The Effects of Courtyards on the Thermal Performance of a Vernacular House in a Hot-Summer and Cold-Winter Climate

Abstract

Achieving comfort in hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) climate zones can be challenging, since the climate is characterized by high temperatures in the summer and relatively colder temperatures in the winter. Courtyards, along with other semi-open spaces such as verandas and overhangs, play an important role in mitigating outdoor climate fluctuations. In this research, the effects of courtyards on the thermal performance of vernacular houses in HSCW climate zones were studied via field measurements and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. The selected courtyard house was a representative vernacular timber dwelling situated in the southeast of Chongqing, China. The indoor and outdoor air temperature measurements revealed that the courtyard did play an active role as a climatic buffer and significantly reduced the temperature’s peak value in the summer, while during the winter, the courtyard prevented the surrounding rooms from receiving direct solar radiation, and thus to some extent acted as a heat barrier. The contributions of thermal mass are quite limited in this area, due to insufficient solar radiation in winter and general building operations. The natural ventilation mechanism of courtyard houses in HSCW zones was further studied through CFD simulations. The selected opened courtyard was compared to an enclosed structure with similar building configurations. The airflow patterns driven by wind and buoyancy effects were first simulated separately, and then together, to illustrate the ventilation mechanisms. The simulation results show that the courtyard’s natural ventilation behavior benefited from the proper openings on ground level.

Sustainable design of courtyard environment: From the perspectives of airborne diseases control and human health

“…Courtyard space plays an important role in the traditional residential texture in China for dealing with the local climate and human comfort need ( Hao, Yu, Xu, & Song, 2019 ), and it is still an essential activity platform for life habits in some countries ( Khalili & Amindeldar, 2014 ; Soflaei, Shokouhian, Abraveshdar, & Alipour, 2017 ). Even though a courtyard space is part of the residential texture, it may be shared by multiple families, such as traditional quadrangle courtyard in China.…”

“…Ventilation performances in courtyard environment were also investigated by numerical and experimental methods ( Hao et al, 2019 ). Based on opening characteristics, courtyard could be regarded as enclosed cavities, and a set of large-eddy simulations were utilized to simulate the effects of lateral openings on ventilation in courtyards with different configurations ( Gronemeier & Sühring, 2019 ).…”

“…Based on opening characteristics, courtyard could be regarded as enclosed cavities, and a set of large-eddy simulations were utilized to simulate the effects of lateral openings on ventilation in courtyards with different configurations ( Gronemeier & Sühring, 2019 ). Previous research optimized design of opening level of courtyards by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation and experimental measurement to improve natural ventilation performance in hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) climate zones ( Hao et al, 2019 ). To improve natural ventilation and thermal comfort in courtyards, courtyard layout, aspect ratio, height-width ratio and southward orientation were optimized by numerical simulations ( Nasrollahi, Hatami, Khastar, & Taleghani, 2017 ; Xu, Luo, Wang, Hong, & Fu, 2018 ).…”

Evaluating the Impacts of Courtyards on Educational Buildings, Case Study in the University of Sharjah

“…Ahmed [7], in his master thesis, pointed out that with the help of vegetation and water ponds and fountains, the ventilation of courtyards will be improved. Similarly, Wei et al [8] determined that the use of vegetation in courtyards would lower the temperature by 8 • C while rooftop courtyards lowered the temperature by 4.3 • C [27].…”

Natural Daylighting in Traditional Architecture: A Case Study of Courtyard Houses in the Oasis City of M’chouneche, Algeria

“…In oasis area with hot and arid climate, the most field measurement and simulation based studies have been conducted regarding courtyard houses and their thermal performances (Hao. S, & al, 2019).…”