University of Bahrain

College of Engineering
Department of Architecture and interior design
Bachelor of Architecture Program
Environmental Systems 1- ARCG 216

Section 4: Ventilation and Air Movement

Inside Buildings

ARCG 216: Environmental Systems I

Content
• Ventilation in buildings
a)Types of ventilation
b)Comparison between natural and mechanical ventilation
• Natural ventilation definition
a)Measuring the rate of natural ventilation
b)Needs for natural ventilation
c)Ventilation typical requirements
d)Ventilation flow: how does air move
• Natural ventilation in Urban canyons
• Developing a natural ventilation strategy
• Design factors which affect the rate of ventilation
• Wind towers in hot-dry climate
• Passive cooling systems

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Ventilation in buildings :Types of Ventilation

Natural Ventilation Mechanical Mixed Mode

Ventilation Ventilation
The process of
supplying and The process of A hybrid approach
removing air by supplying and combining both
natural means by removing air by ventilation modes.
utilizing natural means of mechanical Utilizing natural
forces of wind, devices, such as fans. ventilation to its
temperature- It may be arranged to maximum and
difference and provide either supply, introducing
pressure. extract air. mechanical ventilation
whenever necessary

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Comparison Between Natural Ventilation & Mechanical Ventilation

Item Natural Ventilation Mechanical Ventilation

Means of Naturally provided through Mechanical Devices such as fans exhaust

supplying & openings doors openable fans, air coolers and different types of air
removing air windows, ventilators & shafts conditioning.

Energy & Cost The least expensive and most The quality and energy efficiency of these
energy-efficient way to ventilate devices varies widely, hence there is a wide
buildings. variation in cost It is more expensive the
natural ventilation

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Natural Ventilation: Definition

Natural ventilation is the process of replacing indoor air with fresh

clean air from outside without the use of mechanical equipment
which requires energy.

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Measuring the Rate of Natural Ventilation

This gives the total volume of indoor

air (in cubic meters) which is being
Cubic replaced by fresh air from outside
meters per every hour
hour
(m3/h)
In Russia ventilation rates are as
follows; Living room 45m3/hour,
Systems of Kitchen 60-90 m3/hour, bathroom
Measurement 25m3/hour and toilet 15 m3/hour
This indicate how many times the
Air total volume of the indoor air has
Changes
been replaced by fresh air from
per hour
(ACH) outside every hour.
In France ventilation rates are as
follows; Living room 1-1.5 times per
hour, kitchen 3-4 times per hour,
bathroom 3 times per hour and toilet
2 times per hour.
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Needs For Natural Ventilation

Provision of sufficient Oxygen for respiration.

Prevention of high concentrations of harmful
bacteria
Health
Removal of fumes, dust and poisonous gases.
Removal of body and other odors

Need

Removal of excess heat.

Thermal Air movement for body cooling by convection

heat exchange and evaporative cooling.
Cooling and/or heating structure, walls, roofs
and ceiling.

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Ventilation Functions and Their Typical Requirements

Functions Fresh air and Structural Cooling the

odor removal cooling body
1-2 m/sec = 100
Requirements 1 air changes 10 air changes air changes per
per hour per hour hour

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Natural Ventilation: How Does Air Move

Air moves because of the pressure

difference acting across the
ventilation path

Pressure difference depends on:

-Wind: speed & direction. Wind
pressure is generally positive on the
windward side, and negative on the
leeward side.

- Buoyancy: air movement due to

temperature difference.

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Natural Ventilation Within Urban Street Canyons

A street canyon (also known as an urban canyon) is a

place where the street is flanked by buildings on both
sides creating a canyon-like environment.

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Natural Ventilation Within Urban Street Canyons

1. Wind is perpendicular to street canyon

- Airflow inside canyon is nearly vertical and

perpendicular to the window.

- Pressure inside the building is lower than

outside pressure.

- best type of windows to use is horizontal

pivot, top hung, or louvered windows to direct
airflow towards occupants.

Louvered Windows Top Hung Windows

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Natural Ventilation Within Urban Street Canyons

2. Wind is parallel to street canyon

- The flow inside of the canyon is nearly

horizontal and parallel to the window.

- Pressure inside the building is lower than

outside pressure.

- Best type of windows to be used is vertical

pivot, side-hung.

Vertical Pivot Windows Side Hung Windows

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Natural Ventilation Within Urban Street Canyons

3. Wind is oblique to street canyon

-Pressure inside the building is still lower

than outside pressure, but higher than the
pressure calculated when the flow is
perpendicular or parallel to the street
canyon axis.

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Developing A Ventilation Design Strategy

1. Single-Sided Ventilation

To be used in single rooms, relies on vents on

one side only.

-Single-sided ventilation with single opening:

provides least attractive natural ventilation
strategy because of having lower ventilation
rates. And the air penetrates a smaller distance
into the space.

Rule of thumb: the limiting depth for effective

ventilation is about twice the floor to ceiling
height (4m-6m depth).

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Developing A Ventilation Design Strategy

1. Single-Sided Ventilation

-Single-sided ventilation with double

opening: Driving forces are enhanced
by room-scale stack effect and pressure
difference occurring between two
openings. The more the vertical
separation the better the ventilation.

Rule of thumb: the limiting depth for

effective ventilation is about 2.5 the floor
to ceiling height (7m-8m depth).

