NATURAL VENTILATION

Passive cooling:
Up to a third of the energy costs in the average home goes toward temperature control, i.e.,
fans and air-conditioners. Homeowners can save a lot of money if their homes are designed
to be cool in the first place. Maximize cross-ventilation by designing doors and windows to
take advantage of prevailing winds.  (There are Internet resources that plot the prevailing
winds in your area.)

Take advantage of the “stack effect”: Warm air rises as cooler air comes in.  Placing vents
along the ceiling allows warm air to escape, resulting in cooler interiors.
Water installations, such as koi ponds can lower the ambient temperature by as much as
one full degree through evaporative cooling. Situate them so they cool the air as it enters
the house.
Minimize heat gain by plotting the sun’s path beforehand (computer software has been
developed just for this purpose) and designing preventive measures for the hottest parts of
the house, such as using adobe or stone to insulate against heat, or lengthening roof eaves
to provide shade.  A more expensive technological solution is to use argon-gas filled glass
windows that block heat rays from solar radiation.  A more economical solution is window
film that filters out harmful UV radiation while letting light in.

 Allow for cross ventilation

Cross ventilation is a natural form of wind ventilation that drives air from openings at
one side of a structure through to the other. Its success depends on the tightness of
the building envelope, the position and size of your openings (windows, doors,
vents) as well as the path in between the two sides of the house.

 Play with squeeze points

When wind enters through a smaller opening and exits through a bigger opening,
that’s a ‘squeeze point.’ This creates a natural vacuum which increases wind velocity.
“We usually incorporate squeeze points into our designs, but in an existing home,
you can actually create the same effect by opening the window or door receiving the
breeze a little less than the one on the opposite wall.” One just needs to understand
where the wind comes from at different times of the year, as the wind changes
depending on the month.
  Let the prevailing wind enter at an oblique angle
You get better air circulation when the wind enters the opening of your structure at
an oblique angle of about 45-50 degrees. When wind passes through an oblique
angle, it causes interior air to be more turbulent, allowing air to hit the corners of
the structure.

 Create a stack effect

A stack effect is when warmer, lighter indoor air is displaced by cooler and denser
outdoor air. If you create an opening high in the building and another low in the
building, this causes a natural flow. If the air inside your structure is hotter than the
air outside, the stack effect will make it float out the top opening, to be replaced
with cooler air from outside.

 Landscape
Let air pass through shaded areas to keep the air cool. Trees, if properly placed, can
be used to cool incoming air. Vegetation can also be used to funnel wind and free air
movement maintained around the structure.
Plants and grass also greatly reduce ground temperature, compared to hard surfaces
like concrete which have more heat gain.

Window Characteristics that Affect Air Flow

Windows, skylights and roof windows affect air flow depending on their operator type—
projecting versus sliding—and their placement.

 Casement and projecting windows can typically be fully opened, allowing for greater
ventilation. An outward-projecting sash may help direct outdoor air into a room.
Under harsher wind conditions, however, inward-projecting sashes may be more
feasible.
 Sliding windows have more limited openings of less than half of the overall window
area.
 Mechanically or manually operable skylights or roof windows allow rising warm air
to exit and be replaced by cooler outdoor air entering through open windows at a
lower level.
Window placement (location and size of opening) will affect occupant cooling if air is
moving fast enough. The average interior air velocity is a function of:

 the exterior wind velocity;

 the angle at which the wind strikes the opening;
 and the size of the opening.

The diagram and table below demonstrate how the size, number, and location of the openings
will affect the air flow (Brown and DeKay, 2001).

Average Interior Air Velocity as a Percentage of the Exterior Wind Velocity

opening height as a fraction of wall height 1/3
opening width as a fraction of wall width 1/3 2/3 3/3
single opening 12-14% 13-17% 16-23%
two openings in same wall — 22% 23%
two openings in adjacent walls 37-45% 37-45% 40-51%
two openings in opposite walls 35-42% 37-51% 47-65%
range = wind 45° perpendicular to opening
Source: Sun, Wind & Light, G.Z. Brown and Mark DeKay, 2001.

Casement windows can be used to deflect air into a room (plan view).

NATURAL LIGHTING
Looking at Lighting in Commercial Buildings
Architects and their professional teams consider certain factors to successfully combine
natural and artificial lighting in reaching maximum benefits for building occupants and
owner operations.
 Distinguish Illumination from Lighting
Light and illumination are technically not the same thing, therefore should be
approached differently when it comes to specifications. Light is measured in
terms of lumens while illumination, in lux. Lumens refers to the amount of
light coming from a source while lux measures the intensity of that light.

 When designing lighting, it is important to carefully differentiate these two

instead of taking them on as a combined factor. Each space reacts differently
to varying lumens and lux requirements. Using the same specification for all
spaces could waste of unnecessary energy, time and most of all, the project’s
long-term operation and management costs.

 Define and compute for the lighting capacity strategically so you can better
explore ambiance effects without sacrificing a lot of aesthetic intentions and
still meet the energy saving objectives.

 Situate windows and doors to make full use of natural sunlight and minimize
the need for artificial light.

 Solar tubes and skylights are a low-cost solution for interior parts of the
house without accessible windows.

 Orient Building Fenestration

Sunlight, sun path orientation, position of windows and any other building
openings make way for determining the kind and amount of artificial lighting
that could be allowed into the building. In the Philippines, the rising sun from
the East side and the prevailing winds from the Northeast Monsoon suggests
that most windows or openings could be positioned to take advantage of that
direction. However, capturing daylighting does not stop in only finding the
right positions for windows or openings. To take full advantage of natural
lighting, other factors such as glare, ceiling slopes, latitudes are also taken
into design considerations.
Careful planning can bring further occupant health and disposition benefits
from the natural light that comes in a given space, thus validating
the recommended amount of artificial lighting integrated into a building can
be a valuable asset to any commercial projects.
DAYLIGHTING TECHNIQUES

 Top light Daylighting Methods

One of the most common ways to introduce daylight is through skylights and other
means of top lighting. Top lighting behaves as direct electric lighting does—by
radiating light downward. Principles commonly used for designing electric lighting
systems can also be used for top lighting, which is the easiest form of daylighting and
is relatively unaffected by site orientation and adjacent buildings.
Here are several classic prototypes for top lighting:
 Sidelight Daylighting Method
Side lighting employs vertical fenestration (usually windows) to introduce
natural light. Unlike top lighting, side lighting tends to introduce light that can be too
bright relative to the room surfaces, sometimes causing glare. However,
the desirable view provided by windows usually makes glare an acceptable
side effect.
One way to increase both efficiency and clarity is to employ solar shading other than within
the glass. Solar shading uses building elements to prevent direct solar radiation from
entering the space during the cooling season. 

o Overhung soffits, canopies, and awnings are the most common forms of
external solar shading, while blinds, curtains, and shades are the most
common forms of interior shading. Solar shading is difficult to design for east-
and west facing façades because preventing direct solar penetration very
early or very late on a summer day is impossible without blocking the view.

o Interior shading devices should have a reflective surface to reflect

unwanted light back outdoors. Dark shades prevent glare but absorb solar
energy and become warm, heating the space. Adjustable exterior shading
devices are probably the best means of shielding windows, but architectural
and/or construction cost limitations may prevent their use.

Many modern buildings employ a light shelf to shade the lower part of the window, or view
glazing, permitting clearer glass. The top of the shelf is reflective, intended to bounce light
inward and onto the ceiling, which provides for deeper light penetration and improved
interior light quality. The daylight glazing is generally darker or more reflective than the view
glazing to prevent direct solar radiation and glare from a bright sky.

A light shelf is designed to scoop direct solar radiation into the room and onto the ceiling,
where it becomes diffuse indirect light, one of the best types of light for both work and
comfort. A light shelf can increase the depth of penetration of daylight by 100% or more,
but only when it captures and redirects direct rays of the sun. A light shelf has limited
benefit with diffuse light, as from sky without sun and on cloudy days. In general, light
shelves work best on the south side of the building.