Evaluation of natural illumination and thermal comfort conditions in the Ribeirao Preto’s Technological Village

The results of post-occupancy surveys of the 11 different construction systems used in the dwellings of the Technological Village of Ribeirao Preto are analyzed. The analyses focus on evaluating the natural illumination and thermal comfort conditions in selected habitation units after 2 years of use. All systems were devised to provide living conditions to low-income families with low purchasing power and, most importantly, to disseminate construction technologies adapted to, and appropriate for, this specific region of the country. The results indicate that the methodology employed is not appropriate using only classical factors to assess the illumination conditions, i.e. illuminance level and daylight factor, for a direct quantification of the illumination. The isolated use of these factors can result in distortions. The evaluation of the environmental conditions is relevant to observe that there can be differences between theoretical thermo-physical properties and actual features of the materials and construction systems analyzed.