Coimbatore Climatic Data

Coimbatore ()
Kovai ()

city

Coimbatore ()
Location of Coimbatore () in Tamil Nadu and India

Coordinates Country State District(s) Mayor Population Density Time zone Area Elevation

1116N 765821E11.01833N 76.9725ECoordinates: India Tamil Nadu Coimbatore R.Venkatachalam

930,882 (2001)

1116N 765821E11.01833N 76.9725E

17,779 /km2 (46,047 /sq mi) IST (UTC+5:30)

105.5 square kilometres (40.7 sq mi)

411.2 metres (1,349 ft)

Jan Pleasant Feb Pleasant Mar Moderately Hot Apr Very Hot May Very Hot Jun Moderately Hot Jul

Temperature varies from 15 to 32C. January is the coolest month of the year. The days are bit warm and nights are cool. Temperature varies from 17 to 33C. February is pleasant with temperate climate. Days are warm and the nights are pleasant. Ideal for outdoor activities. Temperature varies from 22 to 37C. March is moderately hot all through the days and nights. It is the last month to explore outdoor attractions before the tiring summer days. Temperature varies from 27 to 40C. April is very hot. The environment is dry and the hot atmosphere is not ideal for outings. Temperature varies from 27 to 40C. May has the peak summer days with atmosphere heats up to scorching levels. Days and nights are hot. Temperature varies from 25 to 37C. The intermittent rains lower the temperature and give the required relief from hot climate. Temperature varies from 25 to 37C. Heavy monsoon showers make the travel difficult during this month.

Rainy Aug Moderately Hot Sep Moderately Hot Oct Moderately Hot Nov Moderately Hot Dec Pleasant
Monthly averages F |

Temperature varies from 24 to 37C. August climate is temperate and nature looks beautiful after the rains. Temperature varies from 24 to 36C. September is moderately hot and associated with intermittent showers. Temperature varies from 24 to 35C. October offers post monsoon showers and the atmosphere becomes humid and cool. Temperature varies from 21 to 33C. November is pleasant and the ambiance is dry. The days are warm and nights are cool. Temperature varies from 18 to 32C. December days and nights are pleasant. This month is perfectly ideal for all tourist activities.

January

Avg Low: 19

Avg High: 31

Avg precip: 0.37 cm Avg precip: 0.62 cm Avg precip: 1.78 cm Avg precip: 4.18 cm Avg precip: 3.91 cm Avg precip: 1.99 cm Avg precip: 1.94 cm Avg precip: 2.55 cm Avg precip: 3.52 cm Avg precip: 12.42 cm Avg precip: 10.15 cm Avg precip: 2.59 cm

February

Avg Low: 20

Avg High: 34

March

Avg Low: 22

Avg High: 36

April

Avg Low: 24

Avg High: 37

May

Avg Low: 24

Avg High: 35

June

Avg Low: 23

Avg High: 32

July

Avg Low: 22

Avg High: 31

August

Avg Low: 22

Avg High: 32

September

Avg Low: 22

Avg High: 33

October

Avg Low: 22

Avg High: 32

November

Avg Low: 21

Avg High: 30

December

Avg Low: 19

Avg High: 30

Weather Graph for Coimbatore

Note: These are average maximum and average minimum temperature for Coimbatore. The highest temperature in Coimbatore for the month is usually higher than the average maximum temperature. Similarly, the lowest temperature in Coimbatore for the month is usually lower than the average minimum temperature.

Shelter for tropical upland climates

Nature of the climate
This climate is in many ways similar to the composite of monsoon climate, with its distinct rainy seasons. It is dominated very strong solar radiation, often with modern to cool air temperature. Even in the warmest part of the year air temperature rarely reaches 30C but the diurnal variation can be as much as 20C. There is a marked reduction in temperature in upland climates further away from the equator. Humidity is not excessive and there is an almost constant air movement, never very strong.

