scholarly journals Keeping Cool in the Desert: Using Wind Catchers for Improved Thermal Comfort and Indoor Air Quality at Half the Energy

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Jamal Saif ◽  
Andrew Wright ◽  
Sanober Khattak ◽  
Kasem Elfadli
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Evaporative Cooling

In hot arid climates, air conditioning in the summer dominates energy use in buildings. In Kuwait, energy demand in buildings is dominated by cooling, which also determines the national peak electricity demand. Schools contribute significantly to cooling demand, but also suffer from poor ventilation. This paper presents analysis of a ventilation and cooling system for school classrooms using a wind catcher for natural ventilation and evaporative cooling. A school classroom in Kuwait with single-sided ventilation was modelled using the DesignBuilder V5.4/EnergyPlus V9.1 software and calibrated using field data. The model was used to analyse the performance of a wind catcher, with and without evaporative cooling, in terms of energy use, thermal comfort and indoor air quality. Compared to the baseline of using air-conditioning only, a wind catcher with evaporative cooling was found to reduce energy use by 52% during the summer months while increasing the comfortable hours from 76% to 100% without any supplementary air conditioning. While the time below the ASHRAE CO2 limit also improved from 11% to 24% with the wind catcher, the indoor air quality was still poor. These improvements came at the cost of a 14% increase in relative humidity. As the wind catcher solution appears to have potential with further development; several avenues for further research are proposed.

scholarly journals Solar assisted cooling rule in indoor air quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 3948
Author(s):  
Ali M. Baniyounes ◽  
Yazeed Y. Ghadi
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Internal Heat ◽  
Subtropical Climate ◽  
Mould Growth ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort

<p>Indoor air quality as always is the centre of attention for researchers, architect developers and public health officials. As every-one know. The human exposure to a variety of indoor pollutants and the high cost of energy are the motivation for these kinds of studies. Fungus and mould growth has always been a problem in subtropical climate areas due to the high temperature and high humidity. Generally in institutional buildings, most of the internal heat load is generated by human body and thermal comfort is achieved with   extensive usage of recycled air and air conditioning. The main considerations in any air conditioning system economisers are based on the usage of recycled air and air ventilation. The current practice in an institutional building cooling system under subtropical climate is to curb the mould issue by overcooling large recirculation airflow to remove the moisture content from the air, which is considered as an expensive practice. The use of a solar desiccant cooling system to reduce moisture from the air and to improve indoor air quality is found to be economical, environmental friendly and readily achievable in the tropics. This technology is the future alternative to the conventional vapour compression cooling system to maintain human thermal comfort conditions and enhance indoor air quality. Solar desiccant cooling systems are also environmentally friendly and energy efficient. This paper presents review on a solar desiccant cooling system and its effect on indoor air quality. It first introduces the issue of air moisture, mould growth and indoor air quality and then the development and application of thermally activated desiccant cooling technologies.</p>

scholarly journals Window operation behaviour and indoor air quality during lockdown: A monitoring-based simulation-assisted study in London

2021 ◽  
pp. 014362442110177
Author(s):  
Farhang Tahmasebi ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Elizabeth Cooper ◽  
Daniel Godoy Shimizu ◽  
Samuel Stamp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Probabilistic Models ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Ventilation Strategies ◽  
The Impact

The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in new patterns of home occupancy, the implications of which for indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy use are not well-known. In this context, the present study investigates 8 flats in London to uncover if during a lockdown, (a) IAQ in the monitored flats deteriorated, (b) the patterns of window operation by occupants changed, and (c) more effective ventilation patterns could enhance IAQ without significant increases in heating energy demand. To this end, one-year’s worth of monitored data on indoor and outdoor environment along with occupant use of windows has been used to analyse the impact of lockdown on IAQ and infer probabilistic models of window operation behaviour. Moreover, using on-site CO2 data, monitored occupancy and operation of windows, the team has calibrated a thermal performance model of one of the flats to investigate the implications of alternative ventilation strategies. The results suggest that despite the extended occupancy during lockdown, occupants relied less on natural ventilation, which led to an increase of median CO2 concentration by up to 300 ppm. However, simple natural ventilation patterns or use of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery proves to be very effective to maintain acceptable IAQ. Practical application: This study provides evidence on the deterioration of indoor air quality resulting from homeworking during imposed lockdowns. It also tests and recommends specific ventilation strategies to maintain acceptable indoor air quality at home despite the extended occupancy hours.

