Passive Cooling

Design Objectives in Tropical Climates

▪ Minimize Heat Gain
▪ Maximize Ventilation (but protect from typhoon wind) ▪ Prevent
unnecessary increase in humidity levels
▪ Have good drainage systems to accommodate high precipitation during
the year
▪ Protect spaces from insects and rodents
Passive Cooling
A cooling system using a building’s design and construction to maintain a
comfortable temperature within the building
Passive design is essentially low-energy design achieved by the building’s
particular morphological organization rather than electro-mechanical
means.
Passive Cooling
1. Building Configuration, Site Layout and Site Planning 2. Building
Orientation
3. Façade Design
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation
5. Others: Passive Daylight Devices, Building Envelope Color, Vertical
Landscaping
Passive Cooling
1. Building Configuration,

Site
Layout and Site Planning
A building can be protected
from direct sunlight by placing
it on a location within the site
that utilizes existing features
such as trees, terrain etc.
Effects of Landscape Elements
1. Hedges/shrubs should not be more than 3 meters from building 2. Tree
foliage above openings promote air motion into openings 3. Combine tree,
hedge and building to achieve air flow control 4. Lateral air channels to
direct air flow
5. Arrange trees to determine wind shadow
6. Make use of earth mounds to achieve better air movement
Passive Cooling
2. Building
Orientation
In tropical countries such as the
Philippines, it is best to place
service areas in the west and east
facing sides of the building
because these sides are exposed
to direct sunlight.
Passive Cooling
3. Façade Design
Double Layered Façade
Use Low-Emissivity Glass
(Low-E Glass)

Passive Cooling
Passive Cooling
3. Facade Design
Use of Insulation
Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural
Ventilation

Prevailing Wind in the Philippines

Amihan (NE) – November to April
Habagat (SW) – May to October
Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural
Ventilation

Stack Effect / Chimney Effect

The tendency of air or gas in a
shaft or other vertical space to
rise when heated, creating a draft
that draws in cooler air or gas
from below

Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation
Cross Ventilation
The circulation of fresh air through open windows, doors or other openings
on opposite sides of a room

Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural
Ventilation

Wind speeds increase with the

height above the ground, and the
smoothness of the ground
surface.
This variation in wind speed is
known as wind gradient.
Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation
Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation

Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation
Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation

Passive Cooling 4. Wind and Natural Ventilation

Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation

Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation
Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation
Passive Cooling
4. Wind and Natural Ventilation

Passive Cooling 4. Wind and Natural Ventilation

Air Movement = Wind Principles of Air Movement
1. Air flows from a high-pressure to a low-pressure area. 2. INERTIA. Once
set in motion, air tends to continue to flow in its initial direction until some
intervening force is met.
3. Air flows through the path of least resistance.
Global Air Movement
General Conditions
1. Equator receives more radiation than do polar regions. 2. Heat from
equator move towards polar regions. 3. Hot air moves upwards going to
polar regions. 4. Cold air moves to equator close to earth’s surface.
Global Air Movement
Special Conditions
1. Rotation of earth deflects the air = Coriolis Force 2. Wind flows due to
heat exchange.
• Air temperature changes faster than ground temperature • Daily
fluctuations of air temperature caused by
physical conduction up to 3 meters above the ground • Marked differences
of air temperature between night and day
Geographical Air Movement Land and Sea Breezes
1. Daytime Heating: land warms more rapidly than water • SEA BREEZE –
wind from the sea directed toward land • Strongest in the afternoon when
heating variance is greatest
2. Night Time Cooling: land cools faster than water • LAND BREEZE –
wind from land directed to sea

WARM
Daytime Sea Breeze COOL
COOL WARM

Night Time Land Breeze

Monsoons in the Philippines
Monsoon: large-scale seasonal currents 1. Northeast Monsoon = AMIHAN
= the winter monsoon • Appears in October
• Attains maximum strength in January
• Gradually weakens in March
• Disappears in April
2. Southwest Monsoon = HABAGAT = the summer monsoon • Appears
early May
• Maximum flows during August
• Disappears gradually in October
• Persists from November to December
Air Movement in Buuildings
1. Windward side = positive pressure
Leeward side = negative pressure
2. Air enters through openings located in the positive pressure zone Air
exits through openings located at the negative pressure zone 3. Air enters
through lower level openings
Air exits at higher level openings
4. Window width ÷ wall width = 50% to increase indoor air speed 5. Window
heights = 1.10 meters for effective indoor air movement 6. Wind deflectors,
horizontal and vertical, to redirect air flow 7. Prevent wind shadows by
placing openings
Passive Cooling
5. Others: Others: Passive
Daylight Devices, Building
Envelope Color, Vertical
Landscaping
SOLAR CONTROL DEVICES
(SUN SHADING DEVICES)
Protecting the Building Spaces
from Heat Gain due to Solar
Radiation
Passive Cooling
5. Others: Others: Passive Daylight Devices, Building Envelope Color,
Vertical Landscaping
HORIZONTAL TYPES
Horizontal Sun Shades are generally used on the North Facing and South
Facing Sides of a building
Passive Cooling
5. Others: Others: Passive Daylight Devices, Building Envelope Color,
Vertical Landscaping
HORIZONTAL TYPES
Horizontal Sun Shades are generally used on the North Facing and South
Facing Sides of a building
Passive Cooling
5. Others: Others: Passive Daylight Devices, Building Envelope Color,
Vertical Landscaping
VERTICAL TYPES
Vertical Sun Shades are
generally used on the East Facing and West- Facing Sides of a building
Passive Cooling
5. Others: Others: Passive Daylight Devices, Building Envelope Color,
Vertical Landscaping
EGGCRATE TYPES
Combination of Horizontal and Vertical Shades
Additional
CLIMATE:
Best facing slopes
• Temperatures vary with elevation – by about 3 deg for
every 1000 ft. (300m) in the daytime.
• The more perpendicular a slope is to the rays of the
sun, the warmer the surface temperature.
Solar Geometry
1. Rays of the sun vary with time and place (latitude) 2. Celestial Sphere:
earth is static; sun moves from east to west 3. The sun moves across the
sky at a rate of 15.04° per hour 4. The earth’s polar axis is inclined at
23°47’ from the vertical 5. June 21 is considered the longest day =
summer solstice 6. December 21 is the shortest day = winter solstice 7.
March 21 and September 21 = equinoxes
Sun Path
1. Solar Altitude Angle = the angle with height above the horizon. Ranges
from 0° when on horizon
to 90° when directly above (noon)
2. Solar Azimuth Angle = the sun’s position as projected on a horizontal
plane. 3. The two solar angles change with Latitude (location on Earth) 4.
Metro Manila is located at 14.5° N Latitude
5. Two Methods for Calculating Solar Angles
• Using graphs
• By mathematical calculation
6. Solar Chart = Sun Path Diagrams
7. Different Solar Charts for Different Latitudes