Assessment of Passive Thermal Performance for a Penang Heritage Shop house

In recent years, Malaysia has seen an increase in energy consumption by buildings from all sectors. A significant portion of the energy consumed annually is spent to cool residential and commercial buildings. However, there is possibility that the country's overall energy usage may be reduced, provided that steps are taken to minimize cooling loads in buildings via passive means. Considering Malaysia to be a country of hot-humid climate, many modern building designs have been observed to ignore the general characteristics of the region's vernacular architecture. These are the key elements which help to reduce solar heat gains during the day. Properly conserved heritage buildings however, are seen to possess some of these qualities which may allow them to remain cooler than their modern counterparts under similar conditions. This paper discusses the thermal performance of a heritage shop house in Penang, Malaysia, which uses passive cooling. Aspects which are looked at are the overall design of the buildings as well as recorded thermal data collected during a pilot study. The results show that the building provided an indoor environment that is cooler than the outside. Suggestions are also made to further improve the indoor thermal environment