Reducing solar heat gain to achieve thermal
comfort and energy efficiency in buildings is one of the key strategies adopted
by architects in cooling dominated climate. Brick trellis and brick masonry
wall are some visual expressions explored by architects. This study
investigates the impact of surface modulation due to projections in brickwork
on total solar heat gain. Brick projecting out from a wall creates shadows on
the wall itself. This study attempts to understand the combined and cumulative
effect of the heat transfer through conduction, convection, and radiation. A comparative
analysis is made between plain brick-wall and brick-walls with projections. The
primary objective of this study is to develop an equation to quantify the
reduction in heat gain due to surface modulation. To restrict the scope of this
study equatorial latitude is chosen as the geographical location and year-round
solar heat gain is calculated. Preliminary observations from the study suggest
that an increase in the surface area has a direct relation with heat gain
through conduction. However, the convection helps to reduce surface temperature
and the micro-shading pattern created due to brick projections help to reduce
the solar gain.