climate is not considered in the
analysis due to the fact that there are very few settlements above
Soil type
5000 m.a.s.l. Fig. 2 illustrated the climate conditions of four location

(see Fig. 1), namely Dhanghadi, Kathmandu, Dhunche, and Thak-
marpha based on monthly data series of 36, 35, 22, and 34 years,
respectively.
Alluvium: coarse to fine sediments
Trans Himalayan Valley: also finer

granite, limestone, in valleys: also
north becoming finer southwards
sediments from limestone, shale,

Schist, phyllite, gneiss, quartzite,
Schist, phyllite, gneiss, quartzite,
Gneisses, schists and marbles; in
Dhanghadi (28◦ 48 N, 80◦ 33 E) is situated in the Far western

Alluvium: coarse, gravel in the
Gneisses, schists and marbles
Gneisses, schists and marbles

Sandstone, mudstone, shale,
Tarai of Nepal has sub-tropical climate dominated by the monsoon

(Koeppen: Cwa). During winter months the mean temperature is
granite, limestone, slate
finer alluvial sediments
about 15 ◦ C. Summers in Dhanghadi are very hot exceeding temper-

atures well above 30 ◦ C. During winter and the dry summer season
Main rock type
the monthly average precipitation is between 4 mm and 72 mm.

conglomerate
When monsoon starts in June the rainfall increases up to 550 mm

sandstone
per month.
Kathmandu (27◦ 42 N, 85◦ 22 E) is representing the warm tem-
perate climate of Nepal that is mainly dominant in the Hilly
Region (Koeppen: Cwb). During summer outdoor conditions are
Altitudes (m)
comfortable with average temperatures between 20 and 24 ◦ C. In

1000–2500
2000–5000
2500–4000
200–1000
200–2000
winter the mean temperature drops down to 10 ◦ C. In January

200–300
60–200
>5000
minimum temperatures of 2 ◦ C can be reached during night

time. The dry season has monthly precipitation between 9 mm
and 106 mm while during rainy season 365 mm are expected in
Width (km)
average.
Dhunche (28◦ 48 N, 85◦ 18 E) situated in the Himalayan Moun-
10–35
20–50
10–50
5–30
40–60
20–70
10–60
5–50
tains of Nepal at an elevation of almost 2000 m is selected to

represent the cool temperate climate (Koeppen: Dwc). Summers
Availability of traditional building materials.
are significantly cooler than in Kathmandu while average tem-

Mahabharat Range
Himalayan Valleys
perature during winters are only little colder. However, Dhunche

Middle Mountain
Northern edge of
Geomorphic unit
Higher Himalaya
Inner and Trans
Fore Himalaya
Churia Hills or
Gangetic Plain
is considerably more humid with an annual rainfall of almost

Dun Valleys
2000 mm. The lowest precipitation occurs in November and

December. Most rain falls in July and August.
Siwalik
Adapted from ([1,16–18]9).
Thakmarpha (28◦ 45 N, 83◦ 42 E) is located in the rain shadow of

Annapurna range having a dry and cold alpine climate (Koeppen:
Dwc). In contrast to the three other selected locations Thakmarpha
has a very low annual precipitation. During winter, temperature
Tarai Region
Hilly Region
(Mountain)
drops below 0 ◦ C. In summer season the mean maximum tem-

Himalayan
peratures rises up to 21 ◦ C. Monthly monsoon precipitation is

Region
Region
Table 1
only about one tenth (44–67 mm) compared to the sub-tropical

Tarai.
Table 2
Nepal’s climatic zone (after [24]).
Climatic zone Altitude Mean temperature Annual average precipitation Selected locations
Winter Summer
Sub-tropical 0–1200 m 15 ◦ C >30 ◦ C 100–200 mm Dhanghadi

Warm temperate 1200–2100 m 10 ◦ C 24–30 ◦ C 100–200 mm Kathmandu
Cool temperate 2100–3300 m <5 ◦ C 20 ◦ C 150 mm Dhunche
Alpine 3300–5000 m <0 ◦ C 10–15 ◦ C 25–50 mm in snow Thakmarpha
Tundra Above 5000 m Below 0 ◦ C Snowfall
4. Climate-responsive design strategies for Nepal winter period. The protection of the building from heavy monsoon
rain is necessary according to the Mahoney Table (Table 3).
For the four representative locations the following design rec-
ommendations were identified by using Olgyay’s bioclimatic chart
[3], Givoni’s psychrometric chart [4] and Mahoney Table [5] as
described in the methodology above. Exemplarily, Givoni charts 4.2. Warm temperate climate
for four climates are shown in Fig. 3.
Temperature in Nepal’s warm temperate climate does not drop
down drastically during winter. Therefore, solar radiation com-
4.1. Sub-tropical climate bined with thermal mass of the building can keep the indoor
temperature at a comfortable level. Buildings should be oriented
The enhancement of air movement is essential for the sub- with the longer façade toward south and have medium sized open-
tropical climate of Nepal. It is recommended to allocate rooms ings; by this way solar penetration of the south façade could provide
single-banked and provide permanent provision for air movement, solar heat gains in winter (when the sun angle is low) and reduce
e.g. through cross or stack ventilation. According to the Mahoney overheating in summer. Shading devices for windows are needed
Table (Table 3) houses should be oriented north and south (long axis for the summer period. From December to January active solar or
east–west) to reduce solar heat gains, particularly during the hot conventional heating might be partly needed. The Mahoney Table
season. Openings should be of medium size (20–40% of outer wall recommends heavy external and internal walls and light but well
area) and exclude direct sunlight during summer months through insulated roofs. However, according to Givoni’s chart thermal mass
shading devices. High thermal mass with night ventilation might is only favorable during April and May to balance the internal tem-
provide thermal comfort, particularly during the hot and dry sum- perature swing (Fig. 3). In humid summer months air movement is
mer period. However, light building materials are recommended the essential bioclimatic design strategy for Nepal’s warm temper-
for the hot and humid monsoon season. Light, well insulated roofs ate climate. Therefore, single-banked room arrangement or other
are recommendable for this climate. Olgyay’s chart and Givoni’s means of natural ventilation are recommended (Table 3). Heavy
chart indicates that solar radiation in form of solar passive heat- rains during monsoon season claim for protection and adequate
ing can be sufficient to provide thermal comfort during the short rainwater drainage.
Fig. 2. Climate diagrams of four selected locations in Nepal (after [39]).

Subtropical Climate Warm Temperate Climate

Location: Dhanghadi 187 m RELATIVE HUMIDITY (%)
Location: Kathmandu 1336 m RELATIVE HUMIDITY (%)
28° 48' N, 80° 33' E 30 27° 42' N, 85° 22' E 30
90 %
90 %
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
0
0
80
80
40
40
60
50
60
50
10
10
70
70
AH Active Heating 8
SPH Solar Passive Heating 7 25 25
CZ Comfort Zone
%
V Natural Ventilation
30
30
6
TM Thermal Mass V 20 V 7 20
9
TMV Thermal Mass with Night 5 6
DH DH
Ventilation 9
ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY (g/Kg)

AC Active Cooling % 15 % 15
20 8 5 20
DH Dehumidifation 12 2
10
TMV 4 TMV
10 10
11 AC 10 3 AC
4 10 % 2 10 %
1 3 CZ 11 CZ
12
5 5
TM 1 TM
SPH SPH
AH H EC AH H EC
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
DRY BULB TEMPERATURE (°C) DRY BULB TEMPERATURE (°C)
RELATIVE HUMIDITY (%) RELATIVE HUMIDITY (%)

Cool Temperate Climate 30 Alpine Climate 30
90 %
90 %
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
0
0
40
40
80
80
50
50
60
60
10
10
70
70
Location:Dhunche 1982 m Location:Thakmarpha 2566 m
28° 48' N, 85° 18' E 25 28° 45' N, 83° 42' E 25
%
%
30
30
V 20 V 20
8 DH DH
7

6 15 15
% %
20 20
5 8
TMV 6 TMV
9 10 10
4 AC AC
7 5
10 10 % 9 4 10 %
11 CZ CZ
5 10 12 5
1
12
SPH TM 2 11 SPH TM
2 3 1
3
AH H EC AH H EC
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
DRY BULB TEMPERATURE (°C) DRY BULB TEMPERATURE (°C)
Fig. 3. Givoni’s bioclimatic chart for four representative climate zones of Nepal.
4.3. Cool temperate climate 4.4. Alpine climate
In cool temperate climate the use of solar radiation for passive In contrast to the conditions within the cool temperate climate
heating is an effective design strategy during the longer winter zone, Nepal’s alpine climate is far colder and dryer. Protection
period from October to March. In contrast to warm temperate cli- from the cold is necessary from October to April (Table 3). There-
mate a compact building layout is recommended by the Mahoney fore, compact building layout and small openings (15–25% of outer
Table. During half of the year active solar or conventional heating is wall area) are recommended. According to the Mahoney Table
needed, particularly during night time. However, due to high solar room arrangement should be double-banked with temporary pro-
radiation in winter solar passive heating combined with thermal vision for air movement during summer days. Heavy external
mass (heavy walls and floors with thermal time-lag of more than and internal walls are dominant climate-responsive design strate-
8 h) can reduce the need for conventional heating considerably. The gies to enhance solar passive heating effect for large temperature
rest of the year passive solar heating solely can provide comfort dur- swing between day and night. In contrast to Nepal’s temperate
ing cool nights. From June to September natural ventilation of the climates heavy roofs with thermal lag of more than eight hours
building is needed to avoid over-heating during the day (Table 3). are desired. Active solar or artificial heating is required during
According to Mahoney Table openings should be medium sized and long winter periods. In summer nights comfort can be achieved
protection from heavy rains as well as adequate rainwater drainage if the building’s thermal mass can store enough heat that is gained
is necessary. from solar radiation during the day. Low precipitation amounts
Table 3
Recommended design strategies for each month in different climate zones of Nepal according to Mahoney Table.
Design strategy Subtropical climate Warm temperate climate Cool temperate climate Alpine climate
J FMAM J J A SON D J FMAMJ J ASOND J FMAM J J ASOND J FMAMJ J ASON D
H1: Air movement essential
H2: Air movement desirable
H3: Rain protection necessary
A1: Thermal capacity
A2: Outdoor sleeping
A3: Protection from cold
Fig. 4. Nepal map with location of analyzed vernacular houses.
eliminate the need to protect the building from heavy rains or high 5.1.3. Building stories and internal space arrangement
humidity. Most vernacular houses in Tarai have only one single floor or,
like Rana Tharu houses, a ground floor with a mezzanine that is
5. Climate-responsive design in vernacular houses of used as storage [15]. They have high ceilings for enhancing per-
different climate regions manent ventilation that is strongly needed in this hot and humid
climate. However, due to increasing urbanization and higher settle-
A total number of 19 vernacular house are analyzed in the fol- ment density one of the Tharu studied houses in the Eastern Nepal
lowing according to the climate classification. The locations of the was found to be of two-story.
houses are shown on the map in Fig. 4. The spaces in the studied houses are organized more in a hor-
izontal manner. The internal space is almost undivided and, thus,
enhances a continuous natural circulation of cool air coming from
5.1. Sub-tropical climate the shaded area below the eaves [12]. The studied Longhouses have
only one division that does not reach the roof so that air can freely
The analysis of vernacular architecture in Nepal’s subtropical circulate (Fig. 5). In Rana Tharu houses big vessels, which store
climate refers to the following houses: Tharu houses in Chitwan grain, are used for dividing the space. In all Tharu houses semi-open
(field research), Traditional Tarai houses [12,27], Rana Tharu house spaces in form of a veranda are occupying a large part of the floor
in Kanchanpur district of Far-western region [15], Dangaura Tharu plan. The verandas are shaded by the roof overhang and provide
house in Dang district of Mid-western Region [15,16] and Eastern an additional comfortable space for daily activities (Fig. 6). Hav-
Kochila Tharu in Morang and Sunsari of Eastern Nepal [15]. ing two story houses, the Eastern Kochila Tharus use the second
Due to the dominating tropical monsoon climate houses have floor mainly as sleeping rooms and storage. One-third of the second
to protect from heat and heavy rainfall [27]. Local materials mainly floor plan consists of a veranda that provides a breezy semi-open
used are cane, timber and thatch [12]. They lead to the design of a sleeping space for hot and humid summer months [15].
comfortable ‘breathing’ house that means the building envelope is
rather permeable and enhance natural ventilation [15].
5.1.4. Walls
5.1.1. Settlement pattern The walls of traditional Tarai houses are rather light and mostly
The traditional settlement pattern in sub-tropical climate of made of wattle and daub [27]. The upper portion of the exterior
Nepal is rather loose than dense. Tharu houses are either loosely wall is observed to be of bamboo strips that are loosely woven into
situated along the road or they create clusters of semi-closed com- an open mesh which provide day lighting and permanent ventila-
pounds [15,16]. Rana Tharu houses are arranged around a courtyard tion. Unplastered walls of wood or reed have random gaps. External
that is open to at least one side so that breezy winds can flow walls might also be made of thin woven cane mats tied onto a
through the settlement. In the Dangaura Tharu village the long timber frame, rendered with mud plaster and white washed [12].
houses are arranged in one single row along the road with a wide
open yard in front of each house [12]. This facilitates easy penetra- 5.1.5. Roof
tion of air through the houses. Most traditional roofs in Nepal’s subtropical climate are made
of thatch in the form of a pitched roof [12,15,16]. The triangular
5.1.2. Building form and orientation opening at either end and the low windows ensures the perma-
The buildings have rectangular floor plans that are enclosed nent inflow of air from the shaded area below the eaves that leads to
with low walls, sometimes no higher than 75 cm [12]. Dangaura inside temperatures that are usually much lower than outside tem-
and Eastern Kochila Tharu houses are found to be typical Long- peratures [12] (Fig. 7). Dangaura and Kochila Tharu houses have also
houses while Rana Tharu houses have a more compact floor plan. light, well insulating thatch roofs. The wide roof overhang protects
The longer axis of Dangaura Tharu houses is more than twice of the walls from direct sun radiation. Verandas are formed by extending
shorter axis. The longer facade is typically oriented north–south the roofs and provide a comfortable place to work and even sleep
which reduces the exposure to the sun. at night [27].
Sleeping
Kitchen
Fig. 7. Gable opening for air circulation in Tharu House, Chitwan.
Sleeping
5.1.7. Openings
Buildings have very few and low windows that together with an
opening in the roof enhance the air circulation to provide comfort
during hot and humid summer months [12]. Shading of the win-
Indoor dows is provided through roof overhangs and the planting of trees
Storage around the buildings [27].
Pig pen 5.1.8. Results

Hay
Storage It was observed that settlements are arranged by a loose pattern
that allows air penetration – a typical design strategy for hot and
humid climates. Rectangular building form and horizontal space
arrangement in one story is dominant. Wall and roofing materials
are rather light than heavy and are often permeable to air. The high
and almost undivided interior space together with the openings in
Fig. 5. Floor plan and section of Dangaura Tharu House (after [15]). wall and roof enhances the natural ventilation within the build-
ing. In some houses openings are located in such a way to foster
stack ventilation. Wide roof overhangs including the provision of
5.1.6. Foundation, floor and ceiling shaded veranda space reduces the direct solar gain through walls
Typically Tharu houses are found on a plinth made of stone or and openings. For comparison characteristics of all analyzed houses
earth to protect the interior from flooding during raining season in subtropical climate are listed in Table 4.
[12]. Some houses are built on wooden piling from 90 to 300 cm for Concluding, the traditional house design in subtropical climate
the same reason [27]. The elevation from the ground by piling as of Nepal is very climate responsive. Main strategies like enhancing
well as high ceilings enhances air circulation within the building. air movement within the building and protecting from the strong
Floors are made of compacted earth, clay tiles or locally available solar radiating are considered.
stones that are possibly covered by cement plaster.
5.2. Warm temperate climate
Representing the traditional architecture in the warm temper-

ate climate of Nepal, house typologies from different ethnic groups
and locations in the Hilly Region were studied, including Hill houses
in Dolakha district (field research), Houses in Salle in Dhading dis-
trict [28], Newar houses in Kathmandu valley ([14,20,21], field
research), the Indo-Nepalese house in central Nepal [16], an Adobe
house in Kathmandu Valley (field research), the Gurung houses in
Thak Village of Kaski district [12,29] and the Limbu house in Eastern
Nepal [16,30,31].
5.2.1. Settlement pattern

Settlements in Nepal’s warm temperate hill climate are rather
of scattered and dispersed character. Houses are placed on the hill
terraces along the slope surrounded by each family’s fields. The
villages and towns built by the tribe of Newars only, have a denser
Fig. 6. Tharu house with wide roof overhang and shaded veranda in Chitwan. settlement pattern with its characteristic courtyards [21].
5.2.2. Building form and orientation

There are several types of building forms strongly depending
on settlement density and ethnicity. Newar houses being part of
compact settlement with high density are arranged to create inter-
connected courtyards [14,20]. The courtyards are designed in such
Kitchen Terrace
a way to allow solar penetration of buildings and provide a warmer
outside space for all kind of household activities during sunny win-
ter days. In contrast to Newar settlements, other traditional houses
in hilly Nepal are rather dispersed [16]. Most of the houses have Living room
a rectangular shape except Gurung houses that have a round floor
plan [12]. Often the elongated plan is situated on the sunny slope of
the hills with the longer facade facing toward the south, south-east
or south-west (Fig. 11). Larger windows are placed in the longer
facade, i.e. facing the sun. Around the open courtyard, which is sit-
Sleeping
uated in front of the main building, one or two annex buildings room
for cattle or storage can be placed. The studied Limbu house was
found to have a more compact floor plan. And in contrast to other
dispersed houses the shorter facade is faced southwards. Due to
religious beliefs Limbu houses are always located parallel to a river
bed [30]. Open veranda
Shop
towards courtyard
5.2.3. Building stories and internal space arrangement

