Thermal Stress Testing of Residential Buildings Using Weather Data in India

Implementing Partner: Build Change

Project name:Thermal Stress Testing of Residential Buildings Using Weather Data in India

This project developed extreme weather files, including heatwave scenarios, to enhance building energy simulations.

Since thermal stress lacks a standard definition, precise measurement is crucial for reliable analysis. Traditional simulations use a single weather file, often missing climate extremes.

Incorporating diverse weather variations improves assessments, optimizing building performance and resilience against thermal stress, ensuring climate-adaptive architectural design strategies.

Increase in extreme
heatwave days in India
(2012 to 2022)
0 x
Projected increase in
heatwave frequency in
India
5 to 0 x
Indian districts
now prone to extreme
heatwaves
0 %

Impact and Key Findings

1

The project identified significant differences between typical and extreme temperature loads in residential buildings, offering crucial insights into performance under varying climate conditions. These findings enhance understanding of thermal stress impacts, supporting resilient, climate-adaptive architectural design strategies. 

2

Using cluster analysis, the study classified thermal stress across climate types, refining heat stress definitions. This approach enables precise, region-specific design strategies, ensuring adaptive architectural solutions that optimize building performance under varying weather conditions and extreme temperature events. 

3

The findings help engineers select optimal materials and refine energy-efficient designs, enhancing building resilience to extreme temperatures. This supports climate-adaptive construction, ensuring long-term sustainability, occupant comfort, and structural durability in evolving environmental conditions. 

Resources

Aishwarya Pillai

Lead Specialist

Alpana heads institutional partnerships, governance, and resource mobilization at CDRI, advancing cross-sector collaborations that drive resilient infrastructure programming across Member Countries and organizations. With over 25 years of experience spanning international development, global health, and the non-profit sector, she brings deep expertise in fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and delivering strategic change. 

At CDRI, Alpana has been pivotal in forging strategic alliances with governments, international organizations, and philanthropies. She also plays a key role in fortifying institutional systems and board governance mechanisms as the Coalition transitions into an international organization. 

Before joining CDRI, Alpana held senior leadership roles at The George Institute for Global Health, Plan India, WaterAid India, and SOS Children’s Villages, leading institutional fundraising and cultivating strategic partnerships for social impact. 

She holds a Master’s in Finance & Control from Aligarh Muslim University and completed Executive Education at Harvard Business School (CSR India). Her work is driven by a commitment to building enduring, values-based partnerships that accelerate sustainable development outcomes. 

Alpana Saha

Director, Partnerships, Governance, and Resource Mobilisation 

Alpana heads institutional partnerships, governance, and resource mobilization at CDRI, advancing cross-sector collaborations that drive resilient infrastructure programming across Member Countries and organizations. With over 25 years of experience spanning international development, global health, and the non-profit sector, she brings deep expertise in fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and delivering strategic change. 

At CDRI, Alpana has been pivotal in forging strategic alliances with governments, international organizations, and philanthropies. She also plays a key role in fortifying institutional systems and board governance mechanisms as the Coalition transitions into an international organization. 

Before joining CDRI, Alpana held senior leadership roles at The George Institute for Global Health, Plan India, WaterAid India, and SOS Children’s Villages, leading institutional fundraising and cultivating strategic partnerships for social impact. 

She holds a Master’s in Finance & Control from Aligarh Muslim University and completed Executive Education at Harvard Business School (CSR India). Her work is driven by a commitment to building enduring, values-based partnerships that accelerate sustainable development outcomes.