The Potential of Natural Ventilation in Single-Sided Ventilated Apartment to Improve Indoor Thermal Comfort and Air Quality

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Mohamed ◽  
M. Behnia ◽  
S. King ◽  
D. Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Architectural Element ◽  
Flat Design ◽  
Effective Ventilation ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd ◽  
Ventilation Performance

Cross ventilation is a more effective ventilation strategy in comparison to single-sided ventilation. In the NSW Residential Flat Design Code1 (RFDC) the majority of apartments are required to adopt cross ventilation. However, in the case of studio and one-bedroom apartments, it is acknowledged that single-sided ventilation may prevail. Deep plan studio and one-bedroom apartments may achieve lower amenity of summer thermal comfort and indoor air quality where mechanical ventilation is not provided by air conditioning. Since compliance with the code may allow up to 40% of apartments in a development in Sydney to be single sided, it is important to understand the natural ventilation performance of such apartments. The objective of this paper is to investigate the natural ventilation potential in single-sided ventilated apartments to improve indoor air quality and thermal comfort. This investigation includes simulating various facade treatments involving multiple opening and balcony configurations. Balcony configurations are included in this study because, in Sydney, a balcony is a compulsory architectural element in any apartment building. The study uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to simulate and predict the ventilation performance of each apartment configuration. This study suggests that properly configured balconies and openings can significantly improve indoor ventilation performance for enhanced indoor air quality and thermal comfort, by optimizing the available prevailing wind. However, it is important to note that inappropriately designed fac¸ade treatments also could diminish natural ventilation performance.

scholarly journals Indoor Air Quality Enhancement Performance of Liquid Desiccant and Evaporative Cooling-Assisted Air Conditioning Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beom-Jun Kim ◽  
Junseok Park ◽  
Jae-Weon Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Reference System ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Quality Enhancement ◽  
Liquid Desiccant ◽  
Air Conditioning Systems ◽  
Indoor Pm2.5

The main objective of this study is to investigate the indoor air quality enhancement performance of two different liquid desiccant and evaporative cooling-assisted air conditioning systems, such as the variable air volume (VAV) system with the desiccant-enhanced evaporative (DEVap) cooler, and the liquid desiccant system with an indirect and direct evaporative cooling-assisted 100% outdoor air system (LD-IDECOAS), compared with the conventional VAV system. The transient simulations of concentration variations of carbon dioxide (CO2), coarse particles, and fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5) in a model office space served by each system were performed using validated system models that were found in the literature. Based on the hourly thermal loads of the model space predicted by the TRNSYS 18 program, each air conditioning system was operated virtually using a commercial equation solver program (EES). The results indicated that the LD-IDECOAS provided the lowest annual indoor CO2 concentration among all the systems considered in this research, while the VAV system with DEVap cooler exceeded the threshold concentration (i.e., 1000 ppm) during the cooling season (i.e., July, August, and September). For the indoor particulate contaminant concentrations, both liquid desiccant and evaporative cooling-assisted air conditioning systems indicated lower indoor PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations compared with the reference system. The LD-IDECOAS and the VAV with a DEVap cooler demonstrated 33.3% and 23.5% lower annual accumulated indoor PM10 concentrations than the reference system, respectively. Similarly, the annual accumulated indoor PM2.5 concentration was reduced by 16% using the LD-IDECOAS and 17.1% using the VAV with DEVap cooler.

scholarly journals The Determination of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort with Different Space and Ventilation in the Teracce and Bungalow Houses

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 774-793
Author(s):  
Nur Baitul Izati Rasli ◽  
Nor Azam Ramli ◽  
Mohd Rodzi Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Air Contaminants ◽  
Code Of Practice ◽  
Air Movement