It was observed that traditional houses in non-Newar settle-
Fig. 8. Section of Newar house with vertical space arrangement (after [21]).
ments have not more than two stories. Gurung and Limbu houses
have only one and a half stories; the ground floor is the main liv-
ing area [12,29]. Newar houses have typically three or three and
a half stories [11,20,21]. Until the early 16th century residential 5.2.4. Walls
houses were not allowed to exceed height of the temples in Newar The walls of houses in Hilly Nepal are mostly made of locally
settlements [20]. The low room height being between 1.6 and 1.9 m available stones in structural bearing random rubble masonry. Clay
makes it easier to heat the building during winter season. and earth are used as mortar. The exterior walls can be up to half
Depending on the number of stories, building space is arranged meter thick which leads to a high thermal mass of the building.
either horizontally or vertically. Having only one a half floor, the Walls are mostly plastered inside and outside using white, ocher
space in Limbu and Gurung houses is organized more horizontally. or red mud. The final plaster inside is a thin layer of fin red mud
The interior of the Gurung house is an almost open space with only and cow dung is used [16]. Only Gurung houses are made of mud,
few divisions having a fodder under the roof [29]. timber cane and thatch [29]. The walls consist of timber planks and
In Indo-Nepalese houses the ground floor is also a big open space lathe covering both sides with a mixture of mud and cow dung
designated for activities like cooking, dining, meeting and worship- [31]. Newar architecture being the most developed in the region is
ping which are sometimes visually divided by lower walls [16]. The using sundried or burnt clay-bricks as main walling material (Fig. 9).
first floor is primarily used as granary and storage for family’s valu- The walls have a thickness between 28 cm and 70 cm, resulting
ables and, possibly, as bedroom if the space in ground floor is not in a high thermal mass of the building. The outer wall is made of
sufficient for all family members. burnt bricks while on the inner side sun-dried inside bricks are used
Similarly, in Hill Houses of Dolakha the kitchen and main living [14,20]. The application of only sundried brick walls (adobe) is also
area are located on the ground floor while sleeping and storage common.
functions are on the first floor. The space under the roof creates
another half story and is used as storage; it is ventilated through
small windows at each gable end. The access to the second floor is
either provided by a wooden leader inside the building or outside,
if the house has a balcony (Fig. 11). A very important part of the
house is the veranda which is a semi-open space in front of longer
facade normally covered by the roof or the balcony. Verandas and
balconies often have closed sides to provide protection from cold
wind.
Spaces in Newar houses are vertically planned (Fig. 8). The
ground floor is only used for entering the house or sometimes as
storage and creates a buffer to the cold and humid ground. The bed-
rooms are located in the first floor while the main living area is in
the second floor. Both receive enough solar radiation through the
windows to heat up the room during the day. The space under the
roof (attic space) is used as kitchen with an open fireplace [11]. Due
to the location of the kitchen on the top of the building, living and
bed rooms are protected from overheating in summer. Rooms are
found to be double-banked [11]. The courtyard of the Newar houses
is an important semi-open space for work. It is designed in such a
way to be sunny in winter and shaded in summer. Fig. 9. Hill house in Dolakha with shaded terrace and balcony.
Table 4
Characteristics of vernacular houses in subtropical climate of Nepal.
Tharu house in Chitwan Traditional Tarai houses Rana Tharu house Dangaura Tharu house Kochila Tharu house
Settlement pattern Scattered clusters Loose clusters of Loose pattern around open Loose, along the road side Loose building clusters
semi-enclosed compounds courtyard along road
Building form Rectangular Rectangular floor plan Compact layout Elongated Elongated
Building n.s. n.s. Longer façade north–south Longer side east–west Long facades east–west
orientation wards oriented
Building stories 1 1 1.5 1 2
Internal space Horizontal, few divisions Horizontal manner, almost Horizontal, mezzanine Horizontal, few division Mainly horizontal, 2nd
arrangement undivided open space used as storage floor includes open
veranda
Semi-open spaces Veranda Veranda Open courtyard, veranda Veranda Open courtyard, veranda in
second floor
Wall material Wattle and daub, straw Mud plastered woven cane Mud plastered Low walls of wood and Lumber on timber
and mud, timber, bamboo mat tied on timber frame timber/bamboo walls bamboo covered by mud structure
layer
Wall thickness Very thin Thin, permeable to air Thin Thin Thin, permeable to air
Roof material Thatch Thatch or tiles Tiles Bamboo lathes with thatch Thatch
covering
Roof type Pitched roof Hipped roofs Pitched roof Hipped roof Pitched roof
Roof overhang Wide Wide Wide Large Large
Foundation Plinth of stone and mud Stone plinth or wooden Earth/stone plinth Slightly raised platform Earth/stone plinth
piling
Floor Compacted earth with fine Compacted earth or clay n.s. Covered by mud layer n.s.
mud layer tiles made
Ceiling High High ceilings High ceiling High ceiling n.s.
Openings Very small Upper part of exterior wall n.s. Few and small openings Few and very small, doors
is made of loose bamboo are largest openings
strips
5.2.5. Roof oriented southwards. The side and the back wall have often no
The typical roof type applied in vernacular architecture in the openings except a small hole from the kitchen which is used as
warm temperate climate of Nepal is the pitched roof supported smoke outlet. In Newar houses the main living room has a big win-
by a timber structure and covered by locally available hatch, stone dow with decorative wood carvings that allows solar radiation of
slates or tiles. A large roof overhang of minimum 50 cm protects the lower angle to heat the room in winter [20] (Fig. 9). Many houses
walls from the heavy monsoon rain and avoids solar penetration of have grilled windows to protect from solar penetration in summer
the facade during summer [14,16]. In Central Nepal the roofs were [12]. Remarkable, in Limbu houses the main entry door and larger
typically covered by thatch that lasts properly maintained up to windows are placed on the shorter facade of the building that is
eight years [16]. In Dolakha’s Hill houses slate on timber structure faced southwards [16]. Although most authors describe hilly houses
is the main roofing material. The pitched roofs of Limbu and Gurung have small windows, compared with mountain houses they are of
houses are very steep and use thatch, straw or grass as roofing. medium size. The windows are almost always oriented southwards
Newar architecture has developed a water inclusive roof design aiming to enhance solar heat gains during winter. The openings are
of burnt clay tiles which are placed upon a mud layer of 4–10 cm often equipped with shutters that can be closed during cold nights
[14,32]. in summer and the cold season. In this way the envelope tightness
is increased and the heat losses are reduced.
All studied houses of Hilly Nepal use a large roof overhang to
5.2.6. Foundation, floors and ceiling
shade south facade and windows. In Indo-Nepalese houses the
Most houses in warm temperate climate of Nepal have a stone
veranda that is located in front of the longer facade has a thatch
foundation that protects from flooding during the monsoon sea-
covered timber roof structure to provide shading [16]. In the Limbu
son. The foundation of Newar houses is made of a 60–80 cm deep
houses an overhanging timber structure is used to form a veranda
stone plinth [14,20]. In Indo-Nepalese houses and those studied in
surrounding the house in the first floor [16]. The Gurung houses
Dolakha a 30–50 cm thick stone platform serves as foundation of
have deep overhanging eaves restrained by brackets [12]. The roof
the building. This platform is often extended about 1.50 m at either
overhang of Newar architecture is widely known because of his dec-
one or more sides of the exterior walls to create a veranda which
orative character, particularly, in temples and palaces where fine
is used as semi open working space. The ceilings are very low (not
wood carvings can be seen. Moreover, the roof overhang protects
more 1.80 m) to reduce the air volume that needs to be heated dur-
the walls from the heavy monsoon rain.
ing the cold season. In all studied houses a wooden framework of
pillars and beams is used to support the ceilings. It is covered by
lathwork and rough casting of 20 cm mud layer and a final layer of
5.2.8. Results
a mixture of clay and cow dung [16]. In other houses clay or earth is
It was observed that many building features of the different
used for flooring [32]. Wood was widely available in the hilly area
houses in warm temperate climate of Nepal are largely similar
and is, therefore, used as structural as well as covering material. The
(Table 5). Most vernacular houses have a rectangular floor plan.
additional use of clay and earth increases the thermal mass of the
The longer facade with the openings is often oriented southwards
floor and contribute to balance the diurnal temperature changes.
to enhance solar gains during winter. Due to the wide roof over-
hang the building facades and windows are shaded in summer. In
5.2.7. Openings the dense Newar settlements the smart arrangement of courtyards
The openings in houses of Hilly Nepal are rather small, but assures solar passive heating in winter and shading in summer.
larger than those in the mountain houses. The windows are mainly Generally, houses in this climate are of high thermal mass using
located in the longer facade that faces downhill and is mostly locally available materials. Particularly, during sunny winter days
236
Table 5
Characteristics of vernacular houses in warm temperate climate of Nepal.
Hill house in Dolakha House in Salle Newar house Indo-Nepalese house Adobe house Gurung house Limbu house
Settlement pattern Scattered Scattered High n.s. High Medium Scattered

Building form Rectangular floor plan Rectangular elongated Rectangular plan with Rectangular plan along Rectangular plan Round shaped Rectangular form
interconnecting terrace
courtyards
Building orientation Longer side Longer side oriented n.s. South, south-east or Main long façade n.s. Parallel to river
S. Bodach et al. / Energy and Buildings 81 (2014) 227–242

southwards downhill south-west south-west wards
Stories 2–2.5 2 3–3.5 2 2.5 1.5 1.5–2.5
Internal space Ground floor: kitchen Ground floor: veranda, Vertically use of space: Dominant horizontally, Vertically, ground Internally almost open More horizontally,
arrangement and living; 1st floor: kitchen bed and prayer ground floor: storage; 1st floor used as floor: shop, storage, 1st space, few divisions, ground floor is main
sleeping, storage room, 1st floor: bed 1st floor: bedrooms; storage, provision of floor living and bed mezzanine as fodder living area
rooms, storage, balcony 2nd floor: living room; semi-open space room, 2nd floor:
3rd floor: kitchen kitchen
Semi-open spaces Shaded veranda and Closed veranda and Courtyard Open courtyard No Veranda Veranda and balcony
balcony balcony
Wall material Stone, plastered and Stone and mud Burnt brick (outside), Stone-mud with mud Adobe wall (sun dried Wooden lathe covered Stone and mud, white
painted sun dried brick with plaster clay bricks) with mud or ocher mud plaster
mortar (inside)
Wall thickness 40–50 cm 50 cm 28–70 cm 35–50 cm 50–60 cm Thin Thick
Roof material Stone slates on timber Thatch and stone slate Burnt clay tiles on mud Thatch or slates on Burnt tiles on mud Thatch on timber Thatch on timber
structure layer and timber wooden roof structure layer above timber structure structure
structure structure
Roof type Saddleback roof Pitched roof Gable roof Pitched roof Pitched roof Steep Steep pitched roof
Roof overhang Wide Yes Wide Yes Wide Wide Wide
Foundation Stone plinth covered n.s. 60–80 cm deep stone 30–50 cm stonework Foundation of stones Low plinth Stone plinth
by mud/earth plinth platform
Floor Mud layer Mud/earth covered n.s. n.s. Mud layer Mud and cow dung n.s.
Ceiling Very low, wooden Wooden structure with Wooden beam Wooden structure with Structure of timber and n.s. n.s.
beams and lathwork lathwork and mud lathwork and mud bamboo
covering layer
Openings Medium sized Medium sized Small windows, only Small wooden Rather small, Very small, grilled Medium sized
openings toward valley for living room large windows on windows windows
side window southwards facades
the thermal mass is favorable to store solar heat gains of the day
for cooler nights. The low ceiling height reduces the air volume to
be heated in the winter season. The vertical internal space arrange-
ment of Newar houses is optimized for the cold winter because it
creates buffer zones in the ground and the upper floor in order to
keep the main living and sleeping spaces comfortable.
In summary, it can be said that the vernacular houses in Nepal’s
warm temperate climate are very well adapted to the local climate
condition. They consider the most important climate-responsive
design strategies like enhancing solar heat gains during winter and
protecting from the strong solar radiation in summer.
5.3. Cool temperate climate
Representing vernacular architecture of Nepal’s cool temper-

ate mountain climate the houses and settlements of the following
tribes and locations were studied and analyzed: Tamang tribe in Fig. 10. Façade of Newar house with big wood carved window and large roof over-
Langtang region (field research) and Sherpa tribe in Khumbu village hang.
[17]. Khumbu village is located in Solukhumbu district in the North
of Eastern development region while Langtang is part of Rasuwa
district in central region north-west of Kathmandu valley.
5.3.3. Building stories and internal space arrangement
It was observed that Sherpa as well as Tamang houses have
5.3.1. Settlement pattern two stories [17]. In Sherpa houses the ground floor is used for
Settlements in cool temperate climate are denser than those in storage and livestock, the main living area is situated in the first
warm temperate hills. Sherpa villages are mostly built on the beds floor. Tamangs use the upper story for storage of grain and other
of old lakes in broader valleys or on sizeable ledges between the household possessions, while the elevated ground floor is used as a
mountainside and river gorges [17]. The settlements of the Tamang kitchen, dining place, and bedroom. In Sherpa houses wooden stairs
tribe are compactly built. Several houses are typically attached to located inside the building lead to the upper floor; stairs in Tamang
each other reducing the exterior wall surface exposed to the cold- house are located outside on the main entry facade of the house.
ness (Fig. 11). The streets of Tamang villages are usually paved with Sherpas use the roof partly as terrace with a small shed for lavatory
stones. [17]. Tamang houses have usually a balcony on the first floor and a
veranda beneath it in front of the main entrance. In all houses the
open hearth, normally located in the center of the kitchen, plays an
5.3.2. Building form and orientation important role because it is not only used for cooking. It is also the
Traditional houses in this climate zone have a more elongated only comfortably warm place where the family members can sit
form than those in colder alpine climate [17]. Also L-shape can be during colder nights and in the winter season. The internal vertical
found. Tamang houses in Langtang region have a compact rectangu- space arrangement of these houses leads to thermal buffer zones
lar shape. Being attached to each other they create a more elongated which have an insulating effect to keep the main living room as
building volume. If possible the longer façade is oriented toward the warm as possible.
sun to enhance solar gains. Semi-open spaces play also an important role in Nepal’s tradi-
The houses of the Sherpa tribe in Khumbu village (Everest tional architectures in cool temperate climate. In front of Sherpa
region) stand in small groups together on the slopes of a natural houses an open space or yard is foreseen where newly harvested
amphitheater [17]. Their elongated building volume is generally crops are spread out for drying, are sorted and graded prior to
standing parallel to the slope. Ground floors are partly built into storage and firewood is piled up for winter month [17]. The porch
the slope of the hill of mountain behind it (Fig. 10). located at the entry to a Tamang house also serves as a protected
Front Elevation End Elevation
Ground Floor End Elevation
Fig. 11. Floor plan and elevation of Sherpa house (after [17]).
Table 6
Characteristics of vernacular houses in cool temperate climate of Nepal.
Tamang houses Sherpa houses
Location Central mountain, Langtang region Eastern mountain region

Settlement pattern Attached houses, rather compact Houses in small groups along the slope
Building form Compact rectangular floor plan, attached houses Elongated rectangular or L-shape
Building orientation Main façade south-west wards The longer side toward the slope
Stories 2 2
Internal space arrangement Vertically, elevated ground floor is main leaving Vertically, ground floor as thermal buffer space
area with kitchen and sleeping, 1st floor storage
Semi-open spaces Veranda and balcony Veranda
Wall material Unplastered stonework Stonework dry or with mud mortar, mud plaster
Wall thickness 40–60 cm up to 1 m
Roof material Wood slat weighted with stones, stone slate (if Wooden pillar and beam structure with heavy
available) stone slabs
Roof type Pitched roof Pitched roof
Roof overhang Yes Yes
Foundation Elevated ground floor adapting to the slope Ground floor partly built into the slope
Floor Wooden lathwork Wooden floor with carpet
Ceiling Low ceilings Double wooden ceiling
Openings Small wooden windows only in entry facade Small openings, only one large living room
window faced southwards
semi-open space. These semi-open spaces provide another com- 5.3.8. Results
fortable place, e.g. in winter when the sun is shining. The previous analysis shows that traditional settlements in cool
temperate climate tend to be more compact than in the warmer
5.3.4. Walls climate zones (Table 6).
Walls are made of locally available stones with a thickness of up Locally available stones, which are used for walls and timber, are
to 1 m [17]. Stonework is made either dry or bound together with also the dominating material for floor, ceilings, interior cladding of
rudimentary mortar made of soft clayed earth. In Sherpa houses wall and roofing. Like in warm temperate climate the high thermal
mostly inner and especially outer walls are plastered with clayed mass of the building is favorable to store solar thermal gains during
earth and then painted because the plaster is also an excellent sunny winter days for the cooler nights. Due to the heavy precipita-
weatherproofing material. In Tamang houses the outer walls are tion during monsoon season roofs are pitched and mostly covered
made of dry stonework while the entry façade of the first floor is by wood slate and stones. Openings tend to be smaller than in warm
made of timber. Inner walls of main living spaces are often planked temperate climate that leads to the reduction of heat losses. Inter-
with timber lathes. nal spaces are arranged vertically creating a thermal buffer on the
upper and lower level for the main living area.
5.3.5. Roof In conclusion, the mountain houses in the cool temperate cli-
Due to the heavy rains pitched roofs are more frequently used in mate of Nepal are very well adapted to the local climate conditions.
the traditional architecture of the cool temperate mountain climate They fulfill the most important design strategy – compact building
[17]. Either in Sherpa and Tamang houses the roof rest on a wooden layout and orientation toward the Sun.
pillar and beam structure. Wood or slate (if available) is often used
as roofing material in the form of square or rectangular roofing tiles.
Heavy stones are placed on top to prevent them from being blown 5.4. Alpine climate
off by heavy monsoon winds.
Representing vernacular architecture of alpine climate, houses
5.3.6. Foundation, floor and ceiling and settlements from the following areas in far-western, mid-
The Sherpa houses in Khumbu village are built on a platform western, and western development region of Nepal were analyzed:
which is made of locally available stones. The double wooden ceil- Humla [12,33], Dolpo [16], Upper and Lower Mustang ([11,34],
ings of these houses are supported by a framework of timber pillars field visit 2010), Thak Khola villages in Mustang district [16] and
and beams. Carpets are often laid above the wooden floor in the Manang [12,16]. All these locations are part of the Himalayan
main living areas [17]. mountain range located on the northern stretch of Nepal between
Tamang houses are slightly elevated attached to each other 2500 and 4600 m.a.s.l. (Humla – 3500 m.a.s.l., Dolpo – above
forming a terrace structure. The interior structure including floors 4000 m.a.s.l., Upper Mustang – 2800–4600 m.a.s.l.; Lower Mustang
and ceiling are completely made of timber. Often the main entry – 2500–3800 m.a.s.l., Manang – 3500 m.a.s.l.). In contrast to cool
façade is also timber cladded. temperate climate, temperatures are lower and the amount of pre-
cipitation is very low throughout the whole year.
5.3.7. Openings
In Khumbu village doors and windows of the Sherpa houses are
faced to south-east direction for an effective exposure to the winter 5.4.1. Settlement pattern
Sun [17]. Also houses in Langtang village are observed to face south- The villages in such a harsh and cold climate are very compact
east. No openings are placed in the back side of the houses which (Fig. 12). The buildings are often attached to each other creating
are not sun-faced. In Sherpa houses wooden windows with finely small alleys that are protected from the cold wind and snow storms.
carved decoration and colorful paintings. In the main entry façade In Braga (Manang district) the houses are grouped closely together
of Tamang house one decorated small window is placed as opening. sharing one or more exterior walls. In Dolpo the houses are also
The actual opening of those windows is rather small. Often shutters attached to one other but each house has its own outer wall [12].
are used to close the openings completely during night and the cold Thakali villages are observed to be very compact although adjacent
winter season. walls are not common.
Fig. 12. Typical attached Tamang house with elevated ground floor.
5.4.2. Building form and orientation

