Natural Ventilation

Lesson – 7
Env.Science for building.
Definition- ventilation
• VENTILATION is the process by
which fresh air is introduced and
ventilated air is removed from an
occupied space.

• The primary aim of ventilation is

to preserve the qualities of air.
Sometimes, ventilation may also
be used to lower the temperature
inside an occupied area.
Natural ventilation

• Natural ventilation is the

process of supplying and
removing air by means of
purpose-provided aperture
(such as openable
windows,ventilators and
shafts.)
Natural ventilation may be divided
into two categories:

1. Controlled natural
ventilation

2. Infiltration
Controlled natural ventilation
• Controlled natural ventilation is
intentional displacement of air
through specified openings such as
windows, doors, and ventilations by
using natural forces (usually by
pressures from wind and/or indoor-
outdoor temperature differences).

• It is usually controlled to some extent

by the occupant.
 Infiltration
• Infiltration is the uncontrolled random flow of
air through unintentional openings driven by wind,
temperature-difference pressures and/or
appliance-induced pressures across the building
envelope.

• In contrast to controlled natural ventilation,

infiltration cannot be so controlled and is less
desirable than other ventilation strategies, but
it is a main source of ventilation in envelope-
dominated buildings.
 Mechanical ventilation
• Mechanical or forced ventilation is the process of
supplying and removing air by means of mechanical
devices, such as fans.

• It may be arranged to provide either supply, extract

or balanced ventilation for an occupied space.

• There are also specialised areas in which ventilation

is vital, such as ventilation for industrial processes,
mines, tunnels and underground development.
 Purposes of ventilation
• Maintaining human comfort and health are two
key reasons for providing ventilation in buildings.

To achieve these purposes, a ventilation system

should be :
1. Provide sufficient supply of air/oxygen for
the physiological needs of human beings (a
minimum of 0.2 l/s/person is required for
breathing purpose) and/or livestock;
3. provide sufficient supply of air/oxygen for
industrial, agricultural and other
processes (for example, provision of
oxygen for burning and combustion
processes);

4. remove the products of respiration and

bodily odour (including those from
smoking) of human and/or animal
occupants;

5. remove contaminants or harmful

chemicals generated by processes or from
building materials;
6. remove heat generated by people,
lighting and equipment inside the
occupied space;

7. create some degree of air

movement which is essential for
feelings of freshness and comfort
(usually a velocity of 0.1 to 0.3 m/s is
required).
Principles of Natural Ventilation

For air to move into and out of a

building, a pressure difference between
the inside and outside of the building is
required.

The resistance to flow of air through the

building will affect the actual air flow
rate
 In general, controlled natural ventilation and
infiltration are driven by pressure difference across
the building envelope.
• The pressure difference is caused by:

1. wind (or wind effect);

2. difference in air density due to temperature

difference between indoor and outdoor air (stack
or chimney effect); or

3. combination of both wind and stack effects.

Wind effect

• When air flow is due to wind,

air enters through openings in
the windward walls, and
leaves through openings in the
leeward walls.
Air flow around a building
• Wind pressures are generally high/positive on the
windward side of a building and low/negative on
the leeward side.

• The occurrence and change of wind pressures on

building surfaces depend on:

1.wind speed and wind direction relative to the

building;
2.the location and surrounding environment of the
building; and
3.shape of the building.
• For a building with numerous partitions and
openings, it is under various pressures
depending on the relative sizes of the openings
and the wind direction.

• With large openings on the windward face, the

building tends to be under positive pressure.

• The reverse is true if the openings are smaller

than those downstream.
STACK EFFECT
• When air movement is due to temperature
difference between the indoor and outdoor,
the flow of air is in the vertical direction and
is along the path of least resistance.

• The temperature difference causes density

differentials, and therefore pressure
differences, that drive the air to move.
During the winter season the following
stack effect occurs:

• indoor temperature is higher than outdoor

temperature;
• the warmer air in building then rises up;
• the upward air movement produces negative
indoor pressure at the bottom;
• positive indoor pressure is created on the top;
• warmer air flows out of the building near the
top; and
• the air is replaces by colder outside air that
enters the building near its base.
Stack Effect
• During the summer season , the reverse
occurs when indoor temperature is lower
than outdoor temperature.

