LabEEE carried out the development of bioclimatic zoning for Paraguay as part of Cooperación Técnica #: RG-T3347 Edificios Eficientes, Infraestructura Verde y Provisión de Servicios Ecosistémicos para Enfrentar el Cambio Climático en Ciudades: Una Visión Programática with financing from Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo – BID. The cooperation aimed to develop a sustainable construction manual for social housing in Paraguay, with the participation of several teams of experts from the country as well as external experts.
LabEEE's participation took place through Contract N° 3: Estudios de Zonificación Bioclimática, with bioclimatic zoning by performance being developed for the country through analysis, characterization, validation of existing data and discussions with the main stakeholders in the construction sector of the country, with the purpose of guiding architectural proposals and strategies for social housing towards maximum climatic comfort with minimum energy expenditure.
Bioclimatic zoning by performance allows the establishment of zones that, when considering the same housing project in different climates, result in the grouping of similar locations in terms of thermal comfort and energy consumption for the artificial conditioning of longer-term environments. This makes the method developed for zoning a powerful tool to be used in standards and regulations related to the comfort and energy efficiency of buildings in the country. Despite being a zoning based on the performance of buildings, its robustness allows it to be applied for any other purpose, as long as the main objective is to classify the hygrothermal behavior of each location.
For performance zoning, it is important to define the thermal-energy simulation method to be adopted. Due to the absence of a Paraguayan standard that presents an applicable simulation method, the methodology of the Brazilian standard for thermal performance, NBR 15575 of 2021, was considered for the development of zoning, considering the necessary adaptations to the context and reality of the country, as well as the characteristics of local buildings.
Activities:
The activities of contract no. 3: Bioclimatic Zoning Studies had the following specific objectives:
a) Ecological classification of the territory with the climatic characterization of each area based on quantifiable variables (altitude, physical properties of the atmosphere, precipitation and average temperature).
b) Zoning defined through a geographic information system (GIS), which allows areas with similar characteristics to be identified.
c) Zoning defined by type of social housing.
d) Assessment of the thermal performance of typologies with different materials through computer simulations.
e) Generation of hygrothermal well-being climograms to achieve recommendations focused on bioclimatic design strategies, thermal conditioning strategies, construction technologies and materials for the different identified climates.
f) Analysis of the country's geographic and climatic conditions and characteristics and the tolerance and comfort margins of its inhabitants, to select climate zoning ranges in order to use the methodology that best suits the national context.
Products developed:
In total, 4 products were delivered:
Product 1 – Work Plan with the proposed steps, schedule of activities, identification of key actors and improvements to the proposed contents, as well as a proposed methodology explaining the definition of zoning and the type of data used;
Product 2 – Report with details and analysis of the statistical exploration of Paraguay’s climate data;
Product 3 - Report with proposals for bioclimatic zones, explaining their development and definition, and evaluation of energy efficiency strategies in the adopted typology;
Product 4 - Final report that incorporated the analysis and statistical studies of data from Product 2, the maps developed and calculations related to the typology adopted in Product 3, as well as final recommendations for the definition of Paraguay's bioclimatic zones.
Manual:
Link to final version of the Manual: Construcción Sostenible para la Vivienda Social en Paraguay:
LabEEE Researchers:
Roberto Lamberts - Curriculum Lattes
Ana Paula Melo - Curriculum Lattes
Rayner Maurício e Silva Machado - Curriculum Lattes
Maria Andrea Triana - Curriculum Lattes
Artur Martins Kamimura - Curriculum Lattes
FIUNA Researchers Collaboration:
Andrés Wehrle Martínez
Monserrat Garcia Calabrese
Jorge Bernal Segovia