Compact building volumes with rectangular building shapes are
dominant in Nepal’s Alpine climate region [12,16,34]. Many houses
in Manang have an almost square ground floor plan [16]. The com-
pact building form reduces the surface-to-volume ratio and, thus,
heat losses in this cold climate (Fig. 13). Houses are situated on
Fig. 13. Narrow lane of compact settlement structure in Upper Mustang.
the southern slope of hills or flat valleys to enhance solar heat
gains [16,34]. In this way the high thermal mass of the building
can be heated by the strong solar radiation during the day. In Man- houses the upper floor contains also a prayer room or a sleeping
ang closed courtyards are widely used to protect from the cold and room for summer [11,12,16].
strong winds. In Mustang narrow streets and high walls around The flat roofs are forming terraces that are used as open space
the buildings marking the pathways have the same function. Other for any kind of activities during sunny days. The studied shelters of
semi enclosed areas like terraces or rooftops are sometimes cov- Thakali people in Mustang and in Manang have a small courtyard
ered by overhangs or porches to give shade for the strong summer [16] (see Fig. 14). Being located in a very dense settlement structure
sun [33]. the courtyard allows the penetration of day light into almost all
inner rooms of the houses.
5.4.3. Building stories and internal space arrangement Semi-open areas play an important role in providing a proper
Mountain houses in Nepal have at least two stories [27]. The space for working outside of the house during day time. In Humla
analyzed buildings in Humla and Manang as well as typical Thakali houses, semi-enclosed areas are built with loose-fitting timber
houses have three levels [12,16]. The Dolpo houses were found structure in front of each room on the top and middle level [33]. This
to have two and a half stories [16]. In Upper Mustang two-story construction offers some protection from the cold southerly wind.
courtyard houses are dominant [11]. Multiple stories make the total These semi-enclosed areas measure about 6 m2 . Slight overhangs
building volume more compact which reduces the heat losses. projecting from roofs might also form a semi-enclosed veranda in
The space arrangement within these houses is mainly organized front of the house.
vertically. The ground and top floor are assigned to secondary use
and have the effect of thermal buffer to keep the main living area in 5.4.4. Walls
the first floor as warm as possible (Fig. 14). Animals are housed in The walls are traditionally built of natural stone if locally avail-
the ground floor leading to increase indoor temperature due to their able. In some areas also sun-dried mud bricks or rammed earth
body heat. The main living area in the second floor is horizontally is used [27]. In Humla the studied house has an 45 cm massive
also surrounded by rooms of secondary use like storage, family trea- wall that consist of thick stones and mud-mortar and is restrained
sure, etc. that are creating horizontal thermal buffer zones. In some by paired timber beams [12,33]. In Dolpo the ground floor walls
Fig. 14. Compact building typologies of Thakali houses in Marpha, Lower Mustang (after [16]).
are made of stone and mortar with an average thickness of 40 cm

while the upper walls are made of lighter sundried bricks [16]. The
settlements in Upper Mustang are characterized by mud and mud
brick walls [34,35]. Vernacular houses of Thakali people are made
of 50 cm thick flat stone masonry that is coated with white and red
mud [16]. In summary, all houses are constructed using the most
Store Terrace
insulating material locally available and have walls of high thermal
mass to balance the diurnal temperature range.
5.4.5. Roof
Due to the scarcity or even total absence of rainfall roofs of ver-
nacular houses in alpine climate are generally flat [12,16,27,34].
Using locally available material, the roofs are typically made of 2nd floor
stone and mud laid on a timber post and beam structure. Vernac-
ular architecture of this region has developed different techniques
to make the roof waterproof. For example, in Humla roofs consist of
Store Store Store
dried juniper branches laid over roughly cut timber boards with an Room
added layer of black mud and a final waterproof layer of fine white
mud [12]. This technique protects from the wet snow that typically
Room of Living
falls in the early winter months. Thakali and Manang people have Store
ancestors
also developed a roof finishing system that uses a fine mud layer to room
ensure waterproofing. Furthermore, wood is piled on the border of
roofs that provides protection from the strong wind [16]. In some
Store Kitchen
mountain houses a slight roof overhang can be seen for protecting Canopy Terrace
semi-closed spaces in front of the house [33].
5.4.6. Foundation, floor and ceiling First floor

All investigated traditional houses are built above the ground
using a foundation made of locally available stones [16]. The struc-
ture of ceilings is made of timber posts and beams. The room height
is generally very low in order to reduce the need for heating. The Stable Hay
traditional houses of Humla have a ceiling height between 1.8 and Cattle shed
2 m; rooms in Dolpo houses are only 1.75 m high [16,33]. Floors are
covered by a mud layers over the roughly cut wooden boards [12]. Cattle Porch
shed Open courtyard
5.4.7. Openings
Cattle shed
The studied vernacular houses have very small doors and win- Store
Canopy
dows made of wood [16,27,34]. Windows are often the most
expressive element of the house and have nice carvings with Bud-
dhist symbols [12]. In Upper Mustang villages look like fortified
towns due to the reduced window area of the outer walls (Fig. 15). Ground floor
Generally, shutters are used to reduce infiltration of cold air, par-
Fig. 15. Floor plan of Thakali house in Taglung (after [16]).
ticularly, during night time. The protection from heat losses is the
main bioclimatic strategy to maintain comfortable indoor climate
under very cold conditions (Fig. 16).
5.4.8. Results
Vernacular houses in Alpine climate have several more features
to protect from the coldness than houses in the other climates
of Nepal. Settlements and building volumes are compacter and
denser than in temperate climates. The houses have far smaller
and less openings in order to reduce heat losses. The internal space
arrangement is optimized to create thermal buffer zones. The use
of window shutters has the effect to increase the tightness of the
building.
Roofs are flat as far less rain is falling than in cool temperate
climate. The buildings have a high thermal mass that help to bal-
ance large diurnal temperature range between the season and in
summer. Semi-open spaces like the sunny flat roof top, wind pro-
tected veranda and courtyards play an important role to provide
comfortable areas for all kind of household activities during the
day.
Concluding, the vernacular house design is very much adapted
to the local climate conditions. The main objective is to reduce heat
losses during long and cold winter season (Table 7). Fig. 16. Typical small windows in building façade in Upper Mustang.
Table 7
Characteristics of vernacular houses in Alpine climate of Nepal.
Humla house Dolpo house House in Upper Mustang Thakali house Manang house
Location Far-western mountain Mid-western mountain Western mountain region Western mountain region Western mountain region
region region
Settlement pattern Densely scattered, partly Houses attached to one Dense housing cluster Compact settlements Dense, attached houses
attached houses other
Building form Almost square floor plan Rectangular Rectangular toward square Terraced houses Almost square surface
Building South n.s. toward sunny side of valley Southwards facing Facing south
orientation
Stories 3 2.5 2 3 3
Internal space Vertically and horizontally Vertical space use creates Vertical space arrangement Centrally and vertically Vertical space arrangement
arrangement use of buffer zones thermal buffer zones with thermal buffer zones with use of buffer zones by uses buffer zones
Semi-open space Roof top Courtyard, roof terrace Courtyard, roof terrace Courtyard, roof terrace Courtyard, roof terrace
Wall material Stone and mud mortar Lower wall: stones and Sun-dried bricks Flat natural stone masonry Stone assembled with
mortar, upper walls: coated with white and red earth
sundried bricks mud
Wall thickness 45 cm 40 cm 45 cm 50 cm Thick
Roof material Mud n.s. Mud filling over wooden Severe mud layers 10 cm mud layer on
structure wooden latter
Roof type Flat Flat Flat Flat Flat
Roof overhang 50 cm n.s. n.s. Yes Slight overhang
Foundation n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. Stone, 30 cm deep, 60 cm
wide
Floor n.s. n.s. Mud covered n.s. n.s.
Ceiling Low ceilings Low ceilings Wooden beam and pillar Wooden structure Wooden beam and pillar
structure structure
Openings Small Very few and small Small openings in South, Small windows with Very small wooden
West or East facade shutters windows
Table 8
Climate-responsive design strategies in vernacular architecture of different climatic zones in Nepal.
Climate-responsive design strategy Climate zones
Subtropical Warm temperate Cool temperate Alpine
Solar passive heating − + ± −

Protection from the cold ± + +
High thermal mass of walls and floors + + +
High thermal mass with night ventilation −
Building orientation north–south ± ±
Compact settlement and building layout + +
Low thermal mass of walls and floors +
Light well insulated roof + ± ±
Heavy roof +
Reduction of direct solar heat gain in summer + +
Enhancement of air movement in summer + + ±
Protection from heavy rain + + +
Outdoor sleeping space for summer +
Small openings to reduce heat losses +
Medium sized openings ± + +
Shading of openings in summer + +
+: applied; −: not applied; ±: partly applied.
6. Conclusion bioclimatic design strategies that could not be found in vernacular

architecture of subtropical climate.
This study identified many climate-responsive or solar passive For the warm temperate climate bioclimatic analysis brought
design strategies that are applied in vernacular houses of Nepal out the following design strategies: solar passive heating for winter,
(Table 8). protection from the cold and rain, high thermal mass, enhanced air
Main strategies for subtropical climate of Nepal are solar pas- movement and medium sized windows with shading in summer.
sive heating in winter, low thermal mass, reduce direct solar These strategies are fully or at least partly applied in the studied
gains though building orientation and shading, enhancement of air vernacular houses. The building orientation toward south as well
movement and rain protection. The use of light (low thermal mass) as the arrangement of courtyards in the more compact Newar set-
and air-permeable materials for the building envelope and proper tlement enhances solar gains during cold winter and, thus, solar
placement of openings are enhancing natural ventilation that is passive heating. However, large roof overhang and shutters keep
essential during warm and humid season. Some but not all houses the steep summer sun away from the building façade to avoid over-
are orientated north and south as recommended for the reduction heating. Recommended high thermal mass of walls and floor as
of direct solar gains through the façade. All analyzed vernacular well as light well insulated roof was also found in most studied
houses have adequate shading, semi-opened outdoor spaces for vernacular houses of warm temperate climate. The courtyard sys-
any kind of activities and are protected from heavy rains by a wide tem combined with openings in opposite façades ensures enough
roof overhang. Roofs are mostly made of thatch which is a light and natural ventilation in the compacter Newar settlement. While the
well insulating material. Solar passive heating is the only identified vertical room setup creates thermal buffer zones to protect from the
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Appendix B
Publication II

S. Bodach. “Developing Bioclimatic Zones and Passive Solar Design Strategies for Nepal”.
In: The 30th PLEA Conference - Sustainable habitat for developing societies. Ahmedabad,
2014
101
Developing Bioclimatic Zones and Passive
Solar Design Strategies for Nepal
Susanne Bodach, M.Sc.

Technische Universität München, Germany
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
Nepal displays a highly varying topography which is leading to a variety of climatic conditions. With the
introduction of modern construction technologies in the country, the building sector has adopted
uniform design and building techniques that often neglects local climate and rely on energy-intensive
mechanical means to provide thermal indoor comfort. The definition of a climate classifications for
building design can be an important decision making tool towards climate-responsive and energy-
efficient architecture. This paper represents the groundwork for developing bioclimatic zones for
building design in Nepal. Based on climatic maps areas of similar climatic conditions were identified.
Climate data of various locations within these zone were collected and analysed. A bioclimatic approach
was adopted using the psychrometric chart in order to identify passive design strategies for each
locations. Finally, an overview of appropriated design strategies for summer and winter for each zones
is developed.
INTRODUCTION
Climate-responsive design is considered to be one of the major requirements to drive the building
sector towards sustainable development (Szokolay, 2008). However, architects and building planners are
still guided by universal design style that is rather focusing on form language and neglecting the local
climate conditions (Liedl, Hausladen, & Saldanha, 2012). Climate classification for sustainable building
design can fill the gap and guide building professionals which design strategies are suitable in a certain
climate context. Many countries that have a variety of climates within their territory have developed a
climatic classification for building design - also called bioclimatic zoning. Climate maps for Nepal have
been developed based on physiological features and vegetation. However, no building design specific
climate zoning is available for the country. Few authors identified the climate-responsive design
strategies for specific locations in the country (Upadhyay, Yoshida, & Rijal, 2006). This research is the
first comprehensive study aiming to provide the groundwork for developing a bioclimatic zoning and the
appropriate design strategies for the whole territory of Nepal.
There are several approaches to define a climate classification for building design. Givoni (1969)
distinguishes between four main climate classes, namely hot, warm-temperate, cool-temperate and cold
climates; using sub classification he elaborated a total number of eleven climate types for the whole
planet. Koenigsberger (1974) developed six climate zones for building design in the tropics based on the
two climate factors, temperature and humidity; these factors dominantly influences thermal comfort.
Many countries with high climatic variations have developed their own climate zones for building design
Susanne Bodach is PhD candidate at the Institute of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building, Technische Universität
München, Munich, Germany
30th INTERNATIONAL PLEA CONFERENCE 1

16-18 December 2014, CEPT University, Ahmedabad
which is often used for defining thermal performance standards for buildings. There is no universal
approach for the definition of such a zoning. Most classifications use climate variables (such as
temperature, humidity, precipitation, solar radiation, wind conditions) as main criteria (Table 1).
Building design factors, e.g. heating and cooling degree day, effective temperature, temperature swing or
passive design strategies, are often used as secondary criteria or in combination with climate variables.
There are two countries (Argentina, Brazil) that have used only passive design criteria to define the
bioclimatic zoning. In some classifications topographical criteria like latitude, longitude, altitude and
distance to the coast are added to differentiate bioclimatic zones. Most classifications use the bio-climate
chart to identify passive solar design strategies for the different zones.
The way of defining climate classification is from country to country different and few interesting
examples are described in detail in the following. USA’s climate zones are developed based on the need
for heating and cooling using the amount of heating degree days (HDD) and cooling degree days (CDD)
(ASHRAE, 2007). China uses the mean temperature in the hottest and coldest month as main criteria.
Complementary criteria is the number of days that average temperature is below 5 °C or above 25 °C
(Lam, Yang, & Liu, 2006). For the development of the Indian zoning monthly climate data of mean
temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and number of clear days were analysed from 233
meteorological stations of the country (Bansal & Minke, 1988). Defined climate conditions must prevail
for more than six month; otherwise the location is classified as composite climate. Brazil, being the fifth
largest country on the globe with a range in latitude of about 40°, has developed bioclimatic zones
adopting the bioclimatic chart from Givoni for hot developing countries. Climate data from 330
locations was plotted on the chart to identify passive design strategies for each location. According to the
predominant design recommendations these locations were grouped into different climate classes
resulting into eight bioclimatic zones (ABNT, 2003). Argentine has used three indicators to define the
zoning: 1. Heating degree days (HDD); 2. Effective temperature (ET) on a typical summer day; 3.
Average daily thermal swing for the relevance of thermal mass. The HDD is a key indicator for the
heating demand in winter dividing the country in the six main zones. The temperature swing being an
indicator for the incorporation of thermal mass is used to classify the four warmer zones into 12 sub-
zones. The two colder zones are sub-classified indicating the potential for passive solar heating
Table 1. Climate Classifications for Building Design and Used Criteria

Used criteria
Target region Passive Source
Climate Topography
design
World X (Givoni, 1969)
Egypt X (Mahmoud, 2011)
India X (Bansal & Minke, 1988)
USA X X (ASHRAE, 2007)
China X X (Lam et al., 2006)
California X X (The Pacific Energy Centre, 2006)
Tropics X X (Koenigsberger, 1974)
North-east India X X (Kumar, Mahapatra, & Atreya, 2007)
Chile X X (INN, 1977)
World X X X (Liedl, 2011)
Peru X X X (Chang Escobedo, 2008)
Venezuela X X X (Rosales, 2007)
Brazil X (ABNT, 2003)
Argentine X (IRAM, 1996)
METHODS
Research region
Nepal expands from the Gangetric plain at an elevation of 60 m up to the high Himalaya Mountains
with the highest peak in the world the Mt. Everest at an elevation of 8,848 m. The highly diversified

geography leads to large variation in climate. The climatic diversity has been also reflected in the
traditional architectures. While traditional houses in the upper Himalayan have a compact building
typology and are attached to each other aiming to reduce heat loss, houses in the subtropical plain have a
more elongated floor plan and are distributes in loose settlement pattern allowing air penetration
(Bodach, Lang, & Hamhaber, 2014).
With the modernisation of the constructions sector in Nepal, traditional building techniques are
replaced by universal design, modern construction technologies and materials. New buildings in urban
centres of Nepal are built using column-beam structure of reinforced concrete combined with brick
filling walls and flat roofing. Facades with large unshaded glazing area and aluminium panel cladding
are typical design options for commercial buildings. Due to centralisation and issues of prestige, modern
building practises from the capital Kathmandu are spreading out in other parts of the country where the
climatic conditions are very different. Architects and engineers are trained in the capital or in India
bringing design ideas and construction techniques from these places that are often inappropriate in the
climate of the place.
In contrast to other Asian countries, Nepal has not developed any standards or regulation for a more
sustainable building design. The national building code is concerned about structural safety and does not
contain any standards on energy efficiency. Currently, the Department of Urban Development and
Building Construction (DUDBC) which is the government organisation responsible for drafting building
regulation, has started the process to develop green building technology guidelines. However, the lack of
a proper bioclimatic zoning makes it difficult to define standards for climate-responsive building design
or envelope insulation. A climate classification for building design will be a useful tool for regulators as
well as building professionals to enhance climate-adapted design practices and the step forwards towards
a more sustainable development of the Nepalese building sector.
Bioclimatic approach and thermal comfort
The bioclimatic approach explores the opportunities to design according to the local climate
conditions. Olgyay (1963) developed the first bioclimatic chart based on outdoor climate conditions
aiming to identify mitigation measures like solar radiation, air movement or shading to achieve a
comfortable indoor climate. Givoni (1963) developed a bioclimatic chart based on indoor conditions
using the standard psychrometric chart. His chart has been widely used to identify passive design
strategies for different bioclimatic zones (Lam et al., 2006; Rakoto-Joseph, Garde, David, Adelard, &
Randriamanantany, 2009; Singh, Mahapatra, & Atreya, 2007). Some countries have used solely his chart
to define the climate classification for building design (ABNT, 2003).
The main challenge for developing a bioclimatic chart is the definition of the thermal comfort zone.
Thermal comfort is defined as a subjective response of a person in regard to satisfaction with the thermal
environment (ASHRAE, 2010). It is influenced by environmental factors, such as air temperature, air
movement, humidity, radiation, and personal factors like metabolic rate, clothing, state of health and
acclimatization (Szokolay, 2008). For naturally ventilated buildings ASHRAE Standard 55 proposes the
adaptive thermal comfort approach and defines a range of acceptable indoor temperature of 2.5 K above
and below optimum comfort temperature. Thereby, the comfort temperature is calculated by the outdoor
temperature using the equation (1).
(1) (de Dear & Brager, 2002) where Tc is the optimum

