Impact of Natural Ventilation on the Thermal and Energy Performance of Buildings in a Mediterranean Climate

Rodrigues, A. Moret; Santos, Miguel M.; Gomes, M. Glória; Duarte, Rogério

doi:10.3390/buildings9050123

Cited by 32 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…Among the most important parameters of investigating the thermal and the energy performance of buildings in the Mediterranean climate are the natural ventilation conditions using advanced building energy simulation tools [45]. In this study, several multi-zone simulations were carried out and it was concluded that the stack effect plays an important role in the ventilation and that it is commonly outperforms the wind effect.…”

Section: Exploration Of Other In-house Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Investigating Thermal Performance of Residential Buildings in Marmari Region, South Evia, Greece

et al. 2020

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In recent decades, the steady increase of energy consumption from building construction and operations cause atmospheric pollution and significant financial burden, mainly due to the high costs imposed from energy production. This study examines ways under which modern designs of a building can be applied on construction and domestication while following conventional methods of construction, compared to a building that has been constructed and domesticated under bioclimatic architecture. Particularly, two buildings were investigated in terms of the energy consumption incurred, being built on the same seaside area and period of construction and at adjacent plots of the same distance from sea for ease of comparison. The first building (A1) was constructed under the principles of bioclimatic architecture, being also facilitated with green and smart technologies. The second building (A2) was constructed under conventional construction techniques. The energy efficiency of both buildings was calculated by the “TEE KENAK” software, while specific parameters were recorded. Energy classifications of both buildings were valued and a proposed scenario and interventions unveiled the energy classification upgrading from A2 to A1. Our analysis revealed, as also found in the literature, that during thermal energy oscillating conditions, corresponding relative humidity stresses were observed, indicating that the vapor pressure handling should be taken into account towards comfort. The preliminary incremental cost evaluation and comparison of A1 and A2 energy upgrading under the criterion of simple payback period were critically discussed.

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Section: Exploration Of Other In-house Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Investigating Thermal Performance of Residential Buildings in Marmari Region, South Evia, Greece

et al. 2020

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“…More importantly, the target discomfort hours were met in bedroom 1, with 54.40% reduction in discomfort hours from the reference model, as a result of the modification of operation schedule and the specific reduction of openings in bedroom 1. Incoming air is detrimental to thermal comfort particularly in the winter, while ventilation can be used to cool the building in other seasons (Moret Rodrigues et al, 2019). It is evident from the results that rather than ventilating, insulating the residence in winter 2021/2/29…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The benefits of natural ventilation have led to its increased use in a wide range of settings including residential and commercial. However, there are several challenges when using natural ventilation for indoor thermal comfort such as difficulty to predict uncertainties arising due to variable meteorological conditions and inability to control occupant behaviour on windows operation (Moret Rodrigues et al, 2019). The effective application of natural ventilation for thermal comfort is also reliant on the season and climate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Passive Design Strategies for Improving Thermal Comfort Performance in a Naturally Ventilated Residence

Rana

2021

sace

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Passive design integrates a wide range of climate-based strategies to increase occupant thermal comfort and minimise the need for mechanical systems for heating and cooling. The aim of this study was to improve the thermal comfort performance in a naturally ventilated residence through the identification and evaluation of the best set of passive design strategies. A two-storey residence located in Washington, United States with a temperate climate was selected as the case study residence. A reference simulation model was developed by replicating only the orientation and massing of the case study residence, while certain assumptions were made for other building characteristics. Thermal comfort performance analysis was conducted in the DesignBuilder software. A set of design strategies were introduced as interventions followed by simulation runs to efficiently track progress. From the reference simulation model to the final intervention model, a 50% reduction in the annual discomfort hours was anticipated in the five selected zones of the residence. Following the integration of four major interventions, the target discomfort hours were met in three zones—library, bedroom 1 and bedroom 2, with 53.03%, 60.42% and 58.94% reduction in discomfort hours, respectively. The two remaining zones—living and lounge also had a notable improvement with a reduction of 43.93% and 45.99%, respectively. The successful design strategies included—incorporation of triple glazed, low-emissivity and argon filled openings with wooden frames; integration of overhangs in south-facing windows, minor reduction of openings in the east and west façade, and addition of blinds for window shading; and use of an energy code standard construction for the building components and further addition of insulation in the building envelope. The most effective intervention was the customisation of the window operation schedule based on seasonal air temperature differences to optimise natural ventilation. This study demonstrated that occupant thermal comfort can be significantly improved throughout the year with the appropriate use of passive heating and cooling strategies, thereby reducing energy consumption and the environmental impact of buildings.

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“…Due to experimental measurement complexity, some parameters were adopted according to References [20,24], such as: minimum stomatal resistance of 180 s/m, leaf emissivity/reflectivity of 0.95/0.25, and thermal/solar/visible absorptance of 0.9/0.8/0.8. Lisbon is classified as a Csa Mediterranean climate according to the Köppen-Geiger classification due to its hot and dry summers and mild to cool wet winters, high solar radiation, and uneven rainfall patterns [21][22][23]. As fall and spring do not present substantial energy needs and indoor thermal discomfort conditions, the thermal performance of the green roof was monitored separately during two representative periods: a heating season from 21-30 January and cooling season from 5-11 July 2013.…”

Section: Case Study: Experimental and Numerical Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Vegetation, Substrate, and Irrigation on the Energy Performance of Green Roofs in a Mediterranean Climate

Gomes

Silva

Valadas

et al. 2019

Water

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Green roof energy performance is still a challenging topic, namely in a Mediterranean climate since it depends on building characteristics, roof type, and also on climatic conditions. This paper evaluates green roof buildings’ energy needs and use in a Mediterranean climate. An experimentally calibrated numerical model was used to perform a parametric analysis and identify the influence of key parameters in heating and cooling energy needs, as well as annual energy use. The vegetation height, the soil depth, and LAI (leaf area index) were identified as the key parameters. The irrigation levels were also crucial for the energy performance of green roofs, particularly during the summer period and in a Mediterranean climate. Heating energy needs were mainly associated with soil depth due to higher thermal resistance, whereas cooling energy needs depended mostly on LAI, which influenced evapotranspiration and shading effects. A reduction of soil depth from 1.0 m to 0.1 m increased winter energy needs by up to 140%, while low values of LAI increased cooling energy needs up to 365%. Annual energy use in a Mediterranean climate showed a higher dependence on soil depth, with oscillations of up to 115%, followed by LAI and vegetation height. Finally, irrigation levels impacted the annual energy use more significantly for lower watering flow rates. Reductions of about 500% were obtained when changing watering flowrates from 0 mm/day to 6 mm/day in intensive green roofs. Since green roofs with native species expect low values of watering, this may increase their cooling energy needs.

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Impact of Natural Ventilation on the Thermal and Energy Performance of Buildings in a Mediterranean Climate

Cited by 32 publications

References 11 publications

Investigating Thermal Performance of Residential Buildings in Marmari Region, South Evia, Greece

Investigating Thermal Performance of Residential Buildings in Marmari Region, South Evia, Greece

Towards Passive Design Strategies for Improving Thermal Comfort Performance in a Naturally Ventilated Residence

Impact of Vegetation, Substrate, and Irrigation on the Energy Performance of Green Roofs in a Mediterranean Climate

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