Abstract

It is scientifically proven that climate variations directly affect buildings. In other words, whenever there is an increase in temperature, buildings marginally expand and reduce when the temperature level drops; which is a valid explanation for why buildings crack or collapse at times. This research explored the recital influence of climate variation on thermal energy buildings in tropical climate regions such as central Nigeria where three states were considered and examined: Abuja, Plateau and Nasarawa State. The case study method was adopted for the research. To obtain a standard and valid result for this research, thermal energy buildings under the same climatic conditions (cold and hot) in the central region of Nigeria were tested. The study is quantitative research ergo figures, charts, and tables are used in reporting the observed and calculated values. Primary sources such as meteorological observation and data, temporal data, and GIS were useful in gauging the temperature variation and thermal energy effects on buildings. Secondary sources such as published journal articles were also relevant to the research. The outcome of the research reveals that for clay brick buildings, there is no significant difference between the temperature inside the building and outside the building. Whereas, in concrete buildings, it was observed that during the hot season, the temperature inside the building is increasingly high though it all depends on the type of building material that was used in erecting the building. The building enlarges when the temperature goes up and reduces when the temperature goes down. During the cold season, the room temperature in concrete buildings tends to be higher than outside. The thermal air during the cold season is conducive for its inhabitants. Whereas, the temperature during hot climatic conditions has a different inner thermal air and outdoor thermal air. Unlike residents in Jos Plateau State, inhabitants in the tropical climate region suffer a lot from warm air discomfort also known as thermal discomfort. The inhabitants in Abuja and Nasarawa suffer a lot during the hot season because of the temperature rise. Most of the inhabitants in Abuja and its environs use building materials that will regulate the temperature during hot and cold seasons.