Physiological objectives
As the air temperatures rarely exceed the upper comfort limit, overheating would only be caused by solar radiation when it is incident directly on the body or by heating up the building fabric. Excessive glazed areas can be a source of overheating. Protection against such overheating can be provided by several means: 1. The provision of adequate shading, both for windows and for external activity areas. 2. By limiting the heat admission of buildings during the strongest sunshine hours. 3. If the building is overheated, this can be counteracted by the provision of adequate ventilation (air changes only for convective cooling, sensible air movement, i.e. physiological cooling, is unnecessary). Cold discomfort can often at night, even in the warm season. Peoples clothing will be very different at night to that during the day. The building itself can ameliorate the cold night conditions by: Providing a closed of closeable internal environment. Storing some of the heat gained from solar radiation, to re-emit it at night, during the cold period. If the above two means fail to achieve thermal comfort, some small amount of heating may have to be provided.

Form and planning

The building plan should be reasonably compact, as this would help in slowing down the response to changing thermal conditions. It would reduce heat gain during the day and heat loss during the night. Windows and opening will have to be protected from solar radiation. Solar control devices will often be the most prominent features of the building. Orientation of the building and of its major openings can greatly influence the solar heat gain, thus it should be carefully considered. North and south facing vertical walls receive the least amount of radiation. Of these two less is received by the one facing away from the equator, i.e. facing north on the northern hemisphere and facing south on the southern half of the globe. Ease, south-west and north-west walls will receive about the same amount of radiation and the west wall will receive the

most. The chart gives total annual solar heat gains on vertical walls of different orientations, on a comparative scale, for Nairobi. Other equatorial locations would give rather similar diagrams. On this basis, with an oblong shaped plan, the longer walls should face north and south, the major openings would be located in these walls. Windows facing east would admit the sun, but at a time when the air temperature is still quite low. Windows facing west should be avoided, whenever possible, as the solar heat gain through these would coincide with the highest air temperatures. This arrangement would reduce incident solar radiation and would also minimize the extent of shading devices, as north and south facing windows can be shaded by the simplest of means.

External Spaces
Well shaded external spaces should be provided as: 1. Many activities are going on out-of-door as in all warm climates. 2. The very strong radiation would create hot discomfort, even with quite low air temperatures. Shade could be provided by the building itself, by pergolas, awning or by vegetation. In the cooler period of the year sunshine may be welcome in external spaces. Two possibilities are open to the designer: 1. To provide some form of adjustable shading device to the external activity area 2. To provide alternative external spaces for use in the different seasons: shaded for the hot period and unshaded, wind protected for the cool part of the year. The former can be achieved by some form of canvas awning, cantilevered or supported be a pergola-like frame, or by matting spread on some framing. The cost of more elaborate devices would in most cases be prohibitive. The latter arrangement may be wasteful of space, duplicating the out-door area, but where space is not at a premium, it may be the easier and more economical solution. In some situations the same external space may be shaded or unshaded in different parts of the year, and luckily this may coincide with shading requirements. For example, if July to August is the cool period, in an equatorial location the sun at this time is in the northern sky, thus a space on the north side of the building will receive solar radiation. The same space will be overshadowed by the building itself in the hottest part of the year (December to January) when the sun is in the southern sky.

Roofs and walls

Nights are cool and solar radiation can cause overheating of building during the day. For continuously occupied buildings the task is therefore two fold. 1. To limit the heat admitted during the strong sunshine hours. 2. To store some heat, to be re-emitted during the cool period. Both purposes would be well served by a high thermal capacity structure. A time-lag of 8 hours is advisable, as this would bring the maximum indoor heat emission to 20.00 to 21.00 hours, when it is most needed, before the occupants go to bed. (A 200mm concrete slab, with screed and felt or a 150mm concrete slab with an insulating screed would give this performance.) The roof is by far the most important, as it receives the greatest amount of radiation. East and especially the west walls should also be massive. North and south walls will not receive much radiation and they may be of a light weight construction. In buildings occupied during the day but not at night, only the first of the two above tasks must be fulfilled. In this case a lower thermal capacity may be quite sufficient. A time-lag of 5 hours would bring the maximum heat gain to 17.00 or 18.00 hours, which is normally past the working hours. A lightweight wall is also possible, especially in multistory buildings, provided it is well insulted and the windows are shaded.

