International Transdisciplinary Approach to Sustainability …
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and environmental impacts. Herein the thermal and energy performance of those
buildings are considered with respect to design solution.
Most houses in Brazil are naturally ventilated. However, the sales of domestic air
conditioning systems are increasing by 16% per year (Abrahão 2015). Besides that,
the air conditioning usage is not considered relevant for the low-income population,
as less than 10% of dwellings has artificial cooling (Paulsen and Sposto 2013). Therefore, energy efficiency for Brazilian social housing is focused on thermal comfort
based on metabolic activities as eating, sleeping, and sanitizing (Sorgato et al. 2016).
In 2008, the Brazilian federal government established the Minha Casa Minha
Vida Program, which translates into “My House My Life,” in order to deal with
the Brazilian housing deficit. An evaluation with the residents from the Minha Casa
Minha Vida Program mentioned overheating among the three worst performance
aspects of the houses (IPEA 2014).
A standard architectural design is not required by Caixa Econômica Federal
(CAIXA), the main institution that funds housing construction in Brazil. However,
CAIXA does provide a standard design proposal as a strategy for cost reduction, and
suggests the importance of adapting the design according to place-based conditions
including local climate. Since CAIXA does not state what design changes should
be made as a response to place-specific conditions, most of the times they are not
conducted. The work of Paulsen and Sposto (2013), Giglio et al. (2014) and Cota
and Silva (2016) show that the same housing typology and popular materials are
used in many developments located in different places of the country without any
distinction.
One of the main reasons that compromise those buildings’ quality is economic.
The maximum amount of money made available from the funding agency for construction per month from is equivalent to 10% of the monthly income for families
making up to 3 minimum wages (Caixa Econômica Federal 2010). The poor housing
quality made CAIXA establishes a list of criteria including durability and minimum
room areas. However, thermal criteria were not included.
In this context, CAIXA developed a certification system entitled “Selo Casa Azul”,
which stands for “Blue House Label”, aiming for the increase in the quality of built
houses while encouraging best practices in design and sustainable construction. Selo
Casa Azul is a voluntary-based certification launched in 2010 that may be applied
to any housing development but since CAIXA is the main funding agency for social
housing, the system prioritizes social housing quality requirements among other
typologies (Caixa Econômica Federal 2010).
Selo Casa Azul presents sustainability criteria for six quali-quantitative categories
including required and optional solutions. A certified development may get a Bronze
label for 19 required criteria attended; Silver, for additional 6 optional criteria, or
Gold for additional 12 optional criteria. The system is comprised by 53 criteria.
Design and Comfort and Energy Efficiency are two categories among five others that
comprise 12 criteria, being 5, mandatory (Caixa Econômica Federal 2010).
The design criteria related to energy efficiency and thermal performance are site
plan, solar orientation, fenestration areas, and materials and colors for the enclosure
and roof. These criteria are aligned to NBR 15220—Thermal Performance (ABNT
191
and environmental impacts. Herein the thermal and energy performance of those
buildings are considered with respect to design solution.
Most houses in Brazil are naturally ventilated. However, the sales of domestic air
conditioning systems are increasing by 16% per year (Abrahão 2015). Besides that,
the air conditioning usage is not considered relevant for the low-income population,
as less than 10% of dwellings has artificial cooling (Paulsen and Sposto 2013). Therefore, energy efficiency for Brazilian social housing is focused on thermal comfort
based on metabolic activities as eating, sleeping, and sanitizing (Sorgato et al. 2016).
In 2008, the Brazilian federal government established the Minha Casa Minha
Vida Program, which translates into “My House My Life,” in order to deal with
the Brazilian housing deficit. An evaluation with the residents from the Minha Casa
Minha Vida Program mentioned overheating among the three worst performance
aspects of the houses (IPEA 2014).
A standard architectural design is not required by Caixa Econômica Federal
(CAIXA), the main institution that funds housing construction in Brazil. However,
CAIXA does provide a standard design proposal as a strategy for cost reduction, and
suggests the importance of adapting the design according to place-based conditions
including local climate. Since CAIXA does not state what design changes should
be made as a response to place-specific conditions, most of the times they are not
conducted. The work of Paulsen and Sposto (2013), Giglio et al. (2014) and Cota
and Silva (2016) show that the same housing typology and popular materials are
used in many developments located in different places of the country without any
distinction.
One of the main reasons that compromise those buildings’ quality is economic.
The maximum amount of money made available from the funding agency for construction per month from is equivalent to 10% of the monthly income for families
making up to 3 minimum wages (Caixa Econômica Federal 2010). The poor housing
quality made CAIXA establishes a list of criteria including durability and minimum
room areas. However, thermal criteria were not included.
In this context, CAIXA developed a certification system entitled “Selo Casa Azul”,
which stands for “Blue House Label”, aiming for the increase in the quality of built
houses while encouraging best practices in design and sustainable construction. Selo
Casa Azul is a voluntary-based certification launched in 2010 that may be applied
to any housing development but since CAIXA is the main funding agency for social
housing, the system prioritizes social housing quality requirements among other
typologies (Caixa Econômica Federal 2010).
Selo Casa Azul presents sustainability criteria for six quali-quantitative categories
including required and optional solutions. A certified development may get a Bronze
label for 19 required criteria attended; Silver, for additional 6 optional criteria, or
Gold for additional 12 optional criteria. The system is comprised by 53 criteria.
Design and Comfort and Energy Efficiency are two categories among five others that
comprise 12 criteria, being 5, mandatory (Caixa Econômica Federal 2010).
The design criteria related to energy efficiency and thermal performance are site
plan, solar orientation, fenestration areas, and materials and colors for the enclosure
and roof. These criteria are aligned to NBR 15220—Thermal Performance (ABNT