comfort temperature and Tout is the mean outdoor temperature
However, some studies question the applicability of the adaptive model, particularly, in warm and
humid climates (Harimi, Ming, & Kumaresan, 2012). Two studies on thermal comfort in Nepal have
found that people feel comfortable at temperatures far below and above international comfort standards
(Rijal, Yoshida, & Umemiya, 2010). Comparing the optimum comfort temperature using equation (1)
and the actual comfort temperature found in the field, temperature differences between 0.2 and 9 K are

recorded depending on the region (Table 2). That means the adaptive thermal comfort model of
ASHRAE 55 might be not applicable to Nepal.
Table 2. Comparison of predicted comfort temperature and actual found in the field
Summer Winter
Location Altitude Tmean out Tc pred Tc field Tmean out Tc pred Tc field
Banke 150 m 31.4 27.5 30.0 15.2 22.5 16.2
Bhaktapur 1,350 m 22.2 24.7 25.6 10.6 21.1 15.2
Dhading 1,500 m 25.4 25.7 29.1 13.3 21.9 24.2
Kaski 1,700 m 18.8 23.6 23.4 8.9 20.6 18.0
Solukhumbu 2,600 m 13.1 21.9 21.1 4.0 19.0 13.4
Mustang 3,705 m n.s. n.s. n.s. 6.0 19.7 10.7
Tmean out Mean outdoor temperature (Rijal et al., 2010)
Tc pred Predited comfort indoor temperature (de Dear & Brager, 2002)
Tc field Comfort temperature according to field study (Rijal et al., 2010)
Updating his original research work, Givoni proposed an extended comfort zone for hot developing
countries that considers the acclimatization resulting from living in naturally ventilated buildings
(Givoni, 1992). It defines temperatures between 18°C and 29°C and humidity levels from 4g/kg up to
17g/kg as comfortable. Givoni's extended comfort zones is used in this study because it is evaluated the
most appropriate approach for the Nepalese context. Givoni did not define zones for passive design
strategies in his updated chart for hot developing countries. Therefore, this study uses the boundaries
defined by Gonzalez et al (1986) for warm and humid climates in developing countries. The upper limit
for ventilation is set to absolute humidity of 20.5 g/kg. The ventilation zone was extended to 100% of
relative humidity taking reference to several studies conducted in hot and humid climates that found out
that local people can cope with higher humidity by increasing ventilation (Gonzalez et al., 1986; Shastry,
Mani, & Tenorio, 2012). Solar passive heating zone is defined between 10.5°C and 20.0°C (outside
comfort zone). Mechanical heating is needed up to a temperature of 10.5°C. The upper boundary for
evaporative cooling is set at the wet bulb temperature line of 24°C. Humidification is needed below wet
bulb temperature of 10.6°C.
Nepal’s climatic diversity is mainly caused by the high variation in altitude. Therefore, elevation
was chosen as the main criteria for developing bioclimatic zones. Meteorological data (temperature,
precipitation) from 26 weather stations were collected either directly from Department of Hydrology and
Meteorology or derived from United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) climate
database (FAO, 2014). The station data was used to generate a typical meteorological year (TMY) for
each location using the recognized software tool METEONORM (Meteotest, 2014). The TMY was then
analysed using the bioclimatic approach.
RESULTS
The plotting of the climate data of 26 locations on the psychrometric chart shows clearly that Nepal
has a composite climate that is strongly influenced by the monsoon. Composite means there is no
dominating climate for six following months. Instead there are four different seasons that are leading to
different design strategies: 1. Winter season (December to February); 2. Pre-Monsoon (March to May);
3. Monsoon or summer season (June to September); 4. Post-monsoon (October to November).
The analysis of the bioclimatic chart of 26 locations led to four different bioclimatic zones
(Figure 1): 1.Warm Temperate (below 500 m); 2. Temperate (500-1500 m); 3. Cool temperate (1501-
2500 m); 4. Cold (above 2500 m). Table 4 gives an overview about the climatic conditions in each zone.
The climate and design strategies for each zone are discussed in the following.
In the warm temperate climate daily temperature rises in pre-monsoon and monsoon season well
above the comfort zone reaching up to 35°C. While relative humidity is below 60 % in the pre-monsoon,
it increases up to 90 % in monsoon season. The winter month are warm with average temperatures above
10°C. Figure 2 shows that the main design strategies for warm temperate climate zone is natural

ventilation in summer and passive solar heating in winter. For the pre-monsoon time thermal mass is
recommendable.
Table 4. Characteristics of different bioclimatic zones of Nepal

Warm Cool
Bioclimatic zones Temperate Cold
temperate Temperate
Summer temperature
Mean maximum 29 – 35°C 25–35°C 22 – 26°C 16 – 22°C
Mean minimum 22 – 26°C 18–25°C 14 – 18°C 7 – 12°C
Winter temperature
Mean maximum 21 – 26°C 17 – 25°C 11 – 20°C below 10°C
Mean minimum 9 – 15°C 5 – 10°C -2 – 5°C below -2°C
Relative Humidity 25 – 90% 20 – 90% 30 – 90% 10 – 90%
Figure 1 Bioclimatic zoning for Nepal
Figure 2 Bioclimatic chart for warm temperate (left) and temperate climate zone (right)
In the temperate climate zone average summer temperatures are more moderate, hardly exceeding
the comfort zone. During pre-monsoon mean temperatures and humidity is very much comfortable.
However, in some places day temperature can rise up to 35°C. In the monsoon season relative humidity
might increase above 80% in few locations. In winter temperatures fall below the lower comfort limit;

night temperature can drop down to 5°C. However, day temperature might fall within the comfort zone
around 20°C. The most important design strategy for the temperate climate zone is passive solar heating
combined with thermal mass (Figure 2). This strategy can balance the high temperature swing during the
colder months of the year. Few mechanical heating might be necessary in winter. During monsoon
season ventilation is required. Thermal mass can bring relieve and absorb excessive heat in pre-monsoon
season.
Figure 3 Bio-climatic chart for cool temperate climate zone
In the cool temperate climate day temperature in pre-monsoon and monsoon season are within the
comfort zone. During monsoon time temperatures are between 15-20°C and relative humidity rarely
rises above 80%. In winter average temperatures are clearly below comfort. Night temperatures can
down up to the freezing point. Passive solar heating is the most essential strategy used all over the year
(Figure 3). In summer thermal mass that store solar heat gain during the day might compensate night
temperatures that are often below the lower comfort limit. In winter solar heat gains might contribute to
reduce the heating demand by mechanical means. However, mechanical heating is necessary from
October to March.
Figure 4 Bio-climatic chart for cold climate zone
In the cold climate temperature hardly reach the comfort zone (Figure 4). During summer, day time
temperature rarely rises above 18°C. During winter average temperature are around the freezing point. In
the cold climate of Nepal passive solar heating is the only design strategy that can be applied. It will
reduce the heating demand during the summer month. However, mechanical heating is required all over
the year.
DISCUSSION
The bioclimatic chart for the warm temperate climate indicates passive solar heating as main

climate-responsive design strategy in winter. By capturing the solar radiation during the day and storing
the heat in the thermal mass of the building, lower night temperature can be compensated. By this way
mechanical heating is not required. Thermal mass is also desirable during the pre-monsoon for cooling
purpose. In contrast the warm and humid summer claims for light building materials like applied in the
traditional architecture of the region. The solution to this conflicting design strategies might be the
application of high thermal mass in the interior of the building, e.g. for interior walls, floors and ceilings.
A suitable construction technique for the exterior walls could be the reverse brick veneer wall. High
thermal mass of the northern outside wall without solar exposure is also possible. In any case shading of
the openings and the construction elements of high thermal mass has to be provided in summer to avoid
overheating. Furthermore, building design should enhance air movements within the building through
cross or stack ventilation.
The temperate climate zone is the most comfortable bioclimatic zone of Nepal. Passive solar
heating combined with the minimisation of air filtration and good insulation of the building envelope can
fulfil most of the heating demand in winter. High thermal building mass is desirable for passive heating
as well as passive cooling due to the high daily temperature swing. Enhancing natural air movement
through cross or stack ventilation is required during the warm and humid monsoon season.
In cool temperate climate of Nepal passive solar heating strategies is required all over the year.
Building layout should be compact and of high thermal mass. Optimising the design for passive solar
heating can reduce the amount of mechanical heating. High solar radiation available in winter can also
be used for active solar heating by using solar thermal collectors of solar air heating.
The only bioclimatic design strategy in cold climate of Nepal is passive solar heating. However,
active heating is needed all over the year. Compact building layout, reduction of air infiltration and good
insulation of roof, walls and windows are the imperative to protect from the cold in this harsh mountain
climate. The application of active solar heating to support a conventional heating system is
recommended.
CONCLUSION
This study developed the first bioclimatic zoning for Nepal. The main passive solar design
strategies for the four different bioclimatic zones were identified using the bioclimatic chart. This new
climate classification can help planners and architects to make general decisions at early design stage to
develop more climate-responsive and energy-efficient buildings. Furthermore, it might be useful for the
development of appropriate building energy regulations.
However, the qualitative approach of the bioclimatic chart has its limitations due to the fact that it
only considers two climate factors: temperature and humidity. The micro-climatic conditions can vary
and a detailed analysis of the site might be necessary to come up with site-specific solutions.
Due to the fact that the climate in Nepal is of composite character design strategies might
conflicting each other. Therefore, further research is needed to quantify the effectiveness of the passive
design strategies in each climate zones.
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Appendix C
Publication III

S. Bodach, W. Lang, and T. Auer. “Design guidelines for energy-efficient hotels in Nepal”.
In: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment (2016)
Contribution:
My contribution to this simulation study included concept development, acquisition of data,
several field visits and data analysis. The concept design was supported by the co-authors.
The modelling and simulation was conducted by me in close consultation with the co-authors.
The validation of the simulation results was mainly done by the co-authors. The article was
drafted by me and critically revised by the co-authors.
111
International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment (2016) xxx, xxx–xxx
H O S T E D BY
Gulf Organisation for Research and Development
International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment

ScienceDirect
www.sciencedirect.com
Original Article/Research
Design guidelines for energy-efficient hotels in Nepal

Susanne Bodach a,⇑, Werner Lang a, Thomas Auer b
a
Institute of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstraße 21, 80333 Munich, Germany
b
Chair of Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstraße 21, 80333 Munich, Germany
Received 29 March 2016; accepted 29 May 2016
Abstract
It is predicted that the major increase in energy consumption and, thus, carbon emissions, will happen in the developing world. How-
ever, in most developing countries the knowledge about energy efficiency, particularly in the building sector, is quite low. Strategies devel-
oped for industrialised countries might not be suitable or must be adapted for the very different context of developing countries. This
research aims to find energy-efficient and cost-effective building design options for the case of Nepal. Energy-efficient building design
is a non-trivial issue involving a number of interdependent design criteria. Particularly, in composite climates, passive design strategies
might conflict each other leading to an inefficient building design. This paper explores the energy conservation potential in hotel design
for all bioclimatic zones of Nepal using building energy simulation with parametric analysis. Based on extensive field studies, reference
models for typical hotel buildings ranging from small-scale resort hotels to large-scale multi-storey hotels were developed. These refer-
ence designs were optimised by varying design parameters such as window-to-wall ratio, glazing material, shading devices, glazing type
and insulation levels. During the design optimisation, energy demand as well as cost effectiveness were evaluated. Finally, recommenda-
tions for energy-efficient and cost-effective hotel design solutions were suggested. In addition, the bioclimatic zoning for Nepal was
consolidated leading to five elevation-based zones that can be used to introduce building energy regulations in the future.
Ó 2016 The Gulf Organisation for Research and Development. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: Energy efficiency; Hotel buildings; Passive design; Building energy simulation; Parametric study
1. Introduction 1.5 billion US-Dollars1 to Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product

(GDP) which corresponds to 8.2 percent of total GDP.
The hospitality industry is one of the most important sec- Moreover, the sector is estimated to grow by 5 percent every
tors for economic development in Nepal because of tourism. year in the next decade (WTTC, 2014). The hotel and restau-
The number of tourists has almost grown by 400 percent in rant business experienced an annual growth rate of over 6
the last decade reaching over 800,000 visitors in 2012 (GoN, percent per year from 2009 to 2013 (CBS, 2013). The grow-
2014). In 2013, the travel and tourism industry contributed ing numbers of tourists and the boom in the tourism sector
have led to more hotels being built by investors.
⇑ Corresponding author. Many newly constructed hotel buildings are equipped
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Bodach), w.lang@ with modern HVAC systems that provide comfortable
tum.de (W. Lang), [email protected] (T. Auer).
Peer review under responsibility of The Gulf Organisation for Research
1
and Development. 1 US-Dollar = 100 Nepalese Rupees.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsbe.2016.05.008
2212-6090/Ó 2016 The Gulf Organisation for Research and Development. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
Please cite this article in press as: Bodach, S. et al. Design guidelines for energy-efficient hotels in Nepal. International Journal of Sustainable Built
Environment (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsbe.2016.05.008
2 S. Bodach et al. / International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
lodging for their guests. Therefore, the energy consumption 2. Methodology

in the sector has increased considerably. Due to an increas-
ing gap between electricity demand and supply, Nepal is 2.1. Research framework
experiencing a power crisis of unprecedented severity for
more than seven years (WECS, 2010). Scheduled power The overall research framework of this study is illus-
outages of up to 10 h a day in dry season have forced trated in Fig. 1. The main method used is dynamic building
many hotels to instal huge and expensive diesel energy simulation which is a common approach to explore
generator backup systems to ensure the operation of the energy performance of design alternatives and estimate
air-conditioning equipment. the energy saving potentials of passive design strategies and
New hotel designs often do not consider climate- energy-efficient building technologies (Stevanović, 2013).
responsive design strategies or apply any energy efficiency Based on an extensive field research, typical building
technologies. There are a number of reasons for that. typologies for hotel design were developed and different
Firstly, the government has not placed any energy conser- construction materials were assigned. In order to come
vation regulations. Secondly, architects, engineers and con- up with recommendations for passive design on one side
tractors are not familiar with the application of insulation and for insulation levels on the other side, two sets of sim-
materials for walls, roofs and flooring. Hotel investors are ulation runs were necessary; 1. Passive design optimisation
also not aware about potential energy and cost savings that run and 2. Thermal insulation optimisation. A secondary
can result from having a hotel with energy-efficient design input for determining insulation levels was a literature
or increased insulation. Finally, energy-efficient building review on international and regional standards and build-
technology like thermal insulation or double glazing ing codes. All used methods are described in more detail
windows are new and expensive leading to high initial in the following section.
investment cost. Business developers do not have the
know-how to estimate energy cost savings in monetary
2.2. Climate data
terms which is necessary to justify increased investment
cost.
Hourly climate data are one of the most important
Another challenge for energy-efficient building design in
inputs for building energy simulation. In order to cover
Nepal is the diversity of climatic conditions which is the
the whole climatic diversity of the country, two locations
result of a geography ranging from an elevation of 60
in each bioclimatic zone were selected for the simulation
metres to the highest mountain of the world at 8848 m.
(see Table 2 and Fig. 2). The selection was done consider-
Nepal can be divided into four bioclimatic zones
ing the relevance of the location for tourism activities as
(Bodach, 2014): 1. Warm temperate, 2. Temperate, 3. Cool
this research is focused on hotel buildings. For each of
temperate and 4. Cold climate (see Table 1). The climate in
these eight locations, monthly weather data of at least 20
most regions is of composite character with a wide daily
years were collected from Department of Meteorology
temperature swing. This means that passive design strate-
and Hydrology of Nepal (DHMN, 2012) and used to gen-
gies, which are effective in reducing heating, might increase
erate the typical meteorological year with the software tool
cooling demand. The only way to evaluate the effectiveness
METEONORM (Meteotest, 2014).
of different design strategies is the use of simulation-based
design optimisation.
This study is the first comprehensive research that 2.3. Building typologies
assesses design strategies for energy-efficient hotel
buildings in Nepal using building energy simulation. The Vernacular Nepalese architecture used building design
overall objective is to develop design recommendations and construction technologies that were very well adapted
for hotels in Nepal focusing on passive design and to the local climate (Bodach et al., 2014). In the warm tem-
envelope optimisation to reduce energy consumption for perate region, for example, light materials like wattle and
heating and cooling. Thereby, this study covers all climates daub were applied as walling and thatch was applied as
of Nepal and considers different typical construction roofing material. In contrast, in the hilly region with a
technologies. more temperate climate, walls were built with higher mass
like burned bricks or locally available stone masonry and
roofing was made out of brick tiles or slates. In the cold
Table 1 and harsh mountains, houses had a compact layout using
Climate conditions in bioclimatic zones of Nepal (Bodach, 2014). very thick stone walls to decrease the heat loss of the
Bioclimatic Temperature Temperature Relative building.
zone in Summer in Winter Humidity Some of those traditional elements can be still found in
Warm temperate 22–35 °C 9–26 °C 25–90% modern hotel architecture. For example, in the warm tem-
Temperate 18–35 °C 5–25 °C 20–90% perate climate one of the cottage type hotels, which were
Cool Temperate 14–26 °C 2–20 °C 30–90% visited during the field research, was built in lightweight
Cold 7–22 °C 10– 2 °C 10–90%
construction as timber frame with thatch roofing. Thatch
S. Bodach et al. / International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment xxx (2016) xxx–xxx 3
Fig. 1. Methodology of the research.
Table 2 environment for local people, they might not fulfil increas-
Locations for simulation. ing thermal comfort requirements for modern building use.
Bioclimatic zone Location Elevation HDD18a CDD18b The findings of Rijal et al. (2010) show that local people in
Warm temperate Biratnagar 72 m 68 2418 Nepal are satisfied with indoor temperatures that are out of
Rampur 256 m 210 2081 the average range of international comfort standards
Temperate Pokhara 827 m 289 1391 (Bodach et al., 2014). However, hotel buildings which
Kathmandu 1337 m 632 930
Cool temperate Dhulikhel 1552 m 932 491
mostly serve international tourists have to comply with
Dhunche 1982 m 1147 218 higher comfort standards that can only be reached using
Cold Thakmarpha 2566 m 2456 20 for example modern insulation materials as well as active
Namche 2254 m 5013 0 heating and cooling technology.
a
Heating degree days at 18 °C according to EUROSTAT-method Although Nepal’s building stock is still very traditional,
(EEA, 2015). new construction materials are emerging in the market
b
Cooling degree days at 18.3 °C (65 °F) according to ASHRAE-method because they allow faster construction and lead to a better
(ASHRAE, 2009).
finishing. Reinforced concrete frame construction is the
dominant structural system for hotels in urban centres as
roofing was also found in few hotels in the temperate cli- it is seen as the most earthquake safe building technique
mate zone. and also promoted by the national building code. Domi-
Although traditional building techniques are very well nating walling material is the full brick which is produced
adapted to the climate and provide a comfortable indoor in the country using a very old inefficient kiln technology
Fig. 2. Bioclimatic zoning map of Nepal with selected locations for energy simulation.
that is also a major contributor to air pollution. A substi- multistorey single-banked typology assumes the linear
tute for walling is the concrete hollow block (CHB) which arrangement of guest rooms at one side of an elongated
is also manufactured locally and has less embodied energy. corridor, while the double-banked typology has guest
Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) sheets are often used for rooms at both sides. The courtyard type has a square lay-
pitched roofs combined with tile or thatch roofing. out with an interior open courtyard whereas in the atrium
Another new material for lightweight construction is fibre typology the courtyard is covered by a roof.
cement board which is mostly imported from India or Tables 3 and 4 list the construction materials and insu-
Thailand. Windows have commonly single glazing. Win- lation levels that were considered for the optimisation.
dow frames were still made of timber in the last decade. The thermal transmittance of all considered opaque envel-
Due to wood scarcity and the rise in prices, wood is now ope components are shown in Table 5. Based on market
replaced by aluminium and PVC framing. research, six different window types, which are available
According to the findings of the field research, seven in Nepal, were selected for this study (see Table 6).
building typologies for hotels were developed and assigned In order to explore the influence of thermal mass, typical
to the relevant climate zone (Fig. 3). Single cottage, double construction practices of high, medium and low thermal
cottage and bungalow are small-scale typologies for resort mass were taken into account. The fact that walls of brick
hotels. They have one, two and four guest rooms, respec- or concrete hollow blocks are still not common in moun-
tively. The bungalow typology has a similar layout like tainous regions because of high transportation cost, led
the double cottage but is a small two-storey building. The to the conclusion that only stone and lightweight materials
were studied in the cold climate. The optimisation of pas-
sive design parameters considers only three uninsulated
base cases of low, medium, and high thermal to keep the
number of total solutions at a reasonable size and reduce
simulation time.
2.4. Optimisation runs
The most energy-efficient design has to consider multiple

