Essay: South East and North West room temperatures

Question Identification
The topic that was chosen for this Geographical Research project was to establish the difference in temperature between the two rooms in the Southdowns’ College hostel College House which are located South East and North West of the building. The purpose of this research project is to find out why my room in the College boarding house is much colder than my 2015 room. This was brought to my attention by how my washing towels were not drying up during my school day in the South East room, as they used to in 2015 in the room that faced North West. This got me thinking that, there is a possibility that my current room receives less sun light with less air, I noticed this when I studied, and often after showering, as I sweat continuously as I have to open the doors, and the windows.
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/sites/prod.yourhome.gov.au/files/images/PD-Orientation-GeneralPrinciplesOrientation-03_fmt.png
Due to South Africa being in the Southern Hemisphere the picture above which is representing Australia explains the current hypothesis I have towards my research project and explains what I aim to achieve during the course of this research project as it is clearly relative to the situation we have in the College House boarding.
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The location of the College House boarding hostel may have been influenced by passive heating and cooling in a sense that the rooms are located to the best advantage of the sun for e.g. by having living areas that face north where they will receive all-day sun and service areas that face south where they will receive little sun. The location of the building and the factors that may influence the positioning of it may: noise, views, privacy, and passive cooling such as ventilation and shading.
https://www.google.co.za/search?q=difference+in+temperature+between+South+East+room+and+North+West&safe=strict&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjm2dOOxuvOAhVnIMAKHV82BxQQ_AUIBigB#safe=strict&tbm=isch&q=difference+in+temperature+between+South+East+room+and+North+West+South+africa&imgrc=HTcGWowf_n5oDM%3A
Pretoria’s climate is similar to that of Johannesburg, but it lies somewhat lower altitude than its neighbor and its air temperature are, on average, about two degrees higher. This is a summer rainfall region. Between November and February summer thunderstorms produce flashes of lighting and brief but torrential afternoon downpours. Summer days are hot, though rarely to the point of discomfort and this is mentioned prior to how temperature would affect the two rooms in the different seasons and to also see how there would be any different changes in the temperature of these rooms with rainfall playing also as a factor.
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Hypothesis or generalisations formulated
Purpose:
I want to find out why my 2016 room in the college boarding house is so much colder than my 2015 room. This was brought to my attention by how my washing towels were not drying during my school day, as they used to in 2015; This got me thinking that, there is a possibility that my current room receives less sunlight with less air, I noticed this when I studied, and often after showering, as I sweat continuously as I have to open the doors, and windows.
Aim:
My aim is to determine the difference in temperature between the two rooms. I will discuss the factors like humidity, and the position of the sun in relation to the building to try to understand why my new room is lower in temperature,
Hypothesis:
The college house bedrooms that face South east are colder than those that face northwest.
Location:
Southdowns’ College is located/situated in the Highveld where in the summer days are not too hot, and nights are pleasantly cool; in winter the nights can be quiet cold, even below zero, but during the day the sun shines, and lets the temperature rise to 25 degrees.
https://www.google.co.za/maps/vt/data=RfCSdfNZ0LFPrHSm0ublXdzhdrDFhtmHhN1u-gM,XwkeDSBqwKkldce6QIaKvB5EhLMzcv348bUC7wAD2ufkD13QL4AJvg2P_OJoK0QT-EPnagVT6DMIAh0GnaA95gocsgHS-16_PE-X6tWe_d6swvujlit2iHzgMyUPD_3X7F23YfXCW2Vx5WFN
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The positioning of the College House building may have advantages of facing North West such as according to ‘the orientation and room layout’: 1. having good daylight most of the day. 2. Have solar gain for most of the day throughout the year. 3. May require horizontal shading to prevent overheating in summer. 4. Have good passive solar gain in winter whereas for the South East facing rooms they may not be suitable for habitable spaces as they: 1. Have lower levels of daylight during parts of the year 2.have little or no heat. This has been evident in the two rooms during the course of my stay over the two years as I have experienced that there would be a lot of factors influencing the temperature of the two rooms such as the positioning of the sun rising in the east then culminates in the north with a repetitive cycle of this everyday which may also impact on humidity in the different rooms due to the insolation they receive. Aspect may also have on influence in the temperature around the area of Southdowns’ where: > the sun will shine directly onto the surface which is in this case the building and will have a more shining effect on the North west side rather than the South east side because of how the sun rises in the east and culminates in the north as this building would also be in a north facing. >the hotter slopes in the Southern hemisphere are those that face north, while in the Northern hemisphere the south-facing slopes are hotter. > The effect of aspect is greater in winter for places further from equator. > The effect is least noticeable at noon when the sun is nearly directly overhead. With this information gathered and collected the major factors contributing towards the temperature between the two rooms have been discussed and proven that the room that is south east will be colder than that faces North west.
Factors of investigation:
The factors of the investigation have been stated clearly too how they could determine the out-come of the research task with the information regarding the temperature, and the humidity isolated to see the differences between the two rooms.
