Abstract:
Ecological awareness and care for future generations promoting the eco-trend
and energy independence contribute to the improvements of living standards
by reducing the consumption of conventional energy. In that concern, the
concept of passive solar housing has obtained world concern for achieving
Environmental Sustainability (ES) in the construction industry. Passive solar
buildings are designed to keep occupants at a comfortable temperature using
the house’s physical structure and site conditions alone. Therefore, countries
around the world today are focusing on passive solar design techniques. The
passive solar design technique is a practical concept related to energy that is
more suitable for equatorial countries, such as Sri Lanka. Therefore, this
research mainly focused on evaluating the ES of passive solar houses in Sri
Lanka. This research employed a deductive approach under the quantitative
research design. The survey method was used as the suitable research
strategy. Initially, key literature was reviewed and 16 ES factors influencing
passive solar housing were identified. The identified factors were evaluated
by conducting a questionnaire survey with 40 selected industry professionals.
As the key findings derived through analysis, ES factors were evaluated and
listed in terms of the levels of influence on passive solar houses in Sri Lanka.
According to the findings, management of rainfall including dry and rainy
seasons, the natural location of the land and the surrounding natural
vegetation, the trajectory of the sun (sun path), the use of eco-friendly housing
materials and natural ventilation were identified as the critical factors.
Accordingly, a framework for assessing the environmental sustainability of
passive solar houses in Sri Lanka was developed as the main implication of this
research.
