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Thermal insulation is one of the first priorities of high altitude houses. Heating in the winter period requires large amounts of fuel in addition to the large amounts of fuel needed for cooking. The annual volume of biomass growth is decreasing with increasing altitudes.
Population increase demands annually more fuel, while also more grazing occurs by herds of goats and sheep, devauring all vegetation. At the highest altitudes the local low-income population also burn heather-like bushes with their roots, and dried cow dung and yak dung cakes. The result is strong environmental degredation and soil erosion that prevents re-growth.
The various papers analyse the current construction and the possibilities of improvements using local materials, skills and low-cost but effective solutions within the local socio-economic context. Although other methods do exist, they are often not yet applicable or feasible considering these local context.
The working document: Wall Insulation Techniques for Buildings in High Mountain Areas, (2000) 43 Pages, 3.6 MB, provides some informations of techniques that were developed in the Pakistan Northern Areas (Himalayas). This paper reviews some of the issues that were available in 2000, but new developments are presented in the following series of papers.
Basic Information on Thermal Insulation for High Altitude Housing in the Himalayas. with explanations of important factors related to thermal insulation in traditional houses. Technical Working Paper #1, Basics Thermal Insulation (January 2012), 38 pag., 3.5 MB
Basic Information on the simple calculation method for Thermal Insulation for high altitude traditional house designs in the Himalayas of Pakistan and Tajikistan. With a very detailed calculation examples if thermal insulation values, condensation points inside the construction and thermal mass. Technical Working Paper #2 Calculations for Thermal Insulation (February 2012), 35 pages, 1.6MB with examples on how to fill in the forms for floors and walls.
Detailed information on the different material characteristics of building materials including mass, thermal conductivity in dry, light moist and humid circumstances and their heat storage capacity. Insulation values of vertical and horizontal air layers or cavities. Technical Working Paper #3 Tables for Thermal Insulation (February 2012), 25 pages, 1.5 MB. With additional information on reflective foils and their insulation values for application in cavities.
Separate three graphs and tables with thermal insulation values for horizontal and vertical cavities inclusive those for reflective foils: 2 pages, colour, 260kB
Separate form for making calculations of insulation value and construction cost.
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The formula developed for the definition of the recommended minimum thermal insulation value for the Himalayan range is related to the altitude, since with increasing atitude the average winter temperature decreases and the firewood consumption increases.
Minimum recommendation for houses, roofs and walls: Rc= {0.5 + (altitude in meters/1000m)} m2.K/W.
Minimum recommendation for houses, floors without ventilation: Rc= 1/2 {0.5 + (altitude in meters/1000m)} m2.K/W.
Minimum recommendation for houses, floors with light ventilation: Rc= 3/4 {0.5 + (altitude in meters/1000m)} m2.K/W.As an example, 19 different WALL insulation constructions are compared on their thermal insulation value. The comparison looks at the differences of the added thermal insulation and relates this to the cost aspects. For each country and location (town or remote village) the cost aspects need to be recalculated. Comparing the solutions with the same insulation value with their cost gives an indication of the best efficiency of the design option. HA- TWP #6, 19 Examples Wall Insulation, (February 2012), 1.25 MB, 26 pag.
The same type of comparison is made for 34 different designs for ROOF insulation. This includes traditional roofs, under GI sheet and reinforced concrete roofs. HA-TWP #5, 34 Examples Roof Insulation (February 2012), 44 pages, 2.36MB
A similar comparison is made for 21 FLOOR designs. The thermal insulation requirements of the ground floor are 50% from the walls and roof, since the temperature difference (delta T) between inside and under the floor is less than the delta T between the roof or wall and the outside. HA-TWP#4, 21 Examples Floor Insulation (February 2012), 33 pages, 2.1 MB
