Window-Windcatcher for Enhanced Thermal Comfort, Natural Ventilation and Reduced COVID-19 Transmission

Abstract

We investigate and test the effectiveness of a novel window windcatcher device (WWC), as a means of improving natural ventilation in buildings. Using ANSYS CFX, the performance of the window-windcatcher is compared to a control case (no window-windcatcher), in three different geographic locations (Cardiff, Doha and Amman) which are representative of three different types of atmospheric conditions. The proposed window-windcatcher has been shown to improve both thermal comfort and indoor air quality by increasing the actual-to-required ventilation ratio by up to 9% compared to the control case as per the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards. In addition, the locations with minimum velocities have been identified. Those locations correspond to the regions with a lower infection risk of spreading airborne viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, which is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quantifying CO2 Emissions and Energy Production from Power Plants to Run HVAC Systems in ASHRAE-Based Buildings

“…The aims and objectives of this paper are to quantify the effect of air conditioning (AC) temperature setpoint on the energy consumption and CO 2 emissions of a generic ASHRAE-based residential building. The model studied herein has been developed in DesignBuilder using a set of essential parameters, including building layout, which is shown in Figure 1 [27,28]. In addition, the parameters include the building design specifications, which include the construction materials (to define insulation and predict heat transfer) [27,28], the HVAC systems [12,23], the lighting system [12,23], and the activity templets [12,23]).…”

“…The model studied herein has been developed in DesignBuilder using a set of essential parameters, including building layout, which is shown in Figure 1 [27,28]. In addition, the parameters include the building design specifications, which include the construction materials (to define insulation and predict heat transfer) [27,28], the HVAC systems [12,23], the lighting system [12,23], and the activity templets [12,23]). These parameters are specified in Tables 1 and 2.…”

“…The HVAC configuration in this study has been defined as 'split-no fresh air' using the DesignBuilder database. The adopted building in this paper (in Figure 1) is a generic building that has been well-defined and reported in the literature [27,28]. The specifications of the building have been implemented in DesignBuilder, as shown in Table 2.…”

“…The weather data, displayed in Figure 2, was loaded into the software following the reference [29]. As suggested by the literature [27,28], the simulation program was configured to execute an annual energy simulation with 30 steps per hour and to provide energy and thermal comfort analysis for the building throughout the year in order to produce accurate findings. software following the reference [29].…”

Investigation of the effectiveness of top-down natural ventilation of a poultry building in a hot-summer mediterranean climate

“…22 Additionally, compared to other apertures, windcatchers have a larger pressure coefficient (Cp), which allows for greater ventilation rates. 23 In fact, a wind tunnel test 24 found that windcatchers performed better in terms of Cp than other openings. In areas without access to windows, like basements, windcatchers can be especially useful.…”