and competing design strategies to reduce the energy
demand for heating and cooling (Stevanović, 2013). Many
studies use parametric analysis to find the most energy-
efficient design alternatives (Capeluto, 2003; Hachem
Fig. 3. Building typologies and locations for simulation runs. et al., 2011; Depecker et al., 2001; Albatici and Passerini,
Table 3
Construction materials considered for optimisation.
Wall Roof Floor
Low mass Fibre cement board CGIa Fibre cement board
Medium mass Concrete hollow block Thatch on CGIa Screed on brick solids
High mass Full brick, Stoneb Tile on CGIa, RCCc slab Screed on brick solids
a
Corrugated galvanised iron.
b
Only for cold climate.
c
Reinforced concrete.
Table 4
Thermal insulation levels considered for optimisation.
Thickness and material of insulation layer
Wall Roof Floor
Reference case 0 uninsulated 0a uninsulated 0 uninsulated
Insulation level 1 0a 50 mm GWc/100 mm thatchd 25 mm XPSe
Insulation level 2 50 mm EPSb 100 mm GWc/150 mm thatchd 50 mm XPSe
Insulation level 3 100 mm EPSb 150 mm GWc/200 mm thatchd 75 mm XPSe
Insulation level 4 150 mm EPSb 200 mm GWc/200 mm thatch+50 mm GWd –
a
50 mm air gap.
b
Expanded polystyrene (EPS).
c
Glass wool (GW) for tile and metal roof.
d
For thatch roof.
e
Extruded polystyrene foam (XPS).
Table 5
U-Values of building envelope components considered for optimisation.
Base Insulation Insulation Insulation Insulation
case level 1 level 2 level 3 level 4
²
(W/mK) (W/mK)² (W/mK)² (W/mK)² (W/mK)²
Exterior wall
Full brick 2.188 1.600 0.590 0.340 0.238
Concrete hollow block 1.988 1.264 0.537 0.321 0.229
Fibre cement board 1.677 0.819 0.600 0.343 0.240
Stonea 1.402 1.385 0.558 0.329 0.233
Roof
Clay tile 2.775 0.689 0.370 0.253 0.192
Thatch 2.775 0.564 0.402 0.321 0.233
CGIb 2.780 0.487 0.256 0.174 0.131
RCCc Slab 2.798 0.610 0.346 0.242 0.186
Ground floor
Screed on brick solids 4.166 0.858 0.478 0.254 –
Fibre cement board 6.115 0.918 0.496 0.259 –
Timbera 2.115 0.911 0.580 0.336 –
a
Only for cold climate.
b
c
Reinforced concrete.
Table 6 C and outdoor temperature is 2 °C below indoor tempera-

Properties of considered window types. ture. When windows are closed, the HVAC is activated the
²
U-Value (W/mK) SHGCa VTb moment the indoor temperature goes above 26 °C.
For all models an air infiltration rate of 1 h 1 was con-
single-clear 5.38 0.68 0.70
single-tinted 5.38 0.50 0.59 sidered; representing the unintended flow of air which is
single-tinted-low-e 5.40 0.33 0.22 caused by the opening and closing of exterior doors and
double 3.15 0.62 0.63 cracks around windows. The natural ventilation flow is
double-low-e 3.14 0.23 0.12 modelled using the ZoneVentilation:DesignFlowRate
double best 2.44 0.64 0.65
object of Energyplus (DOE, 2015a). A design flow rate of
a
b
Solar heat gain coefficient. 10 h 1 was assumed which was then modified by the tem-
Visible transmittance.
perature difference between the inside and outside environ-
ment and the wind speed. The ground coupled heat
Aug 2011). However, a high number of design parameters transfer, which is critical in simulating small-scale build-
might lead to a huge number of simulation runs to be con- ings, is represented by the ground domain model (Ground-
ducted and, thus, a long simulation time. Therefore, the Domain:Slab). This model uses an implicit finite difference
coupling of the simulation engine with an optimisation formulation to calculate the ground temperatures at each
method is necessary to find quickly all design alternatives simulation time step based (DOE, 2015a).
with a high energy performance level (Stevanović, 2013). During the first set of runs passive design parameters
This research used the open source software tool jEPlus like orientation, thermal mass, window-to-wall-ratio, over-
+EA for optimisation (Zhang, 2012). The software sets hang and fins were considered. Table 7 shows the parame-
up optimisations that have complex parametric runs with ters and values for one building typology. The optimisation
the EnergyPlus simulation engine (DOE, 2015a). The runs objective of the passive design runs was set to reduce heat-
are coupled with an optimisation system that is based on ing as well as cooling demands.
the evolutionary algorithm NSGA-II. The software starts
with a random set (population) of solutions, and then
repeatedly evaluates the solutions and selects better ones
Table 7
for creating new variants. Design parameters for passive design optimisation of double-banked
The energy model was set up with a standard air-to-air typology.
heat pump as individual HVAC system for every guest Parameter Values
room using thermostat set points of 20 °C for heating
Orientation 90°, 60°, 30°, 0°, 30°, 60°, 90°
and 26 °C for cooling. As most hotel buildings in Nepal WWR South 20%, 40%, 60%
are operated in mixed-mode, natural ventilation for cool- WWR North 20%, 40%, 60%
ing was considered for indoor temperature between 22 °C Overhang South PFa 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6
and 26 °C. That means it is assumed that windows are Thermal mass low, medium, high
opened when the indoor temperature increases above 22° a
Projection factor.
Table 8
Design parameters for insulation level optimisation of single-banked typology.
Parameter Values
Wall material Full brick CHBa FCBb Stone
Roof material CGIc Thatch Concrete
Floor material Concrete FCBb Timber
Wall insulation none 50 mm air cavity 50 mm EPSd 100 mm EPS 150 mm EPS
Roof insulation none 50 mm GWe 100 mm GW 150 mm GW 200 mm GW
Floor insulation none 25 mm XPSf 50 mm XPS 100 mm XPS
a
Concrete hollow block.
b
Fibre cement board.
c
d
Expanded polystyrene (EPS).
e
Glass wool (GW).
f
Extruded polystyrene foam (XPS).
For the second set of runs the double-banked building Table 9

typology was selected. The building design was kept the Parameters for life-cycle cost analysis.
same while varying envelope materials and insulation levels Description Method or value
(Table 8). However, for the passive design runs, only the Inflation approach ConstantDollar
reduction of heating and cooling demand was taken into Real discount rate 10%
account, the economic dimension was included at this time Length of study period 20 years
by adding the minimisation of life cycle cost (LCC) present Electricity tariff Commercial TODa
value to the optimisation objective. Electricity price 0.925/0.105/0.055/0.35 USDb
Electricity price escalation 4% per yearc
The LCC analysis considers investment and mainte- Daily power outage 2.5 h in winter, 1h in summerd
nance cost for the exterior building envelope as well as Room occupancy rate 57%e / 70%f / 80%g
energy costs during the operation of the building.2 Con- a
Time of the day NEA (2014).
struction costs of partition walls, intermediate floors and b
Normal/peak/off-peak/power outage.
c
ceilings were not included because they are not insulated Forecaset based on 15 years historical price data.
d
in any case and, thus, do not result into higher investment Own estimation based on interview (Dr. Shree Raj Shakya, Assistant
cost. During the time of power outages an increased unit Professor at Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, April 20, 2015).
e
Off season (Dec–Feb and Jun–Sep).
price of 0.35 USD (for the first year) was assumed repre- f
Mid season (Mar–Apr).
senting the cost of the diesel generator operation. Table 9 g
High season (Oct–Nov).
illustrates the economic parameters of the LCC analysis
(LCCA).
value of 0.5 in the cooling season and 1.0 in the heating sea-
2.5. Thermal comfort son, the more recent dynamic predictive clothing insulation
model developed by Schiavon and Lee (2013) was incorpo-
While using the building energy model with thermostat rated into the model.
set points between 20 °C and 26 °C, it was noticed that
the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) for thermal comfort did 2.6. Model validation
not stay within the range (±0.5) as recommended by
Fanger (1970) and ASHRAE (2010). That means this The quality of the simulation results is strongly depen-
model only fulfils minimum comfort requirements that dent on the software and the user. EnergyPlus is a recog-
were considered to be sufficient for small-scale hotels which nised building energy simulation programme developed
serve national and regional tourists. by US Department of Energy (DOE). The programme
However, for large-scale hotels in Nepal that have inter- has been validated by ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140–
national clients with maximum comfort requirements, the 2011 and has successfully completed several analytical
Fanger Comfort should be reached. Therefore, another and comparative tests (DOE, 2015b). Therefore, it can be
set of runs was conducted with a modified Energyplus expected that the results are valid and representative for
model that integrates a dynamic model for thermostat set real buildings. However, insufficient or wrong data input
points. That means the HVAC thermostat is automatically might lead to inaccurate results.
adjusted at every time step to meet the Fanger comfort. The most detailed approach to validate a simulation
Additionally, instead of using the static clothing insulation model is to compare its performance with measured data
which was out of the scope of this study. This research
2
Cost data were collected from several building contractors in Kath- has developed several reference models to represent all dif-
mandu in the beginning of 2015. ferent typologies which do not completely match with
existing buildings. In order to validate the plausibility of In this research multivariate, regression analysis was
the results a comparison with existing data was conducted. used to analyse the influence of design parameters for
However, there is lack of measured data from Nepal. As a energy performance. The linear regression coefficient was
result, energy consumption surveys from other countries normalised into the standardised regression coefficient
were used. (SRC) to make comparison possible. The standardised
Energy consumption in hotel buildings might vary con- regression coefficient (SRC) is a tool to quantify the sensi-
siderably depending on the location, climate, hotel stan- tivity of heating and cooling loads as well as the total
dard (number of stars), facility size and additional energy demand with regard to the different design parame-
services provided (swimming pool, restaurants, laundry, ters (Hopfe, 2007). The ranking of the SRC shows the
etc.) as well as the occupancy rate and the efficiency of importance of each design parameter for heating, cooling
the equipment (Bohdanowicz and Martinac, 2007). A and total energy demand.
review of several surveys conducted all around the world For instance, the regression analysis for cooling electric-
concluded that the average energy use intensity of hotels ity (dependent variable) leads to a positive SRC for WWR
is between 69 and 689 kWh/m2 per year (Wang, 2012). South. That means, the higher the window area on the
The share of energy used for space conditioning ranges southern facade the higher the cooling electricity. It indi-
between 32% and 57% of total energy consumption cates that reducing the window-to-wall ratio (WWR) South
(Deng and Burnett, 2000; Shiming and Burnett, 2002; will reduce the need for active cooling.
Trung and Kumar, 2005; Chedwal et al., 2015). In order to include thermal mass and orientation into
The simulation results of this study show similar varia- the regression analysis, dummy variables had to be intro-
tion because of the climatic diversity of the country. duced into the model. The dummy variable for orientation
Assuming a share in energy demand for room conditioning has the lowest value of 0.1 for all design alternatives where
of 40%, the uninsulated reference hotel design would have the long building facades were facing exactly north- and
an energy intensity between 93 and 708 kWh/m2 per year southwards (north axis is 0°). The dummy variable was
depending on the location (Fig. 4). Therefore, the highest increased by 0.1 for every 30° that the model differs from
energy intensity is reached in the cold climate at 3354 m the optimum orientation. The dummy variable for thermal
elevation and the lowest in the temperate climate. Consid- mass had the value of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 for low, medium and
ering the geographical distribution of hotels (Central high thermal mass buildings, respectively.
Bureau of Statistics(CBS), 2004), an average energy use
intensity of 197 kWh/m2 per year was estimated. This value 3. Passive design optimisation
is comparable with the Indian benchmark of 260 kWh/m2
per year considering that the share of luxury hotels in India The following section investigates the importance of
is much higher than in Nepal (BEE, 2011). design parameters for reducing heating and cooling energy
demands in each bioclimatic zone. Building design param-
2.7. Regression analysis eters like window-to-wall-ratio (WWR), thermal mass, ori-
entation and shading (fins and overhang) were considered.
Regression analysis is widely used by building energy The impact of thermal insulation of roof, exterior walls and
simulators either to predict energy performance of build- ground floor is investigated in a separate section due to its
ings or to assess the influence of design parameters (Lam high relevance to achieve low-energy designs (see section
and Hui, 1996; Hopfe, 2007; Hygh et al., 2012; Daly ‘‘Thermal insulation optimisations” below).
et al., 2014). Regression analysis is a statistical method to
estimate relationships among different variables. Hygh 3.1. Warm temperate climate
et al. (2012) suggest that a linear regression model can help
to make early design decisions to reduce the energy For all locations below an elevation of 500 m (Biratna-
demand of buildings. gar and Rampur) the simulation results show that HVAC
energy consumption is dominated by cooling demand with
an average share between 80% and 95%.
Minimising solar gains is the most important passive
design strategy for all building typologies in this climate.
Therefore, the design parameters window-to-wall-ratio
(WWR), overhang and orientation have the highest abso-
lute Standardized Regression Coefficients (SRC). Fig. 5
illustrates the results of the regression analysis for the bun-
galow typology in Biratnagar. It shows on the top ranks:
WWR South (0.63), Overhang South ( 0.45), Orientation
(0.30), WWR East (0.24) and WWR West (0.23). All these
Fig. 4. Estimated energy use intensity for hotels in Nepal based on design parameters can reduce solar penetration of the
uninsulated reference model for different elevations. building.
Fig. 5. Standardised regression coefficient (SRC) of design parameters for bungalow typology.
The positive SRC for the WWR South means that the
higher the window area, the higher the total HVAC energy
demand. Being on the top rank shows that reducing the
WWR South has the highest impact on energy reduction.
Similarly, the SRC for WWR East and West is positive
demonstrating that windows in these direction should be
also small or even avoided. In contrast, the SRC for the
overhang projection factor (PF), is negative. This negative
relation means that the larger the overhang, the lower the
energy consumption.
Consequently, best performers in this climate have a
WWR South and North of 20% and an overhang with a
projection factor (PF) between 0.4 and 0.6. Furthermore, Fig. 6. Comparison of non-conditioned thermal performance in summer
they have small or no windows facing East and West and of bungalow typology for Biratnagar.
have an optimum orientation which means that the long
facades are facing north and south.
A less important passive design strategy for energy
reductions in this climate is the thermal mass effect. The
regression analysis shows that higher thermal mass has a
positive impact on reducing the heating demand (negative
SRC) while it tends to slightly increase cooling demand
(positive SRC) due to the effect of overheating. The ther-
mal mass effect can be illustrated by the thermal perfor-
mance of a non-conditioned building.
During a warm summer day, the indoor temperature in
the low mass design increases more than in the high mass
building (Fig. 6). However, during night time the low mass
building can cool down faster and at a lower level than the
high mass design which reduces the need for cooling. The
fact that the hotel room is occupied and air-conditioned
less hours during the day than during the night time results
in a slight performance advantage for low mass buildings in
the warm temperate climate.
From Fig. 7 it can be seen that low mass buildings per-
form better than high mass designs in summer but worse in
winter. The combined effect leads to annual energy savings,
depending on the location. For example, a low mass design
of the bungalow typology results in marginal annual energy
savings of 1 kWh/m2 in Biratnagar compared to the high
mass design. However, the same low mass design in Ram- Fig. 7. Monthly HVAC energy demand of low mass and high mass
pur consumes 6 kWh/m2 more electricity than a high mass bungalow typology in warm temperate climate.
design. This indicates that the combined effect results in a Table 11

