DESEMPENHO TÉRMICO E ENERGÉTICO DE ÁTRIO EM CLIMA TROPICAL

UM ESTUDO DE CASO NO RIO DE JANEIRO

Abstract

In tropical climate, the impact of thermal conditioning and artificial lighting on the consumption of electric energy, leads the architects to seek solutions and materials that guarantee the efficiency in the thermal and energetic performance of the buildings. The use of the atrium in the architecture reduces the consumption in artificial lighting through the translucency of the cover allowing the entrance of the solar radiation in the environment. However, in tropical climates, the input of solar radiation must be carefully controlled in order to avoid overheating and overloading of energy to cool the environments. The objective of this article is to evaluate the thermal performance and energy efficiency of the central atrium of the Erich Walter Heine College, located in Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, a city with a hot and humid tropical climate. The applied methodology consists of bibliographical and field surveys, with the search for environmental data and instrument measurements of climatic variables, air temperature and relative humidity, velocity and predominant direction of the winds and direct solar radiation. For comparison purposes, nine points were measured in covered and uncovered areas, in the same school. Computational simulations were also carried out using the Design Builder Program, where the effects of the configuration and the materials of the atrium were analyzed in the hygrothermal comfort of the College. As a main result, there was an overheating in the atrium (heat concentration), with higher temperatures than in the external areas, even those in full sun. This ratifies the importance of ventilation and shading in the spaces constructed in a tropical climate, in order to prevent and / or minimize the problems that generate hygrothermal discomfort to users.