• Stack effect that may occur in different

forms of buildings, including a building with
no internal partition, a building with airtight
separation of each storey, and an ideal
building with vertical shafts and horizontal
openings.
• When thermal force is acting alone, a
neutral pressure level (NPL) exists, where
the interior and exterior pressures are
equal.

• At all other levels, the pressure difference

between the interior and exterior depends
on the distance from the neutral pressure
level and the difference between the
densities of inside and outside air.
Combined effect of wind and temperature difference

• In most cases, natural ventilation depends on a

combined force of wind and stack effects.

• The pressure patterns for actual buildings

continually change with the relative magnitude of
thermal and wind forces.

• The pressures due to each effect are added

together to determine the total pressure
difference across the building envelope.
• The relative importance of the wind and
stack pressures in a building depends on
building height, internal resistance to
vertical air flow, location and flow
resistance characteristics of envelope
openings, local terrain, and the
immediate shielding of the building
structure.
Design for Natural Ventilation
• The design of controlled natural ventilation
systems requires identification of the
prevailing wind direction, the strategic
orientations and positions of openings on
the building envelope.

• These openings include windows, doors,

roof ventilators, skylights, vent shafts, and
so forth.
 Ventilation rates

When designing a ventilation system, the

ventilation rates are required :

• to determine the sizes of fans,

• openings,

• air ducts.
The methods that can be used to determine the
ventilation rates include:
(a) Maximum allowable concentration of
contaminants
• A decay equation can be used to describe the steady-
state conditions of contaminant concentrations and
ventilation rate, like this:
Ci = Co + F / Q(3)
Ci = maximum allowable concentration of contaminants
Co = concentration of contaminants in outdoor air
F = rate of generation of contaminants inside the occupied space (l/s)
Q = ventilation rate (l/s)
b) Heat generation
The ventilation rate required to remove heat from
an occupied space is given by:

where H = heat generation inside the

space (W)
Q= ventilation rate (l/s)
cp= specific heat capacity of air
(J/kg.K) = density of air (kg/m3)
Ti= indoor air temperature (K)
To= outdoor air temperature (K)
c) Air change rates
Most related professional institutes and authorities
have set up recommended ventilation rates, expressed
in air change per hour, for various situations. The
ventilation rate is related to the air change rate by the
following equation:

Q = ventilation rate (l/s)

V = concentration of contaminants in
outdoor air
ACH = air change per hour
 Recommended air change rates

Space Air change rates per hour

Car parks 6
Kitchen 20-60
Lavatory 15
Bathrooms 6
Boiler Rooms 15 - 30
 Outdoor Air-Requirements for Ventilation
Application Estimated maximum occupancy (persons Outdoor air
per 100 m2 floor area) requirements
(l/s/person)
Offices

- Office Space 7 10
- Conference 50 10
Room
Retail’s store
-Street level 30 5
-Upper Floors 20 5
and arcades
Education
- Class room 50 8
- Auditorium 150 8
- Library 20 8
Application Estimated maximum Outdoor air
occupancy (persons per 100 requirements
m2 floor area) (l/s/person)

Hospitals

- Patient Rooms 10 13

-Operating 20 15
Rooms
 Flow caused by wind
Major factors affecting ventilation wind forces include:

• average wind speed;

• prevailing wind direction;
• seasonal and daily variation in wind speed and
direction;
• local obstructing objects, such as nearby buildings and
trees;
• position and characteristics of openings through which
air flows; and
• distribution of surface pressure coefficients for the
wind.
 Guidelines for natural ventilation
The following guidelines are important for planning
and designing natural ventilation systems in
buildings:

• a natural ventilation system should be effective

regardless of wind direction and there must be
adequate ventilation even when the wind does not
blow from the prevailing direction;