marginal lower annual energy demand for low mass Cost saving potential for Double-banked typology in Biratnagar by
optimising the building orientation.
designs in Biratnagar but not in Rampur.
The simulation results indicate that the combined ther- Cost saving potential
mal mass effect (passive heating and passive cooling) is pos- Annual electricity costs Life cycle costs
itive in Biratnagar but negative in Rampur. While in Compared to USD/m2 USD/room USD/m2 USD/room
Biratnagar about one third of best performers are low mass 30° 1 18 5 160
solutions, in Rampur only 15% have low mass materials. 30° 1 19 6 170
This shows a slightly better performance for low mass 60° 1 43 13 383
buildings in Biratnagar compared to high mass solutions. 60° 2 44 13 397
90° 2 53 16 471
Consequently, low mass buildings are recommended for 90° 2 53 16 471
Biratnagar but not always for Rampur.
Another strategy for reducing energy consumption in
hot climates are shading devices like vertical fins for east Table 12
and west facing windows. For Nepal’s cooling dominated Cost saving potential for Double-banked typology in Biratnagar by
climate increasing the projection factor (PF) for the fins adding overhang with PF 0.6.
brings only little reduction. For all typologies in both loca- Cost saving potential
tions the SRC of fins had the lowest rank which means that Annual electricity costs Life cycle costs
fins have only marginal impact on energy reduction. How- Thermal mass USD/m2 USD/room USD/m2 USD/room
ever, if larger windows facing east or west are necessary,
High 0.30 8.79 3 79
fins with a projection faction between 0.4 and 0.6 should Medium 0.29 8.53 3 76
be foreseen to prevent overheating. Low 0.28 8.21 2 73
Similar to the impact on energy reduction, reducing the Average 0.29 8.51 3 76
WWR in this climate leads to considerable high energy cost
savings. Table 10 illustrates the cost saving potential when
the WWR South and North of the double-banked typology
is reduced from 60% to 20%. Annual electricity cost savings dow (Design 4). Correspondingly, life cycle cost savings
of up to 53 US Dollars (USD) per guest room can be amount to 1364 USD per guest room compared to the base
achieved. Furthermore, construction costs are reduced by case design (Fig. 8(b)).
330 USD per room in average due to the fact that opaque In conclusion, all passive design strategies that reduce
wall area is less expensive than window area. the solar penetration and, thus, the overheating of the hotel
Optimising the orientation of the design does also result building have priority in the warm temperate climate of
into cost savings although the reduction potential is not as Nepal. Designers should minimise the window area, avoid
high as in the case of WWR (see Table 11). Annual electric- openings in the east and west facade and provide shading
ity costs can be decreased by between 18 and 53 USD per devices like overhangs for south facing windows and fins
guest room depending on the base case orientation while for larger east and west facing openings. The layout of
life cycle cost (LCC) savings amount up to 471 USD. Sim- the hotel building should be elongated with the longer
ilar savings can be reached by adding an overhang with a facade facing south and north to reduce solar gains. Opti-
projection factor of 0.6 (see Table 12). mising passive design does also lead to substantial cost
Fig. 8 is an example of cost savings that can be achieved savings.
when the design is optimised step by step. Annual electric-
ity costs for air conditioning can be reduced to almost 50% 3.2. Temperate climate
from 253 USD to 133 USD per guest room by considering
all important passive design strategies starting from opti- In temperate climate of Nepal heating and cooling are
mal orientation (Design 1), reducing WWR (Design 2 required but in a moderate way. Simulation results show
and 3), and adding an overhang to the south oriented win- that hotel buildings in this climate have the lowest energy
Table 10
Cost saving potential for Double-banked typology in Biratnagar by reducing WWR from 60% to 20%.
Cost saving potential
Construction costs Annual electricity costs Life cycle costs
Thermal mass USD/m2 USD/room USD/m2 USD/room USD/m2 USD/room
High 11 313 2 49 25 727
Medium 13 380 2 51 27 799
Low 10 296 2 53 25 739
Average 11 330 2 51 26 755
Fig. 8. Cost analysis of optimised design for double-banked typology in Biratnagar.
demand for air conditioning compared to all other climate illustrates the small but still negative SRC ( 0.092) for
regions. Depending on the building typology heating Overhang South. Instead, the SRC for Overhang South
demand has a share of between 15% and 35% of total ( 0.057) in Kathmandu is so small that the majority of
HVAC energy demand in Pokhara (827 m). In Kathmandu best performers have no overhang. Optionally, an over-
(1337 m), the share of heating amounts to between 35% hang with a projection factor (PF) of 0.2 can be foreseen
and 70%. for the south facades with a WWR of 40% and larger.
The regression analysis indicates that thermal mass is Alternatively, a more flexible shading device like external
the most influential passive design factor in this climate. blinds or shutters can be used in Kathmandu whenever
In contrast to locations in warm temperate climate, the overheating occurs.
SRC for thermal mass is negative for both heating and The cost analysis shows that annual electricity costs for
cooling demands (Fig. 9). In other words, the higher the room conditioning in high and medium mass hotel designs
thermal mass of the building the lower the energy demand are almost half compared to the low mass design (Fig. 10).
for heating and cooling. For example in Kathmandu, the high mass design of
The second most important passive design factor for double-banked typology with WWR North and South of
Pokhara is minimising the WWR South while it is optimis- 40% has annual HVAC electricity costs of 42 USD per
ing the orientation for Kathmandu. Due to the higher guest room while the same design using low mass materials
share of cooling demand in Pokhara as compared to Kath- needs 81 USD per guest room (Fig. 10). LCC cost savings
mandu, window areas, particularly those facing south, of the same design amount to 248 USD per guest room.
should be kept as small as possible in order to avoid over- This indicates a clear cost advantage for high and medium
heating. In contrast, in Kathmandu moderate window mass designs in this climate.
areas between 20% and 60% can be used for passive solar Energy cost savings are also considerably high when
heating during the colder month and, thus, reduce, heating optimising the WWR according to passive design. Fig. 11
demand. The results of some typologies for Pokhara show (a) indicates the cost optimum for annual electricity costs
that a moderate WWR South (20–40%) with an overhang at a WWR of 40%. However, LCC present value is lowest
(PF 0.4) leads to the optimum combination of passive solar for designs with a WWR of 20% due to the fact that the
heating in winter and protection from overheating in share of investment for additional window area is higher
summer. than the annual energy cost savings (Fig. 11(b)).
In Pokhara best performing design alternatives have an Likewise in warm temperate climate, optimising the ori-
overhang with a projection factor of 0.2 or 0.4. Fig. 9(a) entation of the hotel building results also in considerable
Fig. 9. Standardised regression coefficient (SRC) of design parameters for double-banked typology.
Fig. 10. Cost analysis for double-banked typology in temperate climate by thermal mass.
Fig. 11. Cost analysis for double-banked typology with different WWRs in Pokhara.
Table 13 the same design amount to between 78 and 182 USD per
Cost saving potential for Double cottage typology in Pokhara by guest room. Although, building orientation might be influ-
optimising the building orientation. enced by other factors like site constraints or the panora-
Cost saving potential mic view, if possible, optimum orientation should be
Annual electricity costs Life cycle costs considered to prevent unnecessary high energy costs.
Compared to USD/m2 USD/room USD/m2 USD/room To illustrate the cost saving potentials of the most
important passive strategies, a step-by-step design optimi-
30° 0.40 10 3.57 89
30° 0.35 9 3.10 78 sation of the single-banked typology was conducted and
60° 0.81 20 7.28 182 the cost implication analysed (see Fig. 12). The base case
60° 0.79 20 7.08 177 is an inefficient design with large window areas of 60%
and the long building facade facing south-west (orientation
60°). The annual electricity cost for the base case design of
cost savings in Nepal’s temperate climate (Table 13). For 122 USD per guest room can be reduced to 58 USD per
instance, annual electricity costs for double cottage typol- guest room through optimal orientation (Design 1), reduc-
ogy with a WWR of 40% in Pokhara can be reduced ing the WWR North to 20% (Design 2) and WWR South
between 9 and 20 USD per guest room. LCC savings for to 40% (Design 3) and adding an overhang (Design 4).
Fig. 12. Cost analysis of optimised design for single-banked typology in Pokhara.
To summarise, passive design optimisation can lead to Illustrating opposed passive design strategies, the regres-
annual electricity cost savings of more than 50% and life sion analysis for east and west facing WWR results in a
cycle cost savings of about 30%. negative SRC for heating and positive SRC for cooling
Concluding, the results of the passive design optimisa- (e.g. Fig. 13(a)). Simply put, larger openings might
tion running for the temperate climate zone shows that dif- decrease the heating demand but at the same time increase
ferent recommendations are needed for the two locations. the need for cooling. The regression with the annual
Although higher thermal mass is a critical passive design HVAC energy demand as dependent variable shows no
strategy for Pokhara and Kathmandu, the WWR South significant relation (p-value is greater than 0.05). This indi-
should be minimised in Pokhara while in Kathmandu a cates that both effects cancel each other out. Looking at
moderate WWR South is favourable. Furthermore, in best performing design alternatives in Dhulikhel, openings
Pokhara an overhang for the south facing window is towards east, west and north should be kept as small as
required, while flexible shading devices are recommended possible (10–20%). In Dhunche, east and west facing
for Kathmandu. The cost analysis shows that passive WWR can amount up to 30% while north facing windows
design optimisation in temperate climate results in consid- should be as small as possible or avoided.
erable energy cost and life cycle cost savings. Orientation and shading have also less importance for
passive design in this climate. Actually, orientation is only
3.3. Cool temperate climate relevant for elongated layouts: long facades should be
oriented south-east, south or south-west wards. The major-
The simulation results indicate that hotel buildings ity of the best performing design alternatives in this climate
in Nepal’s cool temperate climate conditions require have neither overhang nor fins. Consequently, overhang
considerably more heating than cooling. For the analysed and other shading devices are not required.
typologies in Dhulikhel (1552 m) the share of HVAC Having the highest impact on energy demand reduction,
demand is between 60% and 85% of total HVAC energy high thermal mass does also reduce energy and life cycle
demand while in Dhunche (1982 m) it rises to 99%. costs (LCC). Annual HVAC energy costs for single-
Likewise in temperate climate, increasing thermal mass banked typology in Dhulikhel with low mass materials
has the highest impact on HVAC energy reduction. amount to 73 USD per guest room while medium and high
Fig. 13 shows the SRC for thermal mass on the first rank. mass solutions have energy costs of only 26 and 23 USD
Therefore, the application of building materials with high per guest room, respectively (Fig. 14(a)). While high mass
thermal mass should be prioritised. solutions have lowest annual electricity costs, medium mass
In contrast to all lower locations, the SRC for WWR design performs best in life cycle costs due to the fact that
South in regard to total HVAC energy demand is negative the construction costs for walls made of concrete hollow
(Fig. 13). This illustrates that a larger window area facing blocks (medium mass) are lower than for full brick walls
south results in more reduction of heating demand in (high mass).
winter than it increases cooling demand in summer. In The cost analysis for different WWRs shows that
interpreting these findings, it has to be considered that increasing window area facing south and decreasing
cooling demand in cool temperate climate is much lower WWR North result in marginal energy savings (Fig. 15).
that in warm temperate and temperate climate. For higher For instance for the double-banked typology in Dhulikhel,
locations like Dhunche, cooling might even not be annual electricity cost savings amount up to 4 USD per
required. According to the simulation results, best per- guest room when WWR South is maximised, and up to 2
formers have a south facing window area between 40% USD per guest room when WWR North is minimised
and 80% to maximise passive solar heating. (Fig. 15(a)). Life cycle costs decrease slightly when WWR
Fig. 13. Standardised regression coefficient (SRC) of design parameters for courtyard typology.
Fig. 14. Cost analysis for single-banked typology in cool temperate climate by thermal mass.
Fig. 15. Cost analysis for double-banked typology with different WWRs in Dhulikhel.
North is reduced but increases slightly when WWR South high thermal mass and large window areas facing south-
is increased (Fig. 15(b)). This means that in the long run wards. WWR North, East and West should be kept small.
reducing window area northwards leads to LCC net sav- Shading devices are not required. Envelope optimisation
ings due to reduced energy costs. The annual energy cost towards passive design results in moderate energy cost
savings due to passive solar heating cannot fully compen- savings in this climate.
sate the high investment costs for increased window area
facing South. 3.4. Cold climate
Passive design optimisation can lead to moderate energy
cost savings. Fig. 16 illustrates the annual HVAC energy HVAC energy demand of hotel buildings in locations
costs for the double-banked typology in Dhunche. It can above 2500 m are dominated by heating. Simulation results
be seen that passive design can lead to savings of up to for Thakmarpha (2566 m) indicate a share of heating
20 USD per guest room annually. Although total window between 98% and 100% of total HVAC energy demand.
area of the building has increased in the most energy- In Namche Bazar (3354 m) annual energy demand for
efficient design (Design 4), the life cycle costs have room conditioning is 100% based on heating.
decreased slightly. In other words, the energy cost savings Likewise in cool temperate climate, the regression anal-
pay back the initial investment for additional window area. ysis indicates that thermal mass has the highest impact on
To conclude, the most important design strategy for total HVAC energy demand (Fig. 17). On the one hand,
cool temperate climate is passive solar heating through due to elevation, temperatures are low in this climate. On
Fig. 16. Cost analysis of optimised designs for courtyard typology in Dhunche.
Fig. 17. Standardised regression coefficient (SRC) of design parameters for double-banked typology.
Fig. 18. Standardised regression coefficient (SRC) of design parameters for atrium typology.
the other hand, solar radiation is high and can be used for facade with the largest WWR of the atrium and courtyard
passive heating which requires a high building mass. typologies is south-facing.
According to the low SRC, window-to-wall ratio The cost analysis shows that in Nepal’s cold climate pas-
(WWR) plays a secondary role for passive design optimisa- sive design can only lead to marginal energy cost savings.
tion (Fig. 18). Depending on the orientation of the open- Fig. 19 compares the annual HVAC electricity costs of dif-
ings, higher window area might reduce (negative SRC) or ferent hotel building typology by thermal mass. Compared
increase (positive SRC) total HVAC consumption. A pos- to the cool temperate and temperate climate absolute cost
itive SRC means that the heat loss through the openings is savings through the application of high mass materials
higher than the solar gains. A negative SRC indicates that amount to between 11 and 17 USD per guest room for
passive heating through window in this direction is effec- Thakmarpha and between 11 and 28 USD per guest room
tive. For example, the results of the atrium typology indi- for Namche. Relative savings are marginal at a level of 2%
cate that larger windows facing South and East reduce to 9% of annual HVAC energy costs.
energy demand while North and West facing windows Similar to the thermal mass strategy, the optimisation of
increase energy demand (Fig. 18). Best performing designs window areas can lead to modest energy cost savings. For
in this climate have a WWR South and East between 20% example, increasing the window area facing South and East
and 40% and a WWR North and West between 10% and of the atrium typology from 10% to 40% results in annual
20%. electricity cost savings of 5 USD per guest rooms (Fig. 20
The SRC for orientation in cold climate has a very low (a)). Equally low are cost savings for optimised design in
rank which means orientation does not have a strong Namche (see Fig. 21(a)). Due to the higher additional
impact on energy consumption. For some typologies, there investment cost for the increased window area, life cycle
is no significant relationship between orientation and costs of the optimised designs are slightly higher than the
HVAC energy consumption (p-value > 0.05). Best per- inefficient design (Figs. 20(b) and 21(b)).
formers of elongated layouts have the facade with the lar- Combining all passive design strategies for the cold
gest window area facing south-east or north-east to climate, Fig. 22 indicates that absolute energy cost
increase solar gains of the low-standing morning sun. The savings are at a similar level as in cool temperate
Fig. 19. Annual electricity costs for different typologies by thermal mass in cold climate.
Fig. 20. Cost analysis for atrium typology with different WWRs in Thakmarpha.
Fig. 21. Cost analysis for atrium typology with different WWRs in Namche.
Fig. 22. Cost analysis of optimised designs for atrium typology in Thakmarpha.
Table 14
International and regional standards for envelope insulation IEA (2013), Dicke et al. (2003), ICC (2014), MoHURD (2015) and BEE (2006).
Region Climate Wall Roof Floor Windows
U-Value U-Value U-Value U-Value SHGC
[W/m2K] [W/m2K] [W/m2K] [W/m2K]
IEA Global Hot 0.35 0.35 – 1.8 0.05–0.5
Cold 0.15 0.15 – 1.8 0.05–0.6
Europe Moderate 0.4–0.65 0.45–0.9 0.4–0.65 2.5–3.25 –
Cold & Temperate 0.15–0.4 0.22–0.45 0.15–0.4 1.25–2.5 –
USA Very cold 0.40 0.16 0.31 0.37 0.45
Warm & mixed-humid 0.59–0.7 0.18–0.22 0.43 0.45–0.60 0.25–0.40
very hot & hot 0.86 0.22–0.27 0.61–1.83 0.65 0.25
China HSWW 0.8–1.5 0.5–0.8 1.5 2.0–5.2 0.18–0.52
Temperate 0.8–1.5 0.5–0.8 – 2.0–5.2 0.24–0.48
Cold 0.45–0.50 0.40–0.45 1.00 1.4–3.0 0.35–0.52
India Warm-humid 0.35 0.26 3.18 0.25
Composite 0.35 0.26 3.18 0.25
Cold 0.37 0.26 – 4.09 0.51
climate. For instance in Thakmarpha, energy cost sav- Table 14 shows a summary of international and regional
ings for atrium typology amounts to up 24 USD per standards that are relevant for the climatic context of
guest room when all passive design strategies are consid- Nepal. It can be seen that standards are more stringent in
ered. However, the relative saving potential amounts to colder climates than in warmer climates. For instance, in
only 12% due to the fact that total energy costs are twice Sweden (Stockholm), cost-effective wall, roof and floor
as high in cold climate compared to cool temperate cli- insulation reaches U-Values of 0.20, 0.17 and 0.25 W/
mate. The most energy-efficient design (Design 4) has m2K, respectively (Boermans and Petersdorff, 2007). In
marginal higher life cycle costs like the base case design comparison, in southern Italy (Palermo), U-Values of
(Fig. 21(b)). 0.48 W/m2K for walls, 0.34 W/m2K for roofs and
To summarise, high thermal mass is very important for 1.44 W/m2K for floors are cost-efficient. Furthermore,
passive design optimisation in Nepal’s cold climate region. developed countries have higher thermal insulation stan-
North and west facing windows should be kept small while dards as compared to developing countries, probably
south and east facing windows can be moderate for opti- because they have a longer tradition of using thermal insu-
mising passive solar heating. Marginal energy cost savings lation. Developed countries also have higher requirements
can be achieved through passive design. for thermal comfort.
Without considering insulation measures, passive design Depending on the construction practices, countries dif-
strategies have the potential to reduce HVAC energy ferentiate their thermal performance standards according
demand between 9% and 23% in this climate. Compared to the thermal mass of the building. Therefore, lightweight
to all other climate zone the reduction potentials are construction has to comply much stricter requirements
moderate. Therefore, the next section analyses in detail than buildings with high thermal mass. This has to do with
the energy savings that can be achieved by insulating the the fact that buildings with high mass can benefit more
hotel buildings. from passive solar heating and cooling effects. For exam-
ple, in China, buildings with low thermal mass have to fulfil
4. Thermal insulation optimisation much lower requirement with regard to the U-Value than
high mass buildings (Shui et al., 2009). It is also common
4.1. International standards to set up thermal resistance of windows depending on the
window-to-wall-ratio following the principle - the higher
In order to keep the indoor environment comfortable, the window areas, the lower the U-Value. Some countries
envelope insulation is necessary to reduce heat loss during also allow trade-offs for low solar heat gain coefficient of
cold weather and keep out excess heat during hot weather. window system if shading devices are provided (BEE,
Finding the optimal insulation level for the building envel- 2006; ICC, 2014).
ope means maintaining a balance between the investment
cost in insulation material during the construction of the
building and the energy cost for mechanical room condi- 4.2. Minimum thermal comfort
tioning low during the operation of the building. Primary
factors for determining the optimal insulation thickness The results of the minimum comfort3 optimisation runs
are climate, cost of energy, cost of the insulation materials indicate that in locations above 500 m and below 2000 m
and the efficiency of the air conditioning system. Many increased insulation levels are almost not cost-effective.
countries have already established standards for optimal
insulation levels which can serve as reference. 3
As defined in methodology section.
ground floor works as a thermal sink and contributes to

