Thermal Comfort in S11 House Using Evaporative Cooling

ASIAN ARCHITECTURE[ ARC 2213/2234 ] 1
Asian Architecture [ARC 2213/2234]
PROJECT 1: CASE STUDY
USING EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEM AS A CROSS
VENTILATION METHOD BASED ON WATER BODIES AROUND
S11 HOUSE TO ACHIEVE THERMAL COMFORT.
NAME: MASRUR AKMAL BIN JAMAL
STUDENT ID: 0315141
LECTURER: MS. ALIA AHAMAD
SUBMISSION DATE: 28TH JUNE 2016

Table of Contents
Abstract 3
Research Framework 4
Introduction 5
1.0 Evaporative Cooling 6
2.0 Factors That Contributes To Evaporative Cooling In S11 7
2.1 Water Bodies
2.2 Rainwater Harvesting
2.3 Ventilation
3.0 Effect Of Evaporative Cooling In S11 House 11
3.1 Ventilation Occuring Around S11
3.2 The Use Of Water Bodies
4.0 Other Methods On Achieving Thermal Comfort 13
4.1 Materials
4.2 Spatial Organisation
4.3 Site Context
5.0 Conclusion 17
6.0 Reference 18

ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this research paper is to acknowledge the usage of an
evaporative cooling system and other related methods to how it benefits the S11 House to
achieve thermal comfort. S11 House is a Green Building Index certified building; meaning
from the beginning of the design stages a consideration towards a more eco – friendly house
need to be in check. Not only the design has to be passively adapting towards the tropical
climate of Petaling Jaya but it must also be throughout the process of building the house.
The materials are all recycled from the past building that stands on the current site. From old
bricks, roof timber trusses and old concrete are re used into the building process of the S11
House. This not only maintain the cost but it allows for the architect and the contractor to be
creative with the green tropical house design they want to achieve. Allowing them to
experience what is necessary to achieve thermal comfort throughout each space. However,
it is best to not only depend on the materials used but also have some sort of another plan to
achieve comfort. The S11 House has a unique design that it is built around an existing trees
without moving it or cutting it down. This provides the house natural vegetation shading to
eliminate some sort of heat gain from the tropical climate in Petaling Jaya. There are lots of
design references towards the Malay vernacular architecture that the S11 House has to
allow the cooling system to activate around the house. From the layout plan of the house
being open just as how a traditional Malay house are, allowing cross ventilation to occur to
travel through all the spaces that are connected. However, with the rising temperature in
Malaysia it is very hard to estimate how the natural ventilation would work around the house
and if it is even effective to begin with and allowing the cooling system to achieve thermal
comfort.

RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
QUESTIONS
1. What are the water bodies that are include in S11 House? How does it affect the
ventilation?
2. What are the benefits of using an evaporative cooling system instead of using any
other ventilations system?
3. How does the S11 house water bodies not consider as non-eco-friendly?
4. How does the design element act as a part of the solutions to counter act heat gain in
the S11 House?
EVAPORATIVE
COOLING
SYSTEM
WATER BODIES
S11 HOUSE
GREEN
BUILDING/
MALAY
VERNACULAR
CONCEPT
NATURAL
FACTOR
HEAT GAIN
VENTILATION
SYSTEMS
RAINWATER
HARVESTING
MATERIALS &
STRUCTURE

5. Why the need of evaporative cooling system is important even when natural
ventilation are occurring?

INTRODUCTION
FIGURE 1.1: The façade of S11 House
Designed and built by Ar. Dr. Tan Loke Mun of ArchiCentre Sdn Bhd, the S11 House
a new green tropical house to define all odds of building it in the middle of a hot and humid
climate. Located in Petaling Jaya, the S11 House main concept is to create a new green
tropical house on the site given to use it effectively to create the most sustainable green
tropical house in the suburb of Petaling Jaya. Built on an existing old house which was built
in the early 1960’s, the structure was run-down over in order to create this green tropical
house. Without interrupting the site context such as the existing trees that till now stand tall,
the aim is not only create a green tropical house but to effectively use all of its current assets
and produce the most efficient green topical house without the need of any air – conditioning
to keep it to the most preferable temperature. With a lot of thought and design being put into
the making of the building of S11 House, it really shows the commitment and thought
process of each individual spaces using natural ventilation to achieve thermal comfort. S11
House was also designing to achieve and was later on awarded Malaysia’s first Green
Building Platinum rated house.

