Thermal performance of traditional and contemporary housing in the cool season of Zambia

It is a generally held view that, in tropical countries, traditional housing is more sympathetic to the prevailing climate compared to contemporary housing. This is because the contemporary house design has typically originated from temperate climates. Empirical studies have been performed on typical traditional and contemporary houses in Zambia (in the cool season) to test whether this hypothesis holds true for Zambia, which experiences a tropical upland climate. Internal climatic conditions were measured in each house. Results show that the contemporary house performed better in the cool season than the traditional house. The external temperatures were more satisfactory than the internal temperatures. These results were further investigated using a thermal comfort survey in traditional and contemporary housing.