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/sites/prod.yourhome.gov.au/files/images/PD-Orientation-Slopes-02_fmt.png
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Data Collection and Recording
The methods and records that will be used to determine why my 2016 room in the College house boarding is so much colder than my 2015 room is my placing a thermometer inside both of the rooms each day in the morning and letting them stay throughout the day but also letting them stay inside the rooms at night to see if the night temperature does not have an effect on the temperatures experienced by the two rooms. Then the temperatures of the two rooms will be taken every day and recorded for two weeks to evaluate the difference in temperature between the two rooms and why is it that the 2016 room which is South East is colder than the North western room.
Data has been collected for the temperature in the two rooms over a course of two weeks to see the difference in temperature between the two rooms as it has been stated in the introduction because of the factors like receiving less sunlight with less air and showering, as I sweat continuously as I would have to open the doors, and the windows. These factors have been isolated by placing the thermometer to see if the one room receives less sunlight with less air during the course of the day and also placed when showering in the day and at night time to see if humidity would also play a huge factor in the different temperatures in the two rooms.
Data presentation:
Room 1(NE ROOM)
• 1st week of data collection
Time temperature collected Temperature on day Day of the week and conditions
06:00am and 22:00pm 26 degrees Mon, hot conditions
14:00pm and 19:00pm 25 degrees Tues, hot conditions
06:00pm and 22:00pm 21 degrees Wed, partly conditions
14:00pm and 11:00om 23 degrees Thurs, Rainy conditions
07:10am and 17:50pm 24 degrees Fri, Hot conditions
08:00am and 12:00pm 26 degrees Sat, Clear skies
08:00am and 14:pm 27 degrees Sun, Hot conditions
The times of the temperature were taken/recorded in the morning and also in the afternoon to see the sunlight and air the rooms receive.
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Room 2(SE ROOM)
*1st week of data collection
Time temperature collected Temperature on day Day of the week and conditions
05:00am and 17:00pm 28 degrees Mon, Sunny
06:00am and 14:00pm 21 degrees Tues, Overcast
06:00am and 17:00pm 22 degrees Wed, Overcast
07:15am and 19:00pm 26 degrees Thurs, Clear skies
07:15am and 22:00pm 28 degrees Fri, Sunny
08:00am and 14:00pm 26 degrees Sat, Clear skies
09:00am and 15:00pm 24 degrees Sun, Overcast
The time of the temperatures were taken/recorded in the morning and also in the afternoon to see the sun light and air the rooms receive during the course of the day.
The major problem I came across during the data collection was that the two weeks of the collection of the temperature was not completed but the week1 temperatures were used to collect data in the form of a table. During the course of this investigation is that a questionnaire will also be given out to the college boarding house scholars kids who live in the NW side and the SE side of the building to achieve the main aim of the project and objectives as well.
Questionnaire:
Name
Room number and direction of the room:
Does the room receive any sunlight during the course of the day and any air
Is your room cold?
How long does it take for you to dry up after showering
Is there any factor that might contribute into your room resulting in it being cold or hot?
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http://www.yourhome.gov.au/sites/prod.yourhome.gov.au/files/images/PD-Orientation-SpaceFreeOfMajorObstructions-01_fmt.png
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/sites/prod.yourhome.gov.au/files/images/PD-Orientation-Sunpaths-02_fmt.png
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https://www.google.co.za/search?q=difference+in+temperature+between+North+West+room+and+South+East+Room+in+a+building&safe=strict&rlz=1C1NHXL_enZA695ZA695&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjV9MKOkuzOAhVOOMAKHdOlCxMQ_AUIBigB&dpr=1#imgrc=z2OZhndOdj5WlM%3A
https://www.google.co.za/search?q=difference+in+temperature+between+South+East+room+and+North+West+South+africa&safe=strict&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjpkrSTlezOAhXMC8AKHRLAAxMQ_AUICCgB#safe=strict&tbm=isch&q=difference+in+temperature+between+South+East+room+and+North+West+&imgrc=eeFY5nF55122IM%3A
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Data presentation
The data that will be presented in the presentation will rightly represent the stated purpose of the study as these results were taken and analysed throughout the season Summer and Autumn to get a full analysis on what the result of the project could be and how it would correlate to the aim and hypothesis of the project that ‘The college house bedrooms that face SE are colder than those that face NW and these were investigated/proven by placing a thermometer in each of the rooms in the South east and North West sides.
There has also been a questionnaire that was given out to the borders that live in the South East and North west rooms to make sure that ‘I’ as the investigator does not have a say about it being colder in the South east room but get views from different people who currently live in both the sides of the hostel and unlike me who has lived in both the South east and North west direction.
The data that will now be presented has been taken throughout the course of two season:
Room 1(NE ROOM)
• 1st week of data collection
Time temperature collected Temperature on day Day of the week and conditions
06:00am and 22:00pm 26 degrees Mon, hot conditions
14:00pm and 19:00pm 25 degrees Tues, hot conditions
06:00pm and 22:00pm 21 degrees Wed, partly conditions
14:00pm and 11:00om 23 degrees Thurs, Rainy conditions
07:10am and 17:50pm 24 degrees Fri, Hot conditions
08:00am and 12:00pm 26 degrees Sat, Clear skies
08:00am and 14:pm 27 degrees Sun, Hot conditions
The times of the temperature were taken/recorded in the morning and also in the afternoon to see the sunlight and air the rooms receive.