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Developing A Ventilation Design Strategy

2. Cross Ventilation

- driven by wind-generated pressure difference

inducing positive (inward-acting) pressures on
windward surfaces and negative (outward-
acting) pressures on leeward surfaces.

- It can be achieved by having a relatively

narrow linear plan, or having an open
courtyard.

Rule of thumb: the limiting depth for effective

ventilation is about five times the floor to the
ceiling height (up to 15m)

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Developing A Ventilation Design Strategy

3. Stack Ventilation

-Achieved by providing purpose-built

vertical ducts (stack or chimney) or an
internal atrium or any other type of
vertical spatial continuity within the
building.

-Buoyancy driven and relies on density

differences to draw cooler, denser
outdoor air into a building via low-level
vents, and exhaust warmer, less dense
indoor air via high-level vents.

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Developing A Ventilation Design Strategy

4. Night Cooling

Night-Purge Ventilation (or "night flushing")

keeps windows and other passive ventilation
openings closed during the day, but open at
night to flush warm air out of the building and
cool thermal mass for the next day.
useful when daytime air temperatures are so
high that bringing unconditioned air into the
building would not cool people down, but where
nighttime air is cool or cold.

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation

1. Window orientation relation to prevailing wind direction.

2. Size of inlet and outlet openings.
3. Design of internal partitions
4. Vertical location of inlet and outlet openings.
5. External features.
6. System of window opening.

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation

1. Window orientation relation to prevailing wind direction.

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation

1. Window orientation relation to prevailing wind direction.

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation
2. Size of inlet and outlet openings.

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation
3. Design of internal partitions

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation
4. Vertical location of inlet and outlet openings.

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation
4. Vertical location of inlet and outlet openings.

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation
5. External features.

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Design Factors Which Affects the Rate of Ventilation
6. System of window opening.

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Wind Towers for Hot-dry Climates

The Wind Tower or the Badger is designed to catch

cool fresh and clean air from upper layers of the air
space.
• Generally the Wind Tower has a rectangular shape and
can be opened from four sides. The openings are to
allow the wind to funneled down into the living areas.
The Badger has doors which can be closed when
natural ventilation is not required.
• The design of the wind tower depends on the wind
characteristics. If the wind is predictable it could be
unidirectional, if the winds are unpredictable, it is
designed as multidirectional.
• With multidirectional wind towers suction and scooping
of air is possible through the different sides.
• If less wind is present any type of wind tower will act as
a ventilation ( suction ) unit, due to the difference in
pressure.

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Wind Towers for Hot-dry Climates

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Wind Towers for Hot-dry Climates

Example from Bahrain: The house of sheikh Isa bin Ali al Khalifa

- Cooling the house by wind towers

With houses built as they were, much of the heat of the sun was left outside,
but in the hottest months, it would still have been terribly warm inside.
The answer to this problem was the badger, or wind tower.
These are tower structures rising several meters above the house. They have
large openings on all four sides for channeling down even the slightest breeze
available outdoor. If you stand under a wind tower on a hot summer day, you
will notice a clear drop in the temperature as the air flows down.

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Wind Towers for Hot-dry Climates

Example from Bahrain: The house of sheikh Isa bin Ali al Khalifa

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Wind Towers for Hot-dry Climates

Ventilation of wall and floor structures

• Integrated wind catchers, air ducts or vents can be incorporated in
the design of walls, as evident in traditional architecture.
• Recessed niches on the external walls at the floor level and in the
roof parapet can be used to create slots between two vertical
structural posts.
• This will reduce the temperature of the incoming air as heat is
absorbed by the structure.
• Recent use of such techniques is known as double-skin or smart
facades.
• Smart facades control natural ventilation, shading and daylighting.

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Wind Towers for Hot-dry Climates

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Passive Cooling Systems

• Passive cooling utilizes natural forces, energies and heat sinks.

• Small fans and pumps could be used to enhance theses natural
forces, and thus are called hybrid systems.
• Passive cooling techniques are used to create cool and comfortable
interiors. This is achieved by:
1. preventing heat from entering the building or
2. by removing the heat form the building by finding a heat sink or
3. by changing the environmental factors to achieve thermal
comfort, such as modifying the humidity or the air speed.

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Passive Cooling Systems

Types of Passive cooling systems

1. Cooling with ventilation:
a) Comfort ventilation
b) Night flush cooling

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Passive Cooling Systems

Types of Passive cooling systems

2. Radiant cooling : the simplest and most effective approach is to
use the roof as a radiator, where heat is radiated to the normally
cooler night sky. The next day the cool concrete mass can cool the
building acting as a heat sink. The roof therefore must be protected
from the heat of the sun by including movable insulation panels,
bags of water, water sprayed or roof pond concept. Other
techniques include the use of piped water in the ceiling or floors to
cool the building.

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Passive Cooling Systems

Types of Passive cooling systems

3. Evaporative cooling: when water evaporates, temperatures reduce
and humidity levels rise, which is beneficial for hot and dry climates.
Indirect evaporative cooling is more effective in hot and humid
climates. This could be achieved for example by cooling a roof by
evaporation and creating a heat sink, which in return cools the
building.

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Passive Cooling Systems

Types of Passive cooling systems

4. Earth cooling: earth could be used as a heat sink as temperatures
are always below the maximum air temperature. Earth sheltered
building are example or earth cooling. Another example of earth
cooling could be through the use of earth tubes where air is cooled
first in the tubes and then it enters the building.

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