The Impact of the Tree in the Patio on the building microclimate and the indoor thermal environment, Case of Study south of ALGERIA

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of building microclimate on the indoor thermal environment of traditional houses in the south of Algeria, focusing especially on the shading effect of the Palm tree in the patios. The indoor thermal environment was found to follow the outdoor conditions due to the open-plan and, eco-friendly material which has a high thermal mass. Moreover, air temperatures of the living rooms in the two case study houses were lower than the corresponding outdoor ones by approximately 3°C and 10°C, respectively. It was found that the semi-outdoor spaces acted as thermal buffers for promoting cross-ventilation as well as pre-cooling to provide “warm but breezy” conditions to the surrounding indoor spaces. The results showed that the surface temperature of semi-outdoor spaces can be reduced by shading, among which shading has prolonged effects and can reduce the surface temperature during peak hours and the following night.