saving in cooling demand.
Improving insulation level of windows implicates the
highest additional investment in Nepal. A simple double
glazing window system is about double as expensive com-
pared to the standard single glazing window. For that rea-
son, improving glazing seems to be the least cost-effective
energy efficiency measure. According to the simulation
results of minimum comfort optimisation runs, improved
glazing is only cost-effective for the locations with the high-
est cooling demand (Biratnagar) and highest heating
Fig. 23. Cost-effective insulation level of opaque envelope for minimum demand (Namche). For all other locations double glazing
comfort (Minimum comfort as defined in methodology section) by is not cost-effective which means the energy savings
location. achieved by replacing single glazing through double glazing
do not pay back the high investment costs (Fig. 24).
Fig. 23 and Table 15 illustrate cost-effective insulation With regard to the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC)
levels (U-Values) for the opaque envelope for the different for the window system, optimisation runs show clearly,
locations. A missing value in this figure indicates that insu- that for all locations below 1000 m windows with a low
lation measures for this building element at this location SHGC of at least 0.3 are cost-effective while for locations
are not leading to positive life cycle cost (LCC) net savings. above 1000 m, a high solar heat gain coefficient is recom-
For example, in Dhulikhel (1552 m) adding an insulation mended (greater than 0.6). In the warmer climate zone
layer to any part of the building envelope is not cost- below elevation of 1000 m the lower SHGC can contribute
effective at all. In Pokhara (827 m) and Kathmandu considerably to reduce cooling demand. For higher eleva-
(1337 m), only minimum insulation of the roof is cost- tion, a high SHGC will enhance passive solar heating
effective. and, thus, decrease the need for mechanical heating.
Looking at the exterior walls, U-Values below 0.35 W/ Fig. 25 summarises the range of cost-effective U-Values
m2K are cost-effective in the warm temperate climate of by building component for all assessed locations. It has to
Nepal which correspond to a added insulation layer of
100 mm. In the cold climate zone of the country, cost-
effective insulation reaches the level below 0.25 W/m2K
equal to 150 mm insulation.
Roof insulation is cost-effective for all locations except
Dhulikhel. Dhulikhel has very moderate climate with very
low energy demand for cooling and heating. The uninsu-
lated reference cases have a very low annual energy
demand between 8 and 12.5 kWh/m2 per year which means
that savings will be also very low and cannot pay back
additional investment costs for insulation.
Ground floor insulation with a layer thickness between
50 and 100 mm is only recommended for locations above Fig. 24. Cost-effective insulation level and SHGC of windows for
1000 m where there is a considerable share of heating minimum comfort by location (Minimum comfort as defined in method-
energy demand. In the lower locations, the uninsulated ology section).
Table 15
Optimal insulation of building envelope for minimum thermal comfort.a
Location Wall Roof Ground Floor Window
W/m2K mm W/m2K mm W/m2K mm W/m2K SHGC
Biratnagar 72m 0.32 100 0.37 100 4.17 0 3.14 0.23
Rampur 256m 0.34 100 0.69 50 4.17 0 5.40 0.33
Pokhara 827m – – 0.69 50 4.17 0 5.40 0.33
Kathmandu 1337m – – 0.69 50 – – 5.38 0.68
Dhulikhel 1552m – – – – – – 5.38 0.68
Dhunche 1982m 0.59 50 0.69 50 – – 5.38 0.68
Thakmarpha 2566m 0.23 150 0.37 150 0.48 50 5.38 0.68
Namche 3354m 0.24 150 0.23 150 0.25 100 3.15 0.62
a
Minimum comfort as defined in methodology section.
Fig. 25. Range of cost-effective insulation level for minimum comfort Fig. 26. Cost-effective insulation level of opaque envelope for maximum
(Minimum comfort as defined in methodology section) by envelope comfort by location (Maximum comfort as defined in methodology
component. section).
be noted that only insulated cases with life cycle net savings
are considered in this figure. While U-Values between 0.23
and 0.59 W/m2K are cost-effective for the exterior wall,
roof insulation with thermal transmittance between 0.23
and 0.69 W/m2K is optimal. Cost-effective design solutions
have windows with a thermal transmittance between 5.40
and 3.14 W/m2K, which corresponds to aluminium win-
dows with single glazing and double glazing, respectively.
4.3. Maximum thermal comfort

Fig. 27. Cost-effective insulation level and SHGC of windows for
maximum comfort by location (Maximum comfort as defined in method-
Assuming that hotels in Nepal have to fulfil interna-
ology section).
tional comfort standards (here called maximum standard4),
the analysis of cost-effectiveness for additional envelope
insulation shows a different picture compared to the previ-
ous presented result for minimum comfort (see Figs. 26, 27,
28 and Table 16).
The results show the lowest cost-effective thermal trans-
mittance (below 0.25 W/m2K) for exterior walls in
Dhunche (1982 m), Thakmarpha (2566 m) and Namche
Bazar (3354 m) which correspond to an insulation layer
of 150 mm. Being the most moderate climate of Nepal, wall
insulation in Pokhara and Kathmandu is only cost-effective
up to 0.59 W/m2K which means an insulation layer of
50 mm.
In terms of roofing, up to a 150 mm thick insulation Fig. 28. Range of cost-effective insulation level for maximum comfort
(Maximum comfort as defined in methodology section) by envelope
layer (U-Value: 0.25 W/m2K) is cost-effective in Nepal’s component.
cold climate zone (see Fig. 26 and Table 16). For all other
locations except Pokhara an insulation layer of 100mm is
m2K) is recommended while in the other locations an insu-
recommended resulting in a total insulation level of about
lation layer of a 50 mm thickness (U-Value: 0.48 W/m2K)
0.37 W/m2K. For the most moderate climate of Pokhara,
is cost-effective.
the simulation results indicate only 50 mm insulation for
Similar to the results of the optimisation for minimum
the roofs equivalent to a U-Value of 0.69 W/m2K.
comfort, window improvement hardly pays back when
For ground floor insulation, lower insulation levels are
assuming higher comfort requirements. Only for locations
required for colder climates. All locations below 1000 m
below 100 m elevation and above 1500 m double glazing
should keep insulation layers at minimum level (25 mm)
makes sense from a micro-economic point of view
for cost-effectiveness. For Thakmarpha (2566 m) and
(Fig. 27). Energy cost savings through double glazing are
Namche Bazar (3354 m) in the cold climate zone the best
not high enough to pay back the high additional invest-
ground floor insulation of 100mm (U-Value: 0.25 W/
ment cost. It should be noted that double glazing is still
not a standard technology in Nepal and is very cost-
4
Maximum comfort as defined in methodology section intensive compared to single glazing.
Table 16
Optimal insulation of building envelope for maximum thermal comfort.a
Location Wall Roof Ground Floor Window
W/m2K mm W/m2K mm W/m2K mm W/m2K SHGC
Biratnagar 72m 0.32 100 0.37 100 0.86 25 3.14 0.23
Rampur 256m 0.34 100 0.37 100 0.86 25 5.38 0.33
Pokhara 827m 0.54 50 0.69 50 0.86 25 5.38 0.33
Kathmandu 1337m 0.59 50 0.37 100 0.48 50 5.38 0.68
Dhulikhel 1552m 0.34 100 0.37 100 0.48 50 5.38 0.68
Dhunche 1982m 0.24 150 0.37 100 0.48 50 2.44 0.62
Thakmarpha 2566m 0.24 150 0.25 150 0.25 100 2.44 0.62
Namche 3354m 0.23 150 0.25 150 0.25 100 2.44 0.62
a
Maximum comfort as defined in methodology section.
The simulation results clearly indicate cost-effectiveness 5. Energy saving potentials

of glazing with a low solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) for
all locations below 1000 m due to the high cooling demand. The quantity of energy that can be saved by passive
Therefore, the best performing window system in Biratna- design and improving envelope insulation depends upon
gar has a SHGC below 0.25. For all locations above the climate and the building typology. Table 17 illustrates
1000 m, SHGC should be above 0.6 in order to enhance the energy saving potentials by optimising passive design
solar gains for passive heating. parameters like orientation, thermal mass, window-to-
Concluding, Fig. 28 illustrates the range of cost-effective wall-ratio, overhang and fins (excluding insulation). The
thermal resistance by building component for all analysed results for all assessed hotel typologies and locations are
locations. For exterior walls, U-Values between 0.23 and listed as relative savings compared to the worst performing
0.59 W/m2K lead to life cycle cost savings. Roof insulation design.
reaching thermal transmittance between 0.25 and 0.69 W/ Fig. 29 shows energy saving potentials for the assessed
m2K is profitable and, thus, recommended. For the win- locations by adding a cost-optimum insulation layer to
dows, the thermal transmittance of cost-effective solutions the analysed typology. Values here are also listed as relative
ranges between 2.44 and 5.38 W/m2K, which corresponds savings in comparison to the uninsulated base case.
to aluminium windows with double glazing and single glaz- Savings between 9% and 73% of total energy consump-
ing, respectively. tion for air conditioning can be achieved by only adopting
The comparison between simulation runs for minimum the best passive design strategies (excluding envelope insu-
and maximum comfort shows that considering maximum lation). Highest savings up to 73% can be obtained in the
comfort requirements insulation measures for walls, roof, most moderate climate of Pokhara, Kathmandu and Dhu-
ground floor and windows become economically more fea- likhel. In cold climate region, passive design optimisation
sible in all assessed locations. Fig. 23 and Table 15 indi- will lead to energy savings of up to 23%. On average,
cates that for Pokhara (827 m), Kathmandu (1337 m), energy for space conditioning in Nepal’s hotels could be
Dhulikhel (1552 m) and Dhunche (1982 m) insulation reduced by 37% by adopting passive design measures.
measures of at least one building component are not Improvement of envelope insulation can bring further
cost-effective (missing values). In contrast, Table 16 energy savings between 26% and 50% (see Fig. 29). Differ-
lists cost-effective U-Values for all locations and building ent from passive design optimisation, adding insulation
components. results in similar relative savings in all climate regions of
Table 17
Energy saving potential through passive design by location and typology.
Building typology
Location Single cottage Double cottage Bungalow Single-banked Double-banked Courtyard Atrium
Biratnagar 72 m 22% 32% 29% 38% 36%
Rampur 256 m 22% 25% 29% 34% 29%
Pokhara 827 m 41% 39% 50% 47% 50% 44%
Kathmandu 1337 m 49% 48% 58% 64% 55% 50%
Dhulikhel 1552 m 49% 57% 73% 56% 49% 28%
Dhunche 1982 m 33% 54% 31% 53% 14%
Thakmarpha 2566 m 15% 13% 23% 15%
Namche 3354 m 13% 9% 23% 11%
Average 34% 39% 43% 42% 35% 40% 17%
effective at different levels depending on the bio-climatic

zone and the assumed comfort level that needs to be
reached. Highest insulation levels are recommended for
the cold climate zone with U-Values of 0.25 W/m2K. Min-
imum insulation between 0.4 and 1.6 W/m2K is required
for the temperate climate of Nepal. In the warm temperate
climate zone, ground floor insulation is not recommended
or at very low level (0.9 W/m2K) for minimum or maxi-
mum comfort,5 respectively. At current levels of prices,
double glazing for windows is only cost-efficient in warm
temperate and cold climate of Nepal. SHGC for windows
Fig. 29. Energy saving potential through envelope insulation by location should be at least 0.3 for locations up to 1000 m and above
(*min/max comfort as defined in methodology section). 0.6 for locations above 1000 m.
The bioclimatic analysis by Bodach (2014) indicates that
the country. However, it has to be noticed that absolute passive design strategies like thermal mass, optimal build-
savings might be much larger in hot and cold regions con- ing orientation and passive solar heating can be effective
sidering the fact that total energy demand is considerably in Nepal’s climate. The findings of this study confirm this
higher than in the moderate climate zone. On average, statement and quantify energy savings for heating and
about 42% of HVAC energy demand can be reduced by cooling through passive design.
increasing the envelope insulation in hotel buildings to a Thermal inertia is very important passive design strategy
cost-effective level. in all climate zones with considerable heating demand
(locations above 500 m). High solar radiation in winter
combined with high thermal mass can increase the passive
6. Recommendations solar heating effect and, thus, reduce the need for mechan-
ical heating. Similar to that of Gratia and Herde (2003),
The objective of this study was to develop design strate- this research shows that thermal mass plays an important
gies for energy-efficient hotel buildings in Nepal. For this role in absorbing solar gains during the day and reducing
purpose, two sets of building energy simulation runs were temperature rise inside the building. In locations with mod-
conducted. Firstly, the passive design of seven building erate cooling needs like the cool temperate climate of
typologies for hotels was optimised in all bioclimatic zones Nepal, high thermal mass can reduce cooling demand to
considering parameters like orientation, thermal mass, almost zero.
window-to-wall-ratio (WWR) and shading device. Sec- With regard to passive solar heating, the window area,
ondly, optimisation of roof, wall and ground floor insula- particularly towards south is the most relevant design fac-
tion for one typology was done to find the cost-effective tor. Gasparella et al. (Apr 2011) also concluded that
insulation level for each building element and climate. increasing window areas facing south reduce effectively
The results of passive design optimisation show that in heating loads but might increase cooling energy needs. This
warm temperate climate minimising the solar gains by is a typical conflicting passive design strategy that has to be
keeping the window-to-wall-ration (WWR) small and balanced. The results of this research reveals that larger
using shading devices is the most important design strat- windows of the south facade will result in annual energy
egy. In all other bioclimatic zones, high thermal mass has savings for locations above 1000 m while in lower locations
priority to achieve lower energy demand because of passive window areas should be kept as small as possible to prevent
cooling and passive heating effects. Additionally, large win- overheating.
dow areas facing south are recommended for temperate The influence of shading devices and the solar heat gain
and cool temperate climate zone. In the cold climate zone, coefficient (SHGC) to reduce cooling needs was quantified
passive solar heating can be also effective but window areas by many authors (Florides et al., 2002; Sozer, 2010; Chen
should be kept moderate in order to minimise heat losses. et al., 2015). Chen et al. (2015) could achieve savings up
Furthermore, the findings indicate coherent passive to 42% by optimising window area, SHGC and projection
design strategies for the locations in the same bioclimatic factor of overhangs. This study shows that on average, 37%
zone except for Pokhara (827 m) and Kathmandu of HVAC energy demand can be saved by optimising pas-
(1337 m), both located in the temperate zone. For Pokhara, sive design.
minimising solar gains by reducing the WWR and adding The findings of this study are coherent with Bodach
an overhang has priority while in Kathmandu, WWR (2014)’s study about the importance of building orienta-
South can be larger to optimise passive solar heating. Shad- tion. The optimum orientation has priority in warm tem-
ing has no priority. Consequently, a differentiation of temperate and temperate climate and contributes also to
perate climate might become necessary.
Outcomes of the envelope optimisation runs can be
5
summarised as follows: envelope insulation is cost- Min/max comfort as defined in methodology section.
energy savings in cool temperate climate. However, in cold While international and regional standards suggest to
climate orientation does not play a significant role. Similar apply more insulation on roofs than walls, the results of
to that of Florides et al. (2002), it can be concluded that, this study conclude a similar thickness for roof and wall.
particularly, elongated layouts should orient the long The reason for that might be the particular multi-storey
building facade towards south. building typology where the roof surface area is smaller
However, in hotel design the orientation of the building in percentage of total outer surface area than the wall. Fur-
and its openings is often influenced by other factors like the thermore, this research is based on the combined effect of
panoramic view or site constraints. Improving the thermal all insulation measures while most studies on cost-
properties of the window according to the passive design effective insulation thickness investigate each building ele-
strategies of the climate can still lead to an energy- ment separately.
efficient design. Two examples are explained below: There are two insulation measures that are not always
This research recommends that windows facing east and justified by economic feasibility: Firstly, floor insulation
west should be avoided in warm temperate and temperate and, secondly, double glazing. In warm temperate climate
climate. If this is not possible, vertical shading devices like the cool ground can be used as thermal sink to reduce
fins combined with low-e glazing should be applied to needs for active cooling. Additional floor insulation
reduce solar gains and prevent overheating in the morning reduces this natural cooling effect and, therefore, increases
and evening hours. Similarly, windows facing north should cooling demand. Regarding glazing it is noticed that, par-
be avoided in cool temperate and cold climate to protect ticularly, in temperate climate, the high additional invest-
from the cold. If this design strategies cannot be fulfilled ment for double glazing does not pay back over life time
due to other design priorities, a lower U-Value of the win- because absolute energy cost savings are very low.
dow (double glazing) and, thus, a better insulation might The market for double glazing is still in the early stage
compensate increased heat losses through additional win- and few companies are offering this product in Nepal. A
dow area. study on hotel design in neighbouring India with similar
It is uncontroversial that envelope insulation reduces market conditions concluded that glazing is one of the least
energy demand in many climates. Using dynamic energy cost-effective energy conservation measure with a simple
simulation and life cycle cost analysis Florides et al. payback period of 10.3 years (Chedwal et al., 2015).
(2002) showed that roof insulation is cost-effective for the Although this payback time is much less than the building’s
hot climate in Cyprus with a short payback period between life time, replacing single for double glazing is the most
3.5 and 5 years while wall insulation pays only back over a cost-intensive energy saving measure leading to a substan-
time period of 10 years. In Turkey, an optimised hotel tial increase of construction costs. Particularly, small and
design will have 37% less energy need than a standard medium scale hotel entrepreneurs with limited investment
design (Sozer, 2010). In India, hotels can save between capital might not be able to fund additional construction
33% and 50% by applying insulation measures (Chedwal costs.
et al., 2015). Floor insulation and double glazing windows might not
Determining which level of envelope insulation is cost- be justified by economic feasibility for some climate region
efficient depends on several factors and makes comparison in Nepal. However, they are necessary for other demands
difficult. In most regions, except Northern Europe, insula- like acoustic comfort, condensation issues or thermal com-
tion requirements of building regulations do not reach the fort (surface temperature). Therefore, these measures
economically justified level (IEA, 2013). The fact that should be considered to ensure a comfortable hotel design.
building energy demand is a major contributor to climate Finally, the results of the simulation runs led to different
change, performance goals should meet climate change design recommendations for the two locations in the tem-
action and not only economically feasible level. perate climate (from 501 to 1500 masl). A further differen-
Comparing the findings for cost-effective insulation for tiation of the temperate climate zone is needed and a
Nepal with international standards (Table 14) the follow- renaming of all zones proposed. The following consoli-
ing can be concluded: dated bioclimatic zoning for Nepal with five elevation-
based bioclimate zones is suggested:
Recommended cost-effective insulation for cold climate
reaches similar values as North-European standards. Warm climate (below 500 masl).
Cost-effective U-Values for temperate and cool temper- Moderate warm climate (from 501 to 1000 masl).
ate climate are comparable with standards of similar cli- Moderate climate (from 1001 to 1500 masl).
mates in the International Energy Conservation Code Moderate cold climate (from 1501 to 2500 masl) and
(ICC, 2014). Cold climate (above 2500 masl).
Results for warm temperate climate reaches thermal
resistance very close to Indian regulations (BEE, 2006). In conclusion, passive design strategies and minimum
Similar to standards in India and USA, a low SHGC of requirements for insulation levels are suggested for each
at least 0.25 is recommended for locations with high bioclimatic zone (see Tables 18–20). These energy efficiency
cooling load.
Table 18
Passive design recommendations for hotel buildings in Nepal.
Bioclimatic Thermal WWR WWR WWR WWR Orientation Overhang Fins East &
zone mass South North East West South PF West PF
Warm low, medium, 20% a/ 20%a/ 0–20% 0–20% South 0.2–0.4 0.4–0.6
(<500 m) or high 30%b 30%b
Moderate warm high 20%a/ 20%a/ 0–20% 0–20% South 0.2–0.4 flexible shading
(501–1000 m) 30%b 30%b
c
Moderate high 40–60% 10–20% 10–20% 10–20% South 0.2 flexible shading
(1001–1500 m)
Moderate cold high 40–60% 10–20% 20–30% 20–30% South flexible shading
(1501–2500 m)
Cold high 20–40% 0–20% 0–20% 0–20% – – –
(>2500 m)
a
For small-scale hotels with low case depth.
b
For large-scale hotels with large case depth.
c
For WWR greater than 40.
Table 19
Recommendations for opaque envelope insulation of hotel buildings in Nepal.
Bioclimatic zone U-Value for Wall U-Value for Roof U-Value for Floor
Minimum Maximum Thickness Minimum Maximum Thickness Minimum Maximum Thickness
comforta comforta insulation comfort comfort insulation comfort comfort insulation
W/m2K W/m2K mm W/m2K W/m2K mm W/m2K W/m2K mm
Warm 0.35 0.35 100 0.70 0.40 50–100 – 0.90 0–25
(<500 m)
Moderate warm 1.60 0.60 50 0.70 0.40 50–100 – 0.90 0–25
(501–1000 m)
Moderate 1.60 0.60 50 0.70 0.40 50–100 – 0.90 0–25
(1001–1500 m)
Moderate cold 0.60 0.35 50–100 0.70 0.40 50–100 0.90 0.50 25–50
(1501–2500 m)
Cold 0.25 0.25 150 0.25 0.25 150 0.50 0.25 50–100
(>2500 m)
a
Minimum and maximum comfort as defined in the methodology section.
Table 20
Using building energy simulation as the main method,
Recommendations for window performance of hotel buildings in Nepal.
this research has its limitations. The results of the simula-
Bioclimatic zone U-Value SHGC
tion are calculated under predefined boundary conditions.
a b
Minimum Comfort Maximum Comfort However, those boundary conditions are based on assump-
W/m2K W/m2K
tions that might have a certain impreciseness. Absolute
Warm 3.20 3.20 60.25 energy demand in the real building might vary because of
(<500 m)
variation in thermal properties of building materials, con-
Moderate warm 5.40 3.20 60.3
(501–1000 m) struction quality and building use.
Moderate 5.40 3.20 P0.6 For the economic analysis, construction prices from
(1001–1500 m) Kathmandu in January 2015 were used to make a compar-
Moderate cold 5.40 2.50 P0.6 ison possible. However, prices in other locations of the
(1501–2500 m)
country might be higher or lower due to additional or less
Cold 3.20 2.50 P0.6
(>2500 m) transportation cost. Furthermore, construction prices are
a influenced by other factors like labour cost, fuel prices,
Minimum comfort as defined in the methodology section for small-
scale hotels. demand-supply gap etc.
b
Maximum comfort as defined in the methodology section for all other The focus of this study was on hotel buildings as an
hotels. example typology for commercial buildings. Seven different
typical hotel designs were used to conduct the analysis. If a
guidelines for hotel design are the first step towards a low- particular hotel design is significantly different to the
carbon development path of the fast growing accommoda- developed typologies, its thermal performance might also
tion sector in Nepal. vary. Nonetheless, the findings of this study are an effective
starting point for developing a general energy conservation Acknowledgements