Surface treatment
Reflective surfaces would be useful in reducing the heat load. White or bright metallic surfaces would be most advantageous for building occupied only during the day-time. In cases of continuous occupancy, it may be desirable to admit solar heat into the fabric to store it for the night. Therefore a

darker, more absorbent surface finish may be more suitable. This should be used only with buildings of high thermal capacity. Where such heat storage is not possible, if for some reason a lightweight construction is used, the surface must be light and reflective. Roof surfaces (especially of flat roofs) deserve particular attention, as horizontal surfaces receive a far greater amount of solar radiation than any vertical surface. A massive roof slab of at least 8 hours time-lag can become the most important heat regulator. A black bituminous or asphalt finish can serve a useful purpose in absorbing much of the solar heat during the day to be released after sunset. With lightweight roofs (with timber or metal decking) however good the insulation, the use of absorbent surfaces must be avoided. If bituminous felt is used for roofing, the top layer should be faced with aluminium foil. Alternatively, white marble chips can be used as a finish on bituminous or asphalt roofs. This is quite effective in reducing the absorption whilst new, but when it becomes dirty much of is reflectance is lost. Some self-cleansing surface would be preferable. At high altitudes the ultra-violet component of solar radiation is much greater than at sea-level. This radiation can damage some materials and can cause decomposition of polymers. Only well-tested materials should be used.

Openings
As the air temperature rarely reaches the upper comfort limit, there is no need for physiological cooling by air movement, and no need for cross-ventilation, as long as the problem of solar control is adequately solved. Where solar overheating does occur, cross-ventilation may provide relief, but most of the time, it could contribute to a feeling of cold discomfort. It is essential to provide for the adequate closing of openings, windows and doors. As, on the other hand, there is no need to capture winds and cooling breezes and, on the other hand, there are no strong winds to be avoided, the wind direction need not be considered in deciding the orientation of opening. Solar heat gain will be the only factor governing the orientation of windows. The size of openings will be governed by considerations other than thermal. From the point of view of solar heat gain the lesser the openings, the easier the control. For ventilation and day lighting, in most cases, a window of some 20% of the elevational area will be quite adequate.

Traditional shelter
The traditional rural shelter in these climates is the round hut, with mud and wattle walls and thatched roofs. The walls consist of vertical poles driven into the ground in a circle, horizontal twigs and branches threaded in between to form a basket-weave pattern. The whole is plastered with mud. Subsequent layers of mud are often built up to a thickness of 0.25m, thus providing a substantial thermal capacity. In some areas the mud-and-wattle construction is carried through the roof, which will also have a high thermal capacity. In urban areas where stone is available, one can see wailing and slate roofs. Roofs may still be thatched or of wood framework plastered with mud. Openings are always small.

Analysis of the house

Physiological objectives
There is not much glazed areas in the house except for the indoor lawn which is also not directly exposed to solar radiation. The whole building is a compact closed space. So in the night when it gets cold, the internal heat will keep the people warm.

Form and planning

The building is oblong in the wrong direction. Even though the walls facing the north and south are not longer as required,the major openings are on these sides ie., the patio and the open space behind. In the bedroom in the ground floor space even though the window can be given in the eastern side,its given in th northern face thereby cutting don the exposure to sunlight more. North and South openings are shaded by simplest means of lean to roofs and patio flat roof.

External Spaces
The northern and southern openings are open for out door activities and are well shaded These shading elements will make the people comfortable all through the year, protecting them from solar radiation during winter and shadowing the region during summer.

Roofs and walls and surface treatment

No consideration has been given to the thickness of the walls. All the walls are of the same thickness. The east and west walls are not any thicker than northern and southern walls making them prone to solar radiation. The building has flat roofs and terracotta tiles are placed in the terrace to absorb the radiation.

Openings
Even though cross ventilation is not need adequate cross ventilation is given. About 25% of the elevational area is windows which is what is required.

Calculations
U-Value for the Brick wall plastered on both sides =2.44 Solar Heat Gain Factor approx=0.04 Let us consider the hall which is 5m*5.25m*3m Area of the Window=2.5*2=5 metre square Let us assume the difference in temperature to be 5 deg C Qc=5*2.44*5 =61W Volume of the room=5*5.25*3 =78.75 metre square Rate of Ventilation=78.75*3/36007 =0.0656 cubic metre/s Qv=1300*0.656*5 =426.5625W Rate of ventilation induced by stack effect=7.0*5*2(5) =110.679 cubic metre/sec