Comparative study of the indoor apparent temperature of dwellings with different roofing in the Lower Papaloapan River Basin region

This research presents a comparative study and an indoor thermal comfort analysis of self-constructed dwellings with different roofing in the Lower Papaloapan River Basin in Mexico. These include concrete roofs, zinc-coated sheet metal, asbestos sheets and palm fronds, all with and without false ceilings. The comparative study takes into account the identification and analysis of different architectural typologies, materials, structural pathologies, as well as the construction processes and the number of hours in which a dwelling is inside the comfort zone proposed. Until now, there is no relevant information about the comfort zone for the inhabitants of the studied region. Thermal comfort analysis shows that the comfort zone for the region is difficult to achieve due to the temperature and humidity of the region. Among the roofing without a false ceiling, the dwelling with palm roofing had the best performance whilst housing with zinc roofing produced the worst. Moreover, palm roofing is an ecological and vernacular option that uses local materials. In the case of a false ceiling, a standardizing effect was observed for all types of roofing. New approaches to show and analyse data and some suggestions for improving comfort conditions within homes in the region were proposed.