1.0 EVAPORATIVE COOLING
Evaporative cooling defined as a reduction in temperature resulting from the
evaporation of a liquid. This process involves latent heat which is removed from the surface
from which the evaporation takes place. Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that
occurs from the surface, the liquid substance becomes a gas. This basically happens when
the water is heated it evaporates. The process of evaporation could simply be found in the
water cycle and it is also the physical basis of sweating.
Evaporative cooling process is mostly used in industrial and domestic cooling system.
These cooling system employed evaporative cooling process as another step into achieving
much cooler temperature in a space rather than the traditional use of air – conditioning unit.
The process of an evaporative cooling could be translated in a simpler way where water
needs heat to change it form into a gas form which changes the temperature from warm to
cold and then air are blown with the water vapour creating a much cooler air through the
space.
However since evaporative cooling is a process for most of the coolers out there, the
S11 House imply these technique in a much different and sustainable method. Without the
use of fan blowing air into an evaporative pad the process in S11 House is much more
natural following the flow of the wind occurring around the area. With the rising temperature
in Petaling Jaya the concept of evaporative cooling would work on achieving the optimal
thermal comfort without any problem.
There are many aspects of how evaporative cooling is occurring in the S11 House,
from the natural ventilation that flow throughout the building, to the use of water bodies that
are designed in the site and the use of natural vegetation as a sun shading device.

2.0 FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO
EVAPORATIVE COOLING IN S11
2.1 WATER BODIES
Water bodies meaning a body of water generally refers to oceans, seas, and lakes
but also includes smaller pools of water such as ponds or wetlands. In this case the water
bodies around the S11 House are designed with the building itself. The S11 House currently
has 4 water bodies inside and outside the building. The main water bodies which could be
found are the main pool which is located near the entrance and façade of the S11 House. It
is located underneath the existing tree structures that haven’t been touch from the start of
the construction process. The next is the indoor pond that is located in the centre of the
building. The remaining water bodies which are smaller ponds are located on the first floor of
the house which is on the veranda facing south.
FIGURE 2.1.1: Indoor pond located at the heart of the S11.
These water bodies are the main component towards operating the process of
evaporation cooling. There are 2 larger water bodies which is the indoor pond and the pool

located on the ground floor. The indoor pond is located in the centre of the house however it
is on the outside of the living space and shaded by the first floor above. The pond and the
pools faces north similar to the orientation of the house which also faces north. Openings are
located just in front of the pond and pool to allow ventilation pass through the spaces inside
the house. The placement of the water bodies also needed to be exposed to allow for the
process of evaporation to occur. This is why the placement is perfectly located outside but
somehow very near towards their respective openings.
FIGURE 2.1.2: Ground floor plan showing the location of the water bodies in S11
Figure 2.1.2 shows exactly the accurate location of each water bodies, it shows a
pattern where all the water bodies are placed linear facing towards each other.

2.2 RAINWATER HARVESTING
FIGURE 2.2.1: Rain oculus which could be found above the main pond
The major part of the water bodies around the S11 is that the water that fills the pool
and ponds are natural water that comes from rainwater. Being the concept of this house to
create a green tropical house, applications toward how the pool and ponds water will be
replace have to be thought for its future use. The architect believes that with the design on
how the pool is the need of changing the water is merely not needed. For example, the main
pool is design in a way where all the waste from dead leaves and other pollutants could just
be thrown out easily with the flow of the current. Guarantee that all the leaves that have fall
on the pool won’t be clump on the centre of the pool but with the current of water in the pool
it will automatically push the leaves and other stuff to the side of the pool. This is one of the
reason that the water do not need any replacing thus this method saves more energy and a
much more environmental friendly.
The oculus that could be found located above the main pond has the function to
catch all rainwater that falls from the sky to not only fall randomly but to control the falling of
rainwater to be as the main water source to keep the pond water full and as a replacement
water.

