This paper presents four design charts (DC) to work as a simplified, easy-to-use and cost-effective tool to assist architects and building designers on sizing openings to deliver natural ventilation (NV) for cooling. The DC are derived from analytical techniques for four NV design systems based either on buoyancy-driven or wind-driven flow. The application of the DC is demonstrated to size NV openings for a bedroom in an apartment located in three Indian cities for two opening size scenarios: 'business as usual' (A); and 'necessary size' (B) to deliver the desired ventilation rates for cooling. The ventilation rates for cooling found with these DC are compared with outputs from computational fluid dynamics simulations. Findings show that for the earlier design stage the derived DC are effective tools. It is also found that the opening sizes used in scenario A do not deliver the desired NV rates for cooling, whilst the openings for scenario B must be sized separately for each city to be effective.
Rapidly developing economies of countries in hot climates face the risk of a significant increase in CO 2 emissions. This study developed strategies for low energy cooling and ventilation for Indian residences (LECaVIR). Ventilation and cooling techniques were developed and tested for India's four climatic zones. The analysis shows that natural ventilation is possible in typical residential buildings for about 20-40% of the year. Using an enhanced natural ventilation mode with appropriately sized openable windows and controls, the total number of hours for which natural ventilation is able to offer satisfactory conditions for occupants can be extended by a further 13 percentage points, leading to a potential reduction of 46% in the mechanical cooling hours for residences. Dynamic thermal simulation models, coupled with control software, were used to test the most promising natural ventilation strategies as part of a mixed-mode approach to ensure year-round comfort at minimal energy cost. The simulation shows that energy savings of up to 55% are possible.
PRACTICE RELEVANCEThis paper demonstrates that it is possible to design and control cooling and ventilation strategies that make significant use of natural ventilation, despite hot climates. The paper contains details of innovative control algorithms that were tested using real designs for Indian residences where poor ventilation and overheating are common problems, often leading to the excessive use of inefficient, portable air-conditioning systems. Practitioners will also benefit from guidance on how to use dynamic thermal simulation coupled with control software to quantify the energy and thermal comfort performance of mixedmode ventilation and cooling strategies.
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