Optimization of Natural Ventilation Design in Hot and Humid Climates Using Building Energy Simulation

Abstract

This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.This research aims to propose and explore natural ventilation schemes for the design of high-performance, non-residential buildings in hot and humid climates. Three such schemes were applied toward retrofitting the existing Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics buildings on University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) campus in Honolulu. The results were investigated by using parametric study and Airflow Network (AN) model, coupled with thermal model in EnergyPlus. Meanwhile, the number of discomfort hours, during the time the buildings are occupied and based on the adaptive thermal comfort, was used as a quantitative index for the performance of the natural ventilation design schemes. The results revealed that pure cross-ventilation is not a feasible mode to deliver adequate thermal comfort to the occupants, per an acceptable number of discomfort hours. However, with the supplementation of vertical ventilation ducts (shafts), the performance of natural ventilation design schemes significantly improved. In these cases, it was found that either ventilation ducts or ventilation windows can be completely closed, thus eliminating the need of one or the other in natural ventilation designs and therefore mitigating the potential for outdoor noise traveling into spaces through ventilation ducts and/or ventilation windows’ openings. This research presents my preliminary investigation toward finding the optimal scheme for natural ventilation design. After the scheme is chosen, the actual geometry of the ventilation ducts and ventilation windows, appropriate louvers and duct fittings, as well as their optimal aspect ratios, should be taken into consideration. For future research to be able to extend to incorporate a wider range of climate conditions, a hybrid ventilation approach integrating both mechanical and natural ventilation should be carried out. Moreover, further study of ventilation effectiveness, as per Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), is also recommended.