code for commercial buildings in Nepal.
This study was conducted as part of a PhD research on
‘‘Energy efficiency and climate responsive building design
7. Conclusion
in Nepal”. The author would like to express her gratitude
to the Germany Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for
Passive design and envelope insulation are effective
providing a scholarship during the field research in
strategies to reduce energy consumption for air-
2014/2015. Particular thanks are due to all Nepalese hotel
conditioning in Nepal’s hotel buildings. Depending on
owners and managers that supported this research.
the climate zone and building typology, different design
strategies have priority (Table 18). The most important
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Apr 2011. Analysis and modelling of window and glazing systems Hong Kong. Int. J. Hospitality Manage. 21 (4), 371–380.
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<http://www.bwk.tue.nl/bps/hensen/team/past/Hopfe.pdf>. Government of Nepal, Water and Energy Comission Secretariat,
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Appendix D
Approach for energy saving scenarios
In order to give an outlook on the impact of energy conservation in the future, energy savings
scenarios for the Nepalese building sector were developed (see Energy saving scenarios for
the building sector on page 63). It was envisaged to create a simple model to estimate the
impact of the introduction of design concepts and technologies for more energy-efficient
buildings and compare the increase of energy consumption with the business-as-usual (BAU)
scenario. This study only considers energy consumed for heating and cooling purposes. Due
to the lack of data, reasonable assumptions were made for a number of variables illustrated
in Table D.1 and Table D.3.
For the energy demand projection in hotel buildings, 2016 was selected as baseline year
and the total number of hotel rooms was calculated from data of 2009 assuming a growth
rate of 6%. It was assumed that 20% of the hotel rooms are equipped with space condition
systems in 2016 and that this percentage increases by 3% every year. According to the
conducted energy simulation study the energy consumption of the inefficient reference room
and retrofitted energy efficient hotel room is 79 and 47 kWh/m2 a, respectively. Furthermore,
it was assumed that the share of electricity use for space conditioning is 5% in 2016 and will
grow by 1% every year.
For the energy scenarios of the residential sector the total floor area was estimated based
on the population, household size, number of households and floor area per household. The
year 2011 was used as baseline year with a household size of 4.9 persons and 20% of
residential floor area with energy consuming space conditioning. With rising development the
household size is assumed to decrease by 1% every year while 1% of air-conditioned floor
area is added. The energy consumption per floor area of the base case buildings were
calculated using statistical data of energy consumption for heating and cooling from [57] in
2011. Based on the results of the simulation study, it was assumed that energy-efficient
residential buildings will consume 42% less energy for heating and cooling than the inefficient
base case.
137
Table D.1: Assumptions for energy scenarios for space conditioning in hotels of Nepal
Description Value
Hotel rooms
Total number in 2016 21,460a
Annual growth rate 6.0%b
Average size 30 m2c
Space conditioning
Share of air-conditioned rooms in 2016 20%
Annual growth rate 3%
Energy consumption
Base case buildings 79 kWh/m2 ad
Energy-efficient buildings 45 kWh/m2 ad
Electricity
Electricity share of consumption in 2016 5%
Scenarios
Business-as-usual (BAU) All hotel buildings are inefficient base case
buildings
EE-2 Share of energy-efficent hotel rooms is
increased by 2% annually
EE-5 Share of energy-efficent hotel rooms is
a Projections from data of 2009 [34] with annual growth rate of 6.0%
b Based on sector growth rate projection of 5% [60] and historical growth rate: 6.5% from 2009 to 2013 [34]
c Based on field research
d Based on own thermal building simulation
Table D.2: Energy demand projection of hotel buildings in Nepal under different scenarios
Year 2016 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040

Number of hotel rooms 21,460 27,093 36,256 48,519 64,929 86,889
Share of air-conditioned rooms 20.0% 32.0% 47.0% 62.0% 77.0% 92.0%
Number of air-conditioned rooms 4,292 8,670 17,040 30,082 49,995 79,938
Business-as-usual (BAU) scenario
Energy consumption (GWh) 10.2 20.5 40.4 71.3 118.5 189.5
Share of electricity used for space conditioning (%) 5.0% 9.0% 14.0% 19.0% 24.0% 29.0%
Electricity consumption BAU (GWh) 0.5 1.8 5.7 13.5 28.4 54.9
EE-2 scenario
Share of energy-efficient air-conditioned rooms (%) 0.0% 8.0% 18.0% 28.0% 38.0% 48.0%
Number of ineffizient conditioned rooms 4,292 7,976 13,973 21,659 30,997 41,568
Number of energy-efficient air-conditioned rooms 0 694 3,067 8,423 18,998 38,370
Energy consumption EE-2 (GWh) 10.2 19.8 37.3 62.7 99.1 150.3
Electricity consumption EE-2 (GWh) 0.5 1.8 5.2 11.9 23.8 43.6
Energy saving potentials (GWh) 0.0 0.7 3.1 8.6 19.4 39.1
Energy saving potentials (%) 0.0% 3.4% 7.7% 12.1% 16.4% 20.7%
EE-5 scenario
Share of energy-efficient air-conditioned rooms (%) 0.0% 20.0% 45.0% 70.0% 95.0% 100.0%
Number of ineffizient conditioned rooms 4,292 6,936 9,372 9,024 2,500 0
Number of energy-efficient air-conditioned rooms 0 1,734 7,668 21,057 47,495 79,938
Energy consumption EE-5 (GWh) 10.2 18.8 32.6 49.8 70.0 107.9
Electricity consumption EE-5 (GWh) 0.5 1.7 4.6 9.5 16.8 31.3

Energy saving potentials (GWh) 0.0 1.8 7.8 21.5 48.4 81.5
Energy saving potentials (%) 0.0% 8.6% 19.4% 30.1% 40.9% 43.0%
139
Table D.3: Assumptions for energy scenarios for space conditioning in residential buildings of
Nepal
Description Value
Demography
Population growth rate 1.35%a
Household size in 2011 4.9 persons%a
Annual growth rate of household size -1%
Floor area
Floor area per household in 2011 43.0 m2 b
Annual growth rate 1.3%

Space conditioning
Share of air-conditioned floor area in 2011 20.0%
Energy consumption
Base case buildings 198.2 kWh/m2 ac
Energy-efficient buildings 134.8 kWh/m2 ad
Electricity
Electricity share of consumption in 2011 1.8% e
Scenarios
Business-as-usual (BAU) All residential buildings are inefficient base
case buildings
EE-1 Share of energy-efficent floor area is
EE-3 Share of energy-efficent floor area is
a Acoording to [61]
b No data availalable for Nepal. Average per capita floor area of 8.7m2 taken from India [62]
c Calculated using energy consumption for heating and cooling in 2011 and estimated floor area [57]: 12078.194 GWh
d Average saving potential based on simulation study: 42%
e Acoording to [57]
Table D.4: Energy demand projection of residential buildings in Nepal under different scenarios
Year 2011 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040

Population 26,494,504 27,954,441 29,893,005 31,966,003 34,182,758 36,553,239 39,088,106
Household size 4.9 4.7 4.5 4.3 4.1 3.9 3.7
Number of households 5,361,813 5,889,330 6,622,297 7,446,487 8,373,254 9,415,362 10,587,169
Floor area per household (m²) 56.8 60.3 65.0 70.0 75.4 81.2 87.5
Total residential floor area million (m²) 304.7 355.2 430.3 521.2 631.4 764.8 926.5
Share of conditioned floor area (%) 20.0% 24.0% 29.0% 34.0% 39.0% 44.0% 49.0%
Business-as-usual (BAU) scenario
Energy consumption (TWh) 12.1 16.9 24.7 35.1 48.8 66.7 90.0
Share of consumption by electricity (%) 1.8% 5.8% 10.8% 15.8% 20.8% 25.8% 30.8%
Electricity consumption (TWh) 0.2 1.0 2.7 5.5 10.2 17.2 27.7
EE-1 scenario
Share of energy-efficient air-conditioned floor area (%) 0.0% 0.0% 4.0% 9.0% 14.0% 19.0% 24.0%
Ineffizient air-conditioned floor area million (m²) 60.9 85.2 119.8 161.3 211.8 272.6 345.0
Energy-efficient conditioned floor area million (m²) 0.0 0.0 5.0 15.9 34.5 63.9 109.0
Energy consumption EE-1 (TWh) 12.1 16.9 24.4 34.1 46.6 62.6 83.1
Energy saving potentials (TWh) 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.0 2.2 4.1 6.9
Energy saving potentials (%) 0.0% 0.0% 1.3% 2.9% 4.5% 6.1% 7.7%
EE-3 scenario
Share of energy-efficient air-conditioned floor area (%) 0.0% 0.0% 12.0% 27.0% 42.0% 57.0% 72.0%
Ineffizient air-conditioned floor area million (m²) 60.9 85.2 109.8 129.4 142.8 144.7 127.1
Energy-efficient conditioned floor area million (m²) 0.0 0.0 15.0 47.8 103.4 191.8 326.9
Energy consumption EE-3 (TWh) 12.1 16.9 23.8 32.1 42.2 54.5 69.2

Energy saving potentials (TWh) 0.0 0.0 0.9 3.0 6.6 12.2 20.7
Energy saving potentials (%) 0.0% 0.0% 3.8% 8.6% 13.4% 18.2% 23.0%
141
Appendix E
Comparison of climate data sets
Climate data is the most important input for analysing bioclimatic design strategies and
conducting building energy simulation. Commonly a typical meteorological year (TMY) is
used for this purpose. A TMY is a combination of selected weather data for a specific
location, generated from observed weather data over several decades. It represent the
long-term average meteorological conditions of a place while having a realistic frequency
distributions and contains hourly values of all relevant meteorological elements.
The lack of TMY data sets for Nepal made is necessary to generate such data sets for
the different locations. This was done by using the software tool Meteonorm [27]. Monthly
climate normals (temperature, precipitation) from weather stations, either directly collected
from Department of Hydrology and Meteorology Nepal [28] or derived from United Nation’s
Food and Agriculture Organisation climate database [29], were imported into the software
with the aim to have more accurate results.
In order to check the plausibility of the generated data sets, it was compared with other
existing climate data (see also Climate and design on page 13). For the comparison study
measured climate observations from recently installed automated weather stations [30] and, if
available, hourly data sets from the SWERA project [63] were used.
The following figures illustrate the comparative analysis for the locations Biratnagar and
Kathmandu. The density of the data points for 2013, 2014 and 2015 is lower than for the
generated TMY data set either because the weather station does not on a hourly bases (but
every five hours) or data records are missing. The psychrometric chart shows also that hourly
temperatures of the measured data is only available as integer value. Nevertheless, it can be
seen that both daily averages and hourly values are in a similar range.
143
Hourly dry bulb temperature (°C) Biratnagar 72masl

40
30
20
10
0
Hourly dry bulb temperature (°C) Pokhara 827masl

40
30
20
10
0
Hourly dry bulb temperature (°C) Kathmandu 1,337masl

30
20
10
0
Figure E.1: Comparison of hourly dry bulb temperature from different climate data sets in
Biratnagar, Pokhara and Kathmandu (Data sources: [27–30, 63])
Daily mean dry bulb temperature (°C) Biratnagar 72masl

40
30
20
10
0
Daily average relative humidity (%) Biratnagar 72masl

100
80
60
40
20
0
Figure E.2: Comparison of daily climate data from Biratnagar (Data sources: [27–30])
Biratnagar Relative humidity (%)

Elevation: 72masl 30
%
0%
%
%
50
70
90
80
60
10
%
40
TMY
automated weather stations:

20
%
2013 2014 2015
30
15
%
20
10
10%
5
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Figure E.3: Comparison of hourly climate data from Biratnagar (Data sources: [27–30])
Daily mean dry bulb temperature (°C) Kathmandu 1,337masl

30
20
10
0
Daily average relative humidity (%) Kathmandu 1,337masl

100
80
60
40
20
0
Figure E.4: Comparison of daily climate data from Kathmandu (Data sources: [27–30, 63])
Kathmandu Relative humidity (%)

Elevation: 1,337masl 30
%
0%
%
%
50
70
90
80
60
10
%
40
TMY

automated weather stations: 20
%
2013 2014 2015
30
15
%
20
10
10%
5
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Figure E.5: Comparison of hourly climate data from Kathmandu (Data sources: [27–30])
Kathmandu Relative humidity (%)

Elevation: 1,337masl 30
%
0%
%
%
50
70
90
80
60
10

%
40

TMY
Climate data generated by
SWERA project:
20
%
SWERA
30
15
%
20
10
10%
5
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Figure E.6: Comparison of two climate data sets for Kathmandu (Data sources: [27–29, 63])

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Technische Universität München

Lehrstuhl für energieeffizientes und nachhaltiges Planen und Bauen

Climate responsive building design

Lehrstuhl für energieeffizientes und nachhaltiges Planen und Bauen

Climate responsive building design

Vorsitzender: Univ.-Prof. Hermann Kaufmann

Prüfer der Dissertation: 1. Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Werner Lang

Die Dissertation wurde am 18.10.2016 bei der Technischen Universität München

Table of contents VII

3 Design and policy recommendations 25

3.5.3 Building envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

4 Building energy conservation for low-carbon development 63

C Publication III 111

D Approach for energy saving scenarios 137

E Comparison of climate data sets 143

1.1 Sustainable development model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2.1 Nepal map with the location of analysed vernacular houses . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.1 Relationship between elevation and CDD18/HDD18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

3.15 Suitability of active heating and cooling systems by climate zone . . . . . . . . 56

4.1 Energy use and HDI from 1990 and 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

X Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

2.1 Characteristics of vernacular houses by climatie zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.1 Specification of reclassified bioclimatic zoning for Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

1.1 Background and problem statement

1.2 Research objectives

2 Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

The main hypothesis of the research states:

1. Learning from the past,

2. Climate and design, and

Building sector Energy efﬁciency

Learning from the past Climate and design Energy-efﬁcient design

Design and policy recommendations

Figure 1.2: Research design

Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal 3

1.4 Structure of the thesis

Nepal has a large diversity Quantitative evaluation of

Field research, building

Climate data analysis, energy simulation,

Vernacular buildings Whole building sector Hotel building sector

Priority passive design

Identiﬁcation of passive Development of strategies and

Figure 1.3: Research framework

4 Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal 5

2.1 Learning from the past

Dolpo house House in

traditional knowledge of climate-smart building design which can be helpful in developing

Subtropical climate (Dhanghadi 187 masl) Relative Humidity (%)

Cool temperate climate (Dhunche 1,982 masl)

Comfort zone (CZ)

8 Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

Subtropical climate Warm temperate climate Cool temperate Alpine climate

Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

Recommended passive design strategy for subtropical climate zone

Recommended passive design strategy for warm temperate climate

10 Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal

Recommended passive design strategy in cool temperate climate

Recommended passive design strategy in alpine climate

Climate responsive building design for low carbon development in Nepal 11