ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT OF PASSIVE SOLAR HOUSES IN SRI LANKA

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.