Abstract
Environment is one of the biggest concerns around the globe as it affects every aspect of our lives, including the buildings used for residential and commercial purposes. A majority of people spend about 90% of their time indoors. In residential buildings, the existence of natural ventilation is essential to ensure the comfort level of residents. Recently, greater significance has been accorded to natural ventilation in building codes and planning policies. Today, many planning policies provide guidelines that stipulate the need for adequate natural ventilation in residential buildings. This paper aimed to investigate the occupants’ level of satisfaction with natural ventilation in residential buildings of Qasimabad, Hyderabad. Twenty (20) houses with a different opening design individuality were selected as sample for the current study. In terms of the occupants’ level of satisfaction with natural ventilation, the majority was neither satisfied nor unsatisfied. Further investigation demonstrated that the level of satisfaction is significantly related to the size of the openings. This study explored the residents’ satisfaction level using the questionnaire survey and case study methodology. Data was collected from the study area of Qasimabad in Hyderabad from 290 respondents. The results vouched for the implementation of building bye-laws in the designing of residential buildings in order to achieve the comfort level of their occupants.
Keywords: Building bye-laws, natural ventilation, occupants, residential building, satisfaction level