This study observed the influence of different ventilation, indoor and outdoor activities (i.e., cooking, praying, sweeping, gathering, and exhaust from motorcycle) between a bungalow house (i.e., stack and cross ventilation applications) and a terrace house (i.e., one-sided ventilation application). We appraised the indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort. We monitored the indoor air contaminants (i.e., TVOC, CO, CH2O, PM10, O3, and CO2) and specific physical parameters (i.e., T, RH, and AS) for four days in the morning (i.e., 6.00 a.m. – 9.00 a.m.), morning-evening (i.e., 11.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m.), and evening-night (i.e., 5.00 p.m. – 8.00 p.m.) sessions. The results found that cooking activities are the major activities that contributed to the increase of the TVOC, CO, PM10, O3, and CO2 concentrations in the bungalow and terrace houses. However, IAQ exceeded the Industry Code of Practice on IAQ (ICOP) limit in the terrace house. The bungalow house applies stack and cross ventilation, double area, and a long pathway of indoor air contaminants movements. Besides that, the results indicated that cooking activities worsen the ventilation system because CO2 exceeded the ICOP limit on Day 2 at 74.1 % (evening-night session) and Day 3 at 13.2 % (morning session), 11% (morning-evening session), and 50.1 % (evening-night session). Moreover, the combination of mechanical (i.e., opened all fans) and natural ventilation (i.e., opened all doors, windows, and fans) is the best application in the house without a cooking ventilator with lower indoor air movement. Furthermore, the temperatures exceeding the ICOP limit of 23-26 °C for both bungalow and terrace houses could be lower indoor air movement, which is less than the ICOP limit of 0.15-0.5 m/s and high outdoor air temperature. Therefore, it is prudent to have an efficient ventilation system for acceptable indoor air quality and thermal comfort in the family house.

Analysis of Thermal Comfort and Air Quality in the Kindergarten Hart - A Case Study of a Unique Sustainable Building Design

2019 ◽  
Vol 887 ◽  
pp. 500-507
Author(s):  
Matthias Schuss ◽  
Mahnameh Taheri ◽  
Ulrich Pont ◽  
Ardeshir Mahdavi
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

The present contribution, reports on the results of ongoing research efforts on performance assessment of a number of buildings designed by the Austrian architect, Konrad Frey. He is a pioneer of energy-efficient architecture, and his designs, those dating back to the 1970s, adapted the principles of modern solar houses. The current study focuses on the Kindergarten Hart, which was especially designed focusing on the availability of cross ventilation option in building. For the purpose of analyzing thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and the occupants’ adaptive actions with respect to natural ventilation, we conducted long-term monitoring under summer and winter conditions. The monitoring efforts covered indoor and outdoor environmental conditions, as well as the state of windows. Thereby, study of the monitored dataset provides a better understanding of the building performance. Moreover, it makes it possible to examine whether the architect’s expectations in terms of thermal comfort and indoor air quality levels are fulfilled or not. In addition, investigation of the occupants’ interactions with windows, together with indoor and outdoor environmental conditions, assists understanding of possible associations between the window opening/closing and environmental parameters, as well as potential optimization of the control-oriented actions.

Distribution of Indoor Air Quality under Air Conditioning Running

2014 ◽  
Vol 945-949 ◽  
pp. 976-979
Author(s):  
Bao Wei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Dynamics Model

People are constantly committed to seeking new ways that energy saving ventilation can improve indoor air quality. In this paper, methods of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation combining established indoor ventilation jet crash fluid dynamics model to simulate the indoor air, thermal comfort and indoor air quality issues.

scholarly journals Detailed Analysis of Thermal Comfort and Indoor Air Quality Using Real-Time Multiple Environmental Monitoring Data for a Childcare Center

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 643
Author(s):  
Sukjoon Oh ◽  
Suwon Song
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Monitoring Data ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Childcare Center

Thermal comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ), and energy use are closely related, even though these have different aspects with respect to building performance. We analyzed thermal comfort and IAQ using real-time multiple environmental data, which include indoor air temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulate matter (e.g., PM10 and PM2.5), as well as electricity use from an energy recovery ventilation (ERV) system for a childcare center. Thermal comfort frequency and time-series analyses were conducted in detail to thoroughly observe real-time thermal comfort and IAQ conditions with and without ERV operation, and to identify energy savings opportunities during occupied and unoccupied hours. The results show that the highest CO2 and PM10 concentrations were reduced by 51.4% and 29.5%, respectively, during the occupied hours when the ERV system was operating. However, it was also identified that comfort frequencies occurred during unoccupied hours and discomfort frequencies during occupied hours. By analyzing and communicating the three different types of real-time monitoring data, it is concluded that the ERV system should be controlled by considering not only IAQ (e.g., CO2 and PM2.5) but also thermal comfort and energy use to enhance indoor environmental quality and save energy based on real-time multiple monitoring data.

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