• inlet and outlet openings should not be obstructed

by nearby objects;
 Guidelines for natural ventilation
• windows should be located in opposing pressure
zones since this usually will increase ventilation
rate;
• a certain vertical distance should be kept
between openings for temperature to produce
stack effect;
• openings at the same level and near the ceiling
should be avoided since much of the air flow
may bypass the occupied zone;
• architectural elements like wing(partition) walls,
parapets and overhangs may be used to
promote air flow into the building;
 Guidelines for natural ventilation
• topography, landscaping, and surrounding
buildings should be used to redirect airflow and
give maximum exposure to breezes;
• in hot, humid climates, air velocities should be
maximised in the occupied zones for bodily
cooling;
• to admit wind air flow, the long façade of the
building and the door and window openings
should be oriented with respect to the prevailing
wind direction;
 Guidelines for natural ventilation
• if possible, window openings should be accessible
to and operable by occupants;
• vertical shafts and open staircases may be used to
increase and generate stack effect;
• openings in the vicinity of the neutral pressure
level may be reduced since they are less effective
for thermally induced ventilation;
• if inlet and outlet openings are of nearly equal
areas, a balanced and greater ventilation can be
obtained.
 Barriers to the application of natural ventilation

• A successful application of natural ventilation strategies

is only possible when there are no problems in many
areas at various levels from the design stage to actual
operating demands placed on the building users (Allard,
1998).

These potential barriers include :

• Barriers during building operations

• Barriers during building design
• Other barriers
Barriers during building operations
• Safety concerns
• Noise from outdoor
• Dust and air pollution
• Solar shading covering the openings
• Draught prevention
• Knowledge of the users about how to
take the best advantage of natural
ventilation
Barriers during building design
• Building and fire regulations
• Need for acoustic protection
• Difficult to predict pattern of use
• Devices for shading, privacy & daylighting may
hamper the free flow of air
• Problems with automatic controls in openings
• lack of suitable, reliable design tools
Other barriers
• Impact on architectural & envelope
design
• Fluctuation of the indoor conditions
• Design a naturally ventilated building
requires more work but could reduce
mechanical system (design fee on a fixed
percentage of system's cost)
• Increase risk for designers
• Lack of suitable standards
 Infiltration and Air Leakage
• Infiltration is the uncontrolled flow of
air through openings in the building
envelope driven by pressure
differences across the building shell.
The surface pressure driving the air flow
include:

• wind pressure;
• pressures arising from temperature difference
between indoor and outdoor; and
• pressures resulting from operation of
mechanical exhaust.
• The infiltration rate of a building depends on
weather conditions, equipment operation and
occupant activities.

• The characteristics of infiltration air flow may be

determined by measuring the air leakage of the
building envelope which describes the relative
tightness of a building.

• Typical leakage rates are around 6 to 10 air changes

per hour at 50 Pa pressure difference.
• Control of infiltration is needed to assure indoor
thermal comfort and to minimise building energy
use.

• Normally, infiltration may be lessened by

reducing the surface pressures driving the air
flow, for instance, through changing the
landscaping in the vicinity of the building.

• A more common method is to reduce the air

leakage of the building shell (for example,
increase air tightness).
Air leakage area and performance

• Air leakage is a measure of the air tightness of

the building envelope.

• In practical building design, the air tightness of

the whole building or its components is
expressed as a leakage rate (in air change per
hour), or an air leakage area.
• Building air leakage area is a physical property
of a building determined by its design,
construction, seasonal effects, and deterioration
over time.

• The larger the air leakage, the larger its

infiltration rate.
Percentages of air leakage for residential building
components

Components Range Mean

Walls 18 - 50% 35%

Ceiling details 3 - 30% 18%

Heating system (furnace,
ducts) 3 - 28% 18%

Windows and doors 6 - 22% 15%

Fireplaces 0 - 30% 12%

Vents in conditioned
spaces 2 - 12% 5%

Diffusion through walls <1%

• The building envelope of large commercial buildings are
often thought to be quite air tight, but in fact many cases
indicate that some components and the workmanship of
them may affect the performance significantly.

• The infiltration calculations usually focus on doors and

windows which are the obvious weak points.

• Lift, stair, service shaft walls; floors; and other internal

partitions are also the major separating elements of
concern in these buildings.
• In large buildings, the air leakage
associated with internal partitions is
very important for evaluating internal
air flow.

• Their leakage characteristics are needed

to determine infiltration through
exterior walls and air flow patterns
within the building .
These internal resistances are very
essential for two aspects:

• in the event of a fire, to predict smoke

movement patterns and determine
smoke management strategies; and

• to support air movement calculations

when designing air distribution systems.