Integrated Evaluation of Passive Building Strategies through Experimental Analysis, Energy Simulation, and Life Cycle Assessment in the Composite Climate of India

This investigation demonstrates the potential of passive strategies to enhance the heat attenuation between the roof and ceiling of buildings in tropical Indian conditions. Insulation, phase change material (PCM), and reflective coating methods have been implemented in this investigation to enhance thermal efficiency. The experimental comparison of these passive strategies in real time provides deep insight into their feasibility and applicability. Further energy performance analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA) of passive strategies provide insight into their overall performance and highlight the preference sequence in selecting passive strategies. This study used ceiling and indoor air temperature, thermal amplitude, the percentage reduction in thermal amplitude, energy, and LCA indexes for performance analysis. The findings indicate a reduction of thermal amplitude for ceiling temperature ranging from 8 % to 84 % and a decrease in thermal amplitude of indoor air temperature between 2.2 % and 34.9 % in passive rooms relative to the reference room. In the most severe summer conditions, the maximum ceiling temperature is reduced to 9.6 °C to 12.3 °C with an insulated roof, 1.5 °C to 8.5 °C utilizing PCM in the roof, and 2.3 to 3 °C with a cool roof or reflecting coating. The minimum air temperature in the reflective coating room is approximately 1 °C lower than that in the reference room. The annual energy conservation ratio ranges from 5.5 % to 24.4 % with maximum insulation and minimum with PCM. The carbon emission benefits over the reference reveal 486 kgCO 2 eq/m 2 , 985 kgCO 2 eq/m 2 , and 186 kgCO 2 eq/m 2 for reflective coating, insulation, and PCM room, respectively, in 50 years. The conclusions drawn from this research can offer guidance for the application of PCM, insulation, and reflective coating-based buildings in cooling-dominated regions.