A thermal performance study of four communities in Ghana's savannah region

Purpose: Many countries the world over continue to grapple with issues of thermal discomfort both within and without – a condition that has arisen due to incessant urbanization, climate change, among others. The current study focussed on assessing the level of thermal stress both in and outdoors towards finding measures to reduce overheating in spaces within the Savannah climatic region of Ghana through a four-stage approach. Design/methodology/approach: A four-stage approach has been used for the study; thus, a thermal comfort analysis based on physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), overheating assessment, a subjective thermal responses/evaluation of residents and a simulation effort to improve comfort. Findings: There was an indication of “moderate cold stress to slight cold stress” on the coolest day (28th December). On the warmest day (12th April), however, the indoor environment had exceedance and severity of overheating of at least 56% and 38-degree hours. The acceptable comfort range and comfort temperatures of occupants of buildings in the study area have been determined to be 25.5–33 °C by the thermal sensation survey. Meanwhile, the simulation showed that a 200% increase in thermal mass, exterior wall insulation and roof extension and insulation has the potential to generate a reduction of 18% in overheated hours. Originality/value: The paper unearths the flagrant disregard for thermal comfort in an attempt of “copying blindly” architecture from Southern Ghana by the affluent within the Savannah Region. Again, data provided prove that indeed human activities have worsened the plight of inhabitants through materials as well as construction methods.