In Japan the Great East Japan Earthquake had occurred on March 11 in 2011. There are serial damages in seaside cities of the Pacific Ocean in Tohoku district. Many people in these areas had lost their houses and more fifty thousand temporary houses were built in three prefectures of the Tohoku district. Most temporary housing units are terrace houses, and distance between buildings is narrow, and the performance of the thermal insulation is not enough to keep an adequate indoor thermal environment and energy conservation. Therefore, we are anxious about the possibility several problems may occur, such as indoor thermal environment and indoor air quality as well as sound environment problems.
This research aims to propose the optimal environmental design method of temporary housing and show how to improve the environmental policy, after clarifying the relationship between the healthy situation of residents living temporary housing and the indoor thermal environment and indoor air quality. Therefore questionnaire surveys, interviews and environmental measurement for temporary housing in Sendai city, which is located in Miyagi prefecture, have started the summer of 2011 and were continued to the summer of 2012.
This paper describes the measured results of indoor temperature and humidity, and occupants' behaviors related to thermal environment in the temporary housing during summer and winter seasons of 2011 and 2012. It was found the associations between indoor temperature profiles and occupants' behavior such as using air conditioner, opening or closing windows and so on from the measured results during summer season. During winter season the indoor temperature was maintained around 20°C during heating time. However after heating equipment was turned off, the indoor temperatures decreased rapidly due to poor thermal performance of building envelope. In addition a numerical analysis revealed the thermal envelope performance and mechanical ventilation system for adequate indoor climate and saving energy. We propose the temporary houses located in cold climatic regions such as Sendai city should have both the building thermal performance closer to the building code for energy conservation and mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery in a living room and bed room.
