Experimental study on the cooling performance of solar-assisted natural ventilation in a large building in a warm and humid climate. (September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Moosavi, Leila; Zandi, Majid; Bidi, Mokhtar
• Is Part Of: Journal of building engineering. Volume 19(2018)
• Page Start: 228
• Page End: 241
• Publication Date: 2018-09
• Subjects: Energy -- Atrium building -- Solar chimney -- Natural ventilation -- Hybrid evaporative cooling; Building -- Periodicals; 690.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2018.04.026
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-7102

Abstract

Abstract: This paper investigates the cooling performance of a naturally ventilated building equipped with a solar chimney and hybrid evaporative cooling, and provides data recorded during a fourteen-day site test in an occupied office building incorporating an atrium. The efficiency of the implemented strategies was determined in terms of enhancing the indoor thermal and air movement conditions in the atrium occupied zones under different opening configurations and evaporative cooling operation times. The thermal data for the glazed atrium, together with the wind and stack-induced airflow rates, indicate that a larger exhaust opening in the solar chimney reduces the air temperature of the atrium central zone rather than the adjacent space. It increases the hours of comfort by more than 30%, with a potential significant reduction in the cooling requirements of about 12% when the building is occupied. On average, the hybrid evaporative cooling system reduces the indoor temperature by 0.7 °C and significantly decreases the thermal stratification during the afternoon. Furthermore, the amount of warm air removal through the chimney vent has an almost direct linear relationship with the wind speed when it exceeds 1.4 m/s in a favorable direction. Highlights: Increasing the exhaust opening size improves comfort hours in the atrium by 30%. A larger exhaust opening in solar chimney reduces the cooling requirements of 12%. Evaporative cooling system reduces thermal stratification during the afternoon time. A wind speed more than 1.4 m/s has linear association with the amount of air removal.