Thailand is located in the tropical region of Southeast Asia. Traditional Thai house
design has evolved under prevalent climate conditions and the dwellings are comfortable.
Urbanization, shrinking family size, proliferation and ready availability of steel, cement, and
concrete as construction materials, change in life style, and increasing penetration of airconditioning
all are factors that have influenced design and choice of materials for the present
housing construction and household energy consumption. This will lead to higher energy intensity
and higher carbon emission. This paper reports resultant baseline data on house design and
construction, and interior thermal and visual environmental conditions of low-middle-income
households obtained through physical measurements of selected houses in the northern region of
Thailand. Interviews were also conducted with senior female members of the households on general
socio-economic information and uses of electrical appliances. Data on house construction obtained
enable quantification of embedded energy and carbon of the houses. Information of residential
electricity consumption from the distribution utility and other information from the National
Statistical Office enables formation of a model of typical household of a middle income family of
the northern region, of typical electricity consumption and operational carbon emission.