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Room 2(NE ROOM)
*1st week of data collection
Time temperature collected Temperature on day Day of the week and conditions
05:00am and 17:00pm 28 degrees Mon, Sunny
06:00am and 14:00pm 21 degrees Tues, Overcast
06:00am and 17:00pm 22 degrees Wed, Overcast
07:15am and 19:00pm 26 degrees Thurs, Clear skies
07:15am and 22:00pm 28 degrees Fri, Sunny
08:00am and 14:00pm 26 degrees Sat, Clear skies
09:00am and 15:00pm 24 degrees Sun, Overcast
The time of the temperatures were taken/recorded in the morning and also in the afternoon to see the sun light and air the rooms receive during the course of the day.
Room 2(SE ROOM)
*1st week of data collection
The time temperature collected Temperature on day Day of the week and conditions
05:00am and 17:00pm 28 degrees Mon, sunny
06:ooam and 14:00pm 21 degrees Tues, overcast
07:15:am and 19:00pm 22 degrees Wed, overcast
07:15am and 22:00pm 26 degrees Thurs, clear skies
08:00am and 14:00pm 28 degrees Fri, sunny
09:00am and 15:00pm 26 degrees Sat, clear skies
06:00am and 17:00pm 24 degrees Sun, overcast
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Room 2(SE ROOM)
*2nd week of data collection
Time temperature collected Temperature on day Day of the week and conditions
05:00am and 17:00pm 24 degrees Mon, sunny
06:00am and 14:00pm 26 degrees Tues, sunny
06:00am and 17:00pm 22 degrees Wed, overcast
07:15am and 22:00pm 23 degrees Thurs, windy
08:00am and 14:00pm 20 degrees Fri, clear skies
07:15am and 22:00pm 26 degrees Sat, rainy conditions
09:00am and 15:00pm 19 degrees Sun, rainy conditions
*The time of the temperatures were taken/recorded in the morning and also in the afternoon to see the sun light and air the rooms receive during the course of the day.
Data in this research has been presented in a meaningful manner with the criteria being followed on how to use each of the presentation techniques with each set of the data approximately headed or referenced. To conclude the data presentation a questionnaire will be answered by boarders from the SE rooms and NE rooms too and where a line graph will also be drawn to show the results.
Line graph of difference between temperature in SE and NW rooms
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Analysis
Each factor that contributed towards the different temperature in the two rooms has been described and interpreted in a meaningful manner where the aspect has an effect in being greater in winter when the sun is lower and the angle it would hit the building is much smaller meaning that the sun’s rays do not reach do not reach the slope facing away from the equator as easily in summer, when the angle of incidence is greater. The humidity was present more in the second room due to how it receives insolation as the building would be facing in a north direction where the sun would rise east and set west then resulting and making it evident that insolation will occur most on the north facing side of the building. The factor that played the most important role in determining and proving my hypothesis that the North west room is warmer than the South east room was because of the temperature and how the building is positioned in the sense that the South east room at the bottom is in the shade most of the day and this could be in close relation to a similar situation with a mountain where the north facing room would be known as the warmest part which may be then referred to as the thermal belt where the south facing room would be known as the shadow zone areas that fall in the shadow zone of a slope are heated only by reflection and could be explained that slopes facing east are cooler and moister than the slopes facing west because the rising sun uses heat as energy to evaporate dew and this would be the same reasoning for the building and its location.
The sets of data that will be compared will be of males and females which live in the college house boarding hostel and data will be first compared by using a questionnaire which was given out to both genders who live in the NW and SE rooms. The was no big of a difference in the questionnaires due to how both females and males live in the same building so they would experience similar temperatures either living in the NW or SE rooms. There was a difference in the time the different people dried up after taking a shower although they live in the same direction either NW or SE but this would be due to how the males would live in the bottom rooms where there is a great vast of shade unlike two floors up where the ladies live and they hardly have shade due to the positioning of their rooms being located on top of the males and that resulting in the getting more insolation than the males in the SE rooms.
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Conclusion and Evaluation
Each factor that has been discussed in the course of the project has been evaluated and checked to see if it really does contribute to the temperature of the two rooms where research was found on the internet on how one would know how to locate a building and the factors that you must think about when you locate your house or building such as the positioning of the sun to ensure that the house receives enough insolation and also that the insolation that is received is not a lot which would end up damaging the paint of the house. The improvements that could be made prior to this project would be that information regarding hostel should be emphasised and why it was located here to know if this was a geographical strategy by the developers to ensure that the NW side receives more sunlight than the SE side.
The aim of the research project has been achieved where I have proven that the SE room is colder than the NW room due to the positioning of the building and factors such as humidity, temperature experienced on the day, insolation and the SE room being in the shadow zone which enables less or little insolation. The results taken from the graph, questionnaire and tables summaries that the people in the NW rooms experience better or warmer climates than those in the SE rooms who rather much experience cooler and colder temperatures depending on the season which occurs where also these limitations of process have made reference to data collection.