2.2 VENTILATION
Ventilation is defined as the intentional introduction of outside air into a space. It is
mainly used to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants with a
newer one. According to S11 House the ventilation are natural where the building is a north-
south orientated, this allow for natural ventilation to occur where openings are placed along
the north-south and the west-east are void of any space.
Natural ventilation is a process of supplying air to and removing air from the indoor
space without the use of any mechanical system. S11 house does not have any air
conditioning unit to keep the indoor space cool but it only include mechanical ceiling fans to
boost the air temperature inside the house. Since Petaling Jaya is located in the suburbs
without any vegetation to keep the area cool it sometimes rely on the wind that occur during
the day and night. S11 House include openings in all of it north-south to capture all the wind
possible allowing it to replace the current indoor wind with a much cooler wind.

3.0 EFFECT OF EVAPORATIVE
COOLING in s11 house
3.1 VENTILATION OCCURING AROUND S11
S11 House has a passive design where it allows for ventilation to occur inside the
house. However, with the rising climate in Petaling Jaya the natural ventilation is not enough
to achieve thermal comfort inside the house. With the use of evaporative cooling it will give
the cooling effect a much better results that it was before. Furthermore, with openings are
designed around the house cross ventilation are bound to happen. With inlets and outlets to
optimize the path air follows through the building the after effect of when evaporative cooling
occur it will result in a much better flow.
Since S11 is a three storey house, different openings are included to optimize each
storey especially the first floor. It is equipped with a sliding glass door where it also faces the
north-south orientation. Ventilation would then later flow through each of the spaces where
cool air travel downwards and warm air rises upwards.
FIGURE 3.1.1: An opening that is located on the first floor of the S11 near the veranda

3.2 THE USE OF WATER BODIES
These water bodies are not only designed for aesthetic purposes but it serves a
different functions. It is one of the main components for evaporative cooling. The water
bodies are design to be passive allowing evaporation to occur and enhancing the cooling
process of the spaces. However, it is also houses fishes to create a newer ecosystem for the
S11 House.
The reason of the placement of each of these water bodies are simple to allow
evaporation to occur since the climate in Petaling Jaya is quite hot when it reach its peak.
These enhance the ventilation of the house. For example, the 2 smaller ponds located on
the first floor are designed next to a large opening. Also being at first floor allow for more
efficient air to travel through rather than ground floor. So whenever it is hot and humid it will
heat the 2 smaller ponds to create evaporation and thus evaporative cooling happens. This
method is much eco-friendly as all of the water bodies does not need to be replace often or
ever since replacing the water would consume a lot of energy and waste water. S11 also
save energy from using any mechanical system to allow evaporation to occur but with the
use of openings and water bodies placed in their respective manner enhance the ventilation
method and achieve thermal comfort much quicker than just natural ventilation.
FIGURE 3.2.1: The main pool located near the main entrance of S11

4.0 OTHER METHODS ON ACHIEVING
THERMAL COMFORT
4.1 MATERIALS
One of the main reasons why the S11 House achieve platinum GBI rating is the uses
of materials to build the house. From the planning phase towards the construction phase the
architect knew by demolishing the old structure it will left them with a lot of waste materials
from the past structure laying around the site. Rather than throwing the materials out the S11
recycle most of the old materials on parts of the house. This in turn will greatly save cost.
Old crushed concrete roof tiles are used for gravel fill, old steel were sold off to steel yards,
old bricks were re used as part of the exterior wall and cement aprons were reused for
backfilling aggregate.
The S11 House consists of light weight concrete as it main materials and it includes a
lot of glass windows and doors. The glass windows and doors allow the house to maximize
thermal comfort where it eliminates heat gain much quicker than the light weight concrete
does. Bricks are also used where it also control the humidity around the space allowing for a
much dry and cleaner air inside the spaces.
4.2 SPATIAL ORGANISATION
Spatial organisation is important to determine how things work around the building, in
case of S11 House the thinking process into it is well thought. Since the house is a north-
south orientated from there different aspect of elements that could achieve thermal comfort
could be applied. With the house north-south orientation, the opportunity for the use of cross
ventilation is vital to achieve thermal comfort. From there other aspect could be looked at to
enhance more opportunity to achieve thermal comfort much more efficient. The east and

west walls were deliberately void of any significant glazed openings to control the movement
of air flow inside the building.
FIGURE 4.2.1: Ground floor plan of S11 House
According to figure 4.2.1, the house is organized in 4 villas where each bedroom is
located. 4 villas were designed on each four corners. Initially this designed and spatial
arrangement of the 4 villas allows for better ventilation and eliminates any sort of heat gain.
Later on to finished the design the 4 villas are connected with corridor, walkway, living and
family room in the centre of the house. With all the spaces facing north and south this
eliminate the heat gain from the sun as there are openings all around the north and south.
With this arrangement the cross ventilation occurring inside the house has a fluid flow for it
to travel all around the house. Since all opening are placed on the north and south, each
space is acquired with the ventilation needed.
Not only the spatial arrangement of the rooms are important however even the
arrangement of the water bodies which contributes to the ventilation allowing evaporative
cooling is also important. As mention earlier the water bodies are all facing the north and

south orientation to follow the flow of air movement and it is all lined up central of the house
where the living room are. With the placement of glazed openings on the centre are, it
optimize the ventilation thus resulting in a much more efficient way to achieve thermal
comfort.
4.3 SITE CONTEXT
S11 House is built on an existing site and structures especially the trees. During the
construction of the house the trees hasn’t been touch but only to optimize and use it as an
advantage towards achieving thermal comfort for the house.
FIGURE 4.3.1: Ground floor plan of S11 House
Figure 4.3.1 indicates the vegetation that is on site. The 4 main trees are the existing
trees that were there before the construction of S11. The house is designed just behind the
trees as if the trees were designed around the house as a protection system. The main
entrance is occupied by the larger trees; it is large that parts of the house have to be built

around the branches without touching or cutting the trees down. By not having to interfere
with the current vegetation of the S11, it gives opportunity to the architect on how to utilize it,
especially when this element could be used to counter act the heat gain of S11. The trees
not only provide for greener scenery of the S11 but it also act as natural vegetation sun
shading. The expenditure of the trees is large that it could shade the whole openings located
near the main pool. It’s not only provide shade throughout the façade of S11 and the west
walls but it provide a much cooler environment around the house allowing S11 to achieve
thermal comfort not only inside the house but also outside.
With the west walls being covered up with trees the east walls are very open and can
be exposed to the sun allowing heat gain. The architect not only design the east walls to
include creeper plants as a normal vegetation of the house that runs through a wire from the
ground to the top of the building, however the same case as the existing trees it is one of the
main part of sun shading for the S11 house especially for the east walls.
FIGURE 4.3.2: One of the existing trees which is located on the west of the S11

5.0 CONCLUSION
In conclusion the green tropical house which is the S11 is designed well that each
elements that makes up the building have their own significant functions and not only be
designed for aesthetic purposes. With the water bodies in the S11 also serve as a much
more important function toward leading to a better ventilation to achieve thermal comfort is a
well thought design that will pay for the present and future use of the house.
We know that with the hot and humid climate in a suburbs area of Petaling Jaya
doesn’t really mean without any greenery such as that could be seen in a jungle or forest it
won’t provide a much more cooler environment, but these problems could be solve by
adding elements such as the water bodies, openings around the north-south and the
opportunity to utilize vegetation as a factor to reduce heat gain. These methods are the key
to making the S11 house a well ventilated and a well comfort house that suits each individual
that occupying the spaces.
Overall, ventilation that flows through the house play a major role and with the help of
evaporative cooling from the water bodies, it enhances the performance of ventilation that
flows from the inlets of the house towards the outlets to achieve a preferable thermal comfort
for the S11.

6.0 REFEREFENCE
S11 House / ArchiCentre. (2013). Retrieved May 23, 2016, from
http://www.archdaily.com/313041/s11-house-archicentre
S11 House - Malaysia's first GBI Platinum (CVA) rated house. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27,
2016, from http://www.s11house.com/#introduction
How Evaporative Cooling Works Evaporative air conditioning uses only water and moving air
to cool using the principles of evaporation...[col=200]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2016, from
http://www.breezair.com/europe/why-evaporative/how-evaporative-works
Designing Buildings Wiki The construction industry knowledge base. (n.d.). Retrieved May
23, 2016, from http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Cross_ventilation
What you need to know about cross ventilation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2016, from
http://www.breathingbuildings.com/news/natural-ventilation-news/what-you-need-to-know-
about-cross-ventilation
The Science of Evaporative Cooling. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2016, from
http://www.evaptainers.com/updates/2014/8/6/the-sciance-of-evaporative-cooling
Human Thermal Comfort | Sustainability Workshop. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2016, from
http://sustainabilityworkshop.autodesk.com/buildings/human-thermal-comfort

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