Thermal, light, and thermographic evaluation of a wooden housing solution in a warm temperate climate for low-income housing

Abstract

Access to housing in low-income sectors brings up the need for a relevant reflection on Latin America. In this context, a wood-based Modular Housing Solution (MHS) has been developed in a neighborhood on the outskirts of CABA called La Plata, oriented to a housing improvement for working-class sectors, and managed by a labor cooperative, the university, and the scientific-technical sector. The objective is to evaluate the thermal and light behavior and the airtightness conditions of the building envelope of a wooden MHS in the La Plata district in a warm-temperate climate. For this purpose, first, indoor and outdoor monitoring (temperature, relative humidity, and natural lighting) was carried out, then the solar air heaters were evaluated, and finally, digital thermography was performed at night. The results show favorable daytime lighting performance and good daytime thermal response in cold weather. However, there was also room for improvement, such as the need for thermal conditioning at night, improvement of the airtightness of the envelope, night ventilation in warm seasons, reinforcement of shading, and thermal insulation.