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Natural ventilation potential of high-rise residential buildings in northern China using coupling thermal and airflow simulations

  • Research Article
  • Indoor/Outdoor Airflow and Air Quality
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Abstract

Natural ventilation is regarded as one of the most energy-efficient ways of ventilating a building. Suitable methods for predicting ventilation performance are essential for regulating indoor air parameters in buildings. This study establishes a method to predict the natural ventilation potential for residential buildings. The average annual ventilation rate (N) and annual cooling load saving ratio (ACSR) for the top six types of residential buildings were measured and analyzed under different conditions. The N calculation formula was summarized to calculate the natural ventilation air change rate for each of the designated buildings. In addition, the logarithmic regression curves of the ACSR (with N) were also obtained and then used to predict the natural ventilation potential for specific climatic conditions. The simulation results could be used to guide engineers in deciding when and where natural ventilation can be incorporated as an energy-efficient feature without affecting indoor comfort. Moreover, accurate strategic analysis could also be used to assist architects evaluate the potential of natural ventilation at the architectural pre-design stage.

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Abbreviations

ACSR:

annual cooling load saving ratio of natural ventilation

A o :

effective opening area for external envelopes (m2)

A F :

total floor area of the ventilation rooms (m2)

C 1 :

regression coefficient

C 2 :

regression intercept

C P :

wind pressure coefficient for the building surface

C PAD :

coefficient for the effect of the PAD on natural ventilation potential

C Q :

flow coefficient (m3/(s·Pan))

D L :

distance of the center of the adjacent buildings in the direction of length (m)

D w :

distance of the center of the adjacent buildings in the direction of width (m)

G τ :

total air volume of ventilation of time τ (m3)

H :

building height (m)

H ref :

reference height from a nearby meteorological station (m)

i :

total natural ventilation hours in a year

L :

length of the local building (m)

n :

flow exponent

N :

annual average ventilation rate (h−1)

N p :

approximate annual average ventilation rate (h−1)

N ref :

reference value of annual average ventilation rate (h−1)

PAD:

plan area density

P S :

pressure difference between the pressure on the building surface and the local outdoor atmospheric pressure (Pa)

q v :

volumetric flow rate through the opening (m3/s)

Q 0 :

annual cooling load of a building without natural ventilation (kWh/m2)

Q V :

annual cooling load of a building with natural ventilation (kWh/m2)

R 2 :

determination coefficient

ROF:

effective opening area ratio on external envelopes to the total floor of the ventilation rooms

U H :

wind speed at the building height (m/s)

U ref :

wind speed at the reference height (m/s)

U(τ):

wind speed (m/s) of time element, dτ

Ū :

average outdoor wind speed of ventilation hours in a year (m/s)

V :

total volume of the natural ventilation rooms (m3)

w :

width of the local building (m)

ΔP :

pressure difference across the opening (Pa)

α :

exponent for the local building terrain

α ref :

exponent for the meteorological station

δ :

wind boundary layer thickness for the local building (m)

δ ref :

wind boundary layer thickness for the meteorological station (m)

ρ 0 :

density of ambient air (kg/m3)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Yan Li & Xiaofeng Li

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  1. Yan Li
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  2. Xiaofeng Li
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Correspondence to Xiaofeng Li.

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Li, Y., Li, X. Natural ventilation potential of high-rise residential buildings in northern China using coupling thermal and airflow simulations. Build. Simul. 8, 51–64 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-014